November is Native American Heritage Month, and the perfect time to pick up recent books by and about indigenous people.

We've culled these nine books for all ages from several sources: recommended titles from Debbie Reese’s American Indians in Literature blog; current and previous nominees for the First Nation Communities READ; suggested titles for the NEA/Read Across America; and other experts and own voices in indigenous communities.

Plus, a bonus recommendation: An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Jean Mendoza—great places to start for adult and teen readers alike.

Children

A Day with Yayah by Nicola Campbell, art by Julie Flett

On an outing in Nicola Valley, British Columbia, a Native American family forages for herbs and mushrooms while the grandmother passes down her language and knowledge to her young grandchildren.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, art by Juana Martinez-Neal

Using brief statements that begin "fry bread is," Maillard, who is a member of the Mekusukey band of the Seminole Nation tribe, creates a powerful meditation on the food as "a cycle of heritage and fortune."

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Cod: A Navajo Code Talker's Story by Joseph Bruchac, art by Liz Amini-Holmes.

As a boy, Chester Nez was taught his native language and culture were useless, but he was later called on to use his Navajo language to help create an unbreakable military code during WWII.



Teens

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

In a future world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's indigenous population - and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow - and dreams - means death for the unwilling donors.

Give Me Some Truth: A Novel with Paintings by Eric Gansworth

In 1980, life is hard on the Tuscarora Reservation in upstate New York, and most of the teenagers feel like they are going nowhere. Carson Mastick dreams of forming a rock band, and Maggi Bokoni longs to create her own conceptual artwork instead of the traditional beadwork that her family sells to tourists—but tensions are rising between the reservation and the surrounding communities.

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women ed. by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

#Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman.



Adults

There, There by Tommy Orange

A multi-generational relentlessly paced story about violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power, dislocation and communion, and the beauty and despair are woven into the history of a nation and its people.

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubeshig Rice

With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles.

Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga

Over the span of ten years, seven high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave their reserve because there was no high school there for them to attend. Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest, and struggle with, human rights violations past and present against aboriginal communities.



*All summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.

---

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!