Below is a list we’ve compiled of indigenous authors of the North America geographical region—each writing about their own people.
Join us as we follow the #NativeReads call to action focusing on “Great Books from Indigenous Communities” during this, its inaugural year:
Buy books by Native writers instead of simply purchasing books about tribes.
Buy new books instead of used so that tribal writers receive royalties for their hard work & publishers know there is a demand for books by Indigenous writers.
Increase access to books by Native writers—after you have finished reading a book by an indigenous author, donate it to a local school or library.
And our favorite—Add books by Native writers to your book club. :)
The Books
Written by a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation:
A New York Times, Washington Post, & LA Times bestseller, & named a “Best Essay Collection of the Decade” by Literary Hub among other accolades
In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book—gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred.
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
“I give daily thanks for Robin Wall Kimmerer for being a font of endless knowledge, both mental and spiritual.” —The NY Times
Written by a member of the Turtle Mountain Band, a tribe of the Anishinaabe (also known as Ojibwe and Chippewa):
Louise Erdrich, the NY Times bestselling, National Book Award-winning author paints a startling portrait
The world as we know it is ending. Evolution has reversed itself affecting every living creature on earth while woman after woman gives birth to infants that appear to be primitive species of humans. 32-year-old Cedar Hawk Songmaker, adopted daughter of a pair of big-hearted, open-minded Minneapolis liberals, is as disturbed and uncertain as the rest of America around her. But for Cedar, this change is profound and deeply personal. She is four months pregnant.
Though she wants to tell her parents, Cedar first feels compelled to find her birth mother, an Ojibwe living on the reservation, to understand her and her baby’s origins. As Cedar goes back to her own biological beginnings, society around her begins to disintegrate, fueled by a swelling panic about the end of humanity.
There are rumors of martial law, of Congress confining pregnant women. Of a registry, and rewards for those who turn these wanted women in. Flickering through the chaos are signs of increasing repression: a shaken Cedar witnesses a family wrenched apart when police violently drag a mother from her husband and child in a parking lot. The streets of her neighborhood have been renamed with Bible verses. A stranger answers the phone when she calls her adoptive parents, who have vanished without a trace. It will take all Cedar has to avoid the prying eyes of informants and keep her baby safe.
Future Home of the Living God is a startlingly original work from one of our most acclaimed writers: a moving meditation on female agency, self-determination, biology, and natural rights that speaks to the troubling changes of our time.
“Masterful…a breakout work of speculative fiction…enters the realm of The Handmaid’s Tale…A suspenseful, profoundly provoking novel of life’s vulnerability and insistence…with a bold theme, searing social critique, and high-adrenaline action.” —Booklist
“Smart and thrilling…Erdrich’s storytelling is seductive.” —Vanity Fair
(A special thank you to book club member, Julie Jacobs for the suggestion.)
Written by the current US Poet Laureate who is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation (Mvskoke):
A nationally best-selling volume of wise, powerful poetry from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States
In this stunning collection, Joy Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where the Mvskoke people, including her own ancestors, were forcibly displaced. From her memory of her mother’s death, to her beginnings in the Native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo’s personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings.
“Harjo conveys both the endless ripples of loss and the brightening beauty and hope of the sunrise.” —Booklist
“Reveals glimpses of life in Oklahoma’s Muscogee Creek Nation alongside delicately rendered ruminations on memory, family and healing.” —LA Times
“Radiant.… [A] profound, brilliantly conceived song cycle, celebrating ancestors, present and future generations, historic endurance and fresh beginnings.” —BBC
“Harjo’s poems are accessible and easy to read, but making them no less penetrating and powerful, spoken from a deep and timeless source of compassion for all.… [A] stark reminder of what poetry is for and what it can do.” —NPR
(Group read suggestion from Mia DeGiovine Chaveco, book club co-founder.)
