Book

The Round House

The Round House

By Louise Erdrich

One of the most revered novelists of our time - a brilliant chronicler of Native-American life - Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves with The Round House, transporting readers to the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family.

Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich’s The Round House is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction - at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture.

There There

There There

By Tommy Orange

Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering 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.

The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living

The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living

By Joseph M. Marshall

Joseph M. Marshall’s thoughtful, illuminating account of how the spiritual beliefs of the Lakota people can help us all lead more meaningful, ethical lives.

Rich with storytelling, history, and folklore, The Lakota Wayexpresses the heart of Native American philosophy and reveals the path to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Joseph Marshall is a member of the Sicunga Lakota Sioux and has dedicated his entire life to the wisdom he learned from his elders. Here he focuses on the twelve core qualities that are crucial to the Lakota way of life--bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom, respect, honor, perseverance, love, humility, sacrifice, truth, and compassion. Whether teaching a lesson on respect imparted by the mythical Deer Woman or the humility embodied by the legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse, The Lakota Way offers a fresh outlook on spirituality and ethical living.

If I Ever Get Out Of Here

If I Ever Get Out Of Here

By Eric Gansworth

Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white people being nice to him -- people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family's poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan's side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis's home -- will he still be his friend?

Acclaimed adult author Eric Gansworth makes his YA debut with this wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock 'n' roll.

Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories

Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories

By Sarah Penman (Compilation)

In this poignant collection of oral histories, four Indian elders recount their life stories in their own quiet but uncompromising words. Growing up and living in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Stella Pretty Sounding Flute and Iola Columbus (Dakota) and Celane Not Help Him and Cecelia Hernandez Montgomery (Lakota) share recollections of early family life interrupted by years at government boarding schools designed to eradicate tribal culture. Recounting their complex lives, the grandmothers reveal how they survived difficult circumstances to become activists in Indian politics, reconciling urban with reservation life and Christianity with native spirituality. Particularly memorable is one grandmother's detailed family account of the tragic events and consequences of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

Defying stereotypes, these clear and forthright voices are unforgettable. As the traditional teachers and bearers of culture, the grandmothers also share their concern for future generations.

Hearts Unbroken

Hearts Unbroken

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school — and first love.

When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?

Heart Berries: A Memoir

Heart Berries: A Memoir

By Terese Marie Mailhot

Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father―an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist―who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame.

Mailhot trusts the reader to understand that memory isn't exact, but melded to imagination, pain, and what we can bring ourselves to accept. Her unique and at times unsettling voice graphically illustrates her mental state. As she writes, she discovers her own true voice, seizes control of her story, and, in so doing, reestablishes her connection to her family, to her people, and to her place in the world.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask

By Anton Treuer

More than one hundred stereotype-debunking questions—thoughtful, awkward, and searching—answered with solid information, humor, and compassion.

“I had a profoundly well-educated Princetonian ask me, ‘Where is your tomahawk?’ I had a beautiful woman approach me in the college gymnasium and exclaim, ‘You have the most beautiful red skin.’ I took a friend to see Dances with Wolves and was told, ‘Your people have a beautiful culture.’ . . . I made many lifelong friends at college, and they supported but also challenged me with questions like, ‘Why should Indians have reservations?’ ”

What have you always wanted to know about Indians? Do you think you should already know the answers—or suspect that your questions may be offensive? In matterof-fact responses to over 120 questions, both thoughtful and outrageous, modern and historical, Ojibwe scholar and cultural preservationist Anton Treuer gives a frank, funny, and sometimes personal tour of what’s up with Indians, anyway.

• What is the real story of Thanksgiving?
• Why are tribal languages important?
• What do you think of that incident where people died in a sweat lodge?

White/Indian relations are often characterized by guilt and anger. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask cuts through the emotion and builds a foundation for true understanding and positive action.

Anton Treuer, author of The Assassination of Hole in the Day and many other books on Ojibwe history and language, received an Ambassador Award in 2011 from Facing Race: We’re All in This Together, an initiative of the St. Paul Foundation. All around Minnesota, Treuer has given scores of public lectures and been asked hundreds of questions—many like the ones in this book.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass

By Robin Wall Kimmerer

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, and as 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 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 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.

A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Going beyond the story of America as a country “discovered” by a few brave men in the “New World,” Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity.

The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history.

2020 American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book

2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People,selected by National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council

2019 Best-Of Lists: Best YA Nonfiction of 2019 (Kirkus Reviews) · Best Nonfiction of 2019 (School Library Journal) · Best Books for Teens (New York Public Library) · Best Informational Books for Older Readers (Chicago Public Library)
Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples’ resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism.

The Winona LaDuke Chronicles: Stories from the Front Lines in the Battle for Environmental Justice

The Winona LaDuke Chronicles: Stories from the Front Lines in the Battle for Environmental Justice

By Winona LaDuke

Chronicles is a major work, a collection of current, pressing and inspirational stories of Indigenous communities from the Canadian subarctic to the heart of Dine Bii Kaya, Navajo Nation. Chronicles is a book literally risen from the ashes—beginning in 2008 after her home burned to the ground—and collectively is an accounting of Winona’s personal path of recovery, finding strength and resilience in the writing itself as well as in her work. Long awaited, Chroniclesis a labour of love, a tribute to those who have passed on and those yet to arrive.

“Winona LaDuke’s latest book reads like a prayer. These are holy words— inspirational stories taken straight from the heart of indigenous communities throughout the world…(Chronicles) is lyrical, instructional, and infused with wry humor when the weight of the message becomes unbearable…LaDuke provides a road map through tribal nations’ belief systems; offering a spiritual compass and invaluable insight into the relationship of prophesy to the realities of climate change, economic collapse, food scarcity and basic human rights.”

— Huffington Post

Printed Voices from Oaxaca: Social and Cultural Reflections

Printed Voices from Oaxaca: Social and Cultural Reflections

This was an exhibition that has been transferred into a PDF and is freely available here.

This is a statement from the curator describing the exhibition:

The exhibit “Printed Voices from Oaxaca: Social and Cultural Reflections” came to life based on the mission of SOS (Save Our Souls) ART, a non profit organi- zation I founded 15 years ago, and the personal invitation I received from Ellen Muse-Lindeman, Executive Director of Kennedy Heights Arts Center (KHAC), to curate a show in their facility. SOS ART’s mission is to promote the arts as vehicles for peace and justice and to encourage the voice of the artist in this respect.

When invited to curate the exhibit, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me and SOS ART to share with the Cincinnati public, art from a different country where artists use their artwork as their voice to reflect on their life, on their culture, on the problems they face as a society, and thus express them- selves, their views and their beliefs. I felt that artists from Oaxaca, in particular printmakers the work of whom I had been exposed to in previous years, fit very well that intent.

Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, make up the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is located in Southwestern Mexico, bor- dered by the states of Guerrero, Puebla, Veracruz, Chiapas, and with a signifi- cant coastline on the Pacific Ocean. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.

Oaxaca is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. There are in fact 16 indigenous tribes and 16 spoken languages in Oaxaca, the most numerous and best known being the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs.

In contemporary Oaxaca exists a strong tradition of printmaking started by well-known artist Francisco Toledo, himself an indigenous from the State. Toledo created a center for printmaking to preserve the indigenous culture of his state and keep it alive through the voice of its artists. The majority of printmakers in Oaxaca, use their art as their voice to reflect on their culture and on the social justice issues they face.

On 2 occasions, I traveled to Oaxaca, met with numerous artists and talleres (workshops), looked at hundreds