U.S. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is recognized and celebrated on the second Monday of October. This day is an opportunity to commemorate Native American peoples and their history, and recognizes the resilience and diversity of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. This day also offers an opportunity for us to acknowledge the past and help us learn more about the original discoverers of America.
The following book list is meant to provide stories that allow us to reflect, honor, celebrate, and ensure those voices are heard loudly.
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Twelve Native American characters narrate the important moments of their lives as their connections are revealed leading up to the first Big Oakland Powwow. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby or as eAudio on Overdrive/Libby.
With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a 15-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care with the Troutt family. Literally and figuratively scarred by his unstable upbringing, Sequoyah has spent years mostly keeping to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface – that is, until he meets 17-year-old Rosemary, another youth staying with the Troutts. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby. This title is also available as an eAudio on Hoopla.
Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
The great Native American Novel of a battered veteran returning home to heal his mind and spirit. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby. This title is also available as an eAudio on Hoopla.
‘You’re gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine’ is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby. This title is also available as an eBook or eAudio on Hoopla.
A moving and deeply engaging debut novel about a young Native American man finding strength in his familial identity, from a stellar new voice in fiction.
A haunting debut story collection on friendship, mothers and daughters, and the deep-rooted truths of our homelands, centered on Latinas of indigenous descent that shines a new light on the American West. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Four generations of Native American women make sacrifices for each other while fighting for survival amidst unstoppably harmful societal forces. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby or as eBook on Hoopla.
This story follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
A baby, a black hired hand, a bay horse, a gun, and a neighbor have all gone missing in the same corner of the Cherokee Nation West. Cherokee America Singer, known as Check, is none too pleased with these developments. As a wealthy farmer, the mother of five boys, and the matriarch of her family, she’s accustomed to wielding authority. And she’s determined to find out what’s going on. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby. This title is also available as an eBook or eAudio on Hoopla.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is both a Potawatomi woman and a botanist. In Braiding Sweetgrass she describes how these identities enhance each other, indigenous knowledge used to structure studies in the field, and botany enriching the generational knowledge handed down by elders.
You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby. This title is also available as an eBook or eAudio on Hoopla.