Written by a Sicangu Lakota who is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe:
Drawing on vivid oral histories, Marshall’s intimate biography introduces a never-before-seen portrait of Crazy Horse and his Lakota community
Most of the world remembers Crazy Horse as a peerless warrior who brought the U.S. Army to its knees at the Battle of Little Bighorn. But to his fellow Lakota Indians, he was a dutiful son and humble fighting man who—with valor, spirit, respect, and unparalleled leadership—fought for his people’s land, livelihood, and honor. In this fascinating biography, Marshall, himself a Lakota Indian, creates a vibrant portrait of the man, his times, and his legacy.
Thanks to firsthand research and his culture’s rich oral tradition (rarely shared outside the Native American community), Marshall reveals many aspects of Crazy Horse’s life, including details of the powerful vision that convinced him of his duty to help preserve the Lakota homeland—a vision that changed the course of Crazy Horse’s life and spurred him confidently into battle time and again.
The Journey of Crazy Horse is the true story of how one man’s fight for his people’s survival roused his true genius as a strategist, commander, and trusted leader. And it is an unforgettable portrayal of a revered human being and a profound celebration of a culture, a community, and an enduring way of life.
“Those wishing to understand Crazy Horse as the Lakota know him won’t find a better account than Marshall’s.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Marshall’s gloriously poetic chronicle ushers in a new genre of American history . . . a tour de force.” —Peter Nabokov, author of Native American Testimony
Note: Raised by his grandparents, Marshall exclusively spoke Lakota until the age of eight. As might be expected of a narrator whose heritage includes a strong oral tradition, Marshall brings Crazy Horse to life in the writing of this book & in the narration of the audiobook form which also has rave reviews. Listen to a sample here.
(Group read suggestion from Beth McCrea, book club co-founder.)
Written by a citizen of Wasauksing First Nation (Anishinaabe):
National bestseller, winner of the OLA Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, shortlisted for the First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award, Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads; Amnesty International Book Club Pick, & Reddit r/bookclub pick of the month
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.
The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.
Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.
“This slow-burning thriller is also a powerful story of survival and will leave readers breathless.” ―Publishers Weekly
“Rice seamlessly injects Anishinaabe language into the dialogue and creates a beautiful rendering of the natural world.” ―Booklist
“The creeping tension and vividly drawn landscapes make Waubgeshig Rice’s characters’ choices all the more real.” ―Toronto Star
(A special thank you to book club member, Sena Karataşlı for the suggestion.)
Written by a Plains Cree comedian who is a member of the Okanese First Nation:
Shortlisted for the First Nation Communities READ Award, Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Award, & the Alberta Readers Choice Award
In Nobody Cries At Bingo, Daw, invites the reader to witness first hand Dumont family life on the Okanese First Nation. Beyond the sterotypes and clichés of Rez dogs, drinking, and bingos, the story of a girl who loved to read begins to unfold It’s her hopes, dreams, and indomitable humour that lay bear the beauty and love within her family. It is her unerring eye that reveals the great bond of family expressed in the actions and affections of her sisters, aunties, uncles, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, and ultimately her ancestors.
It’s all here—life on the Rez in rich technicolour—as Dawn emerges from home life, through school life, and into the promise of a great future. Nobody Cries At Bingo embraces cultural differences and does it with the great traditional medicine of laughter.
“Dumont tackles life on the Rez with all its richness and vibrancy. Certainly she brings into play the stereotypes of reservation life. However, the book's universal appeal lies in the small hilarious moments. As a successful comedian whose work is highly sought after in Canada, Dumont's strength is her easy-going language and the way she sets up a funny situation with a clever turn of phrase for maximum effect.” —SA Gazette
(Group read suggestion from Beth McCrea, book club co-founder.)
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Written by a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes:
One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering bestselling novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.
“Visceral... A chronicle of domestic violence, alcoholism, addiction, and pain, the book reveals the perseverance and spirit of the characters.” —Library Journal
(Group read suggestion from Mia DeGiovine Chaveco, book club co-founder.)
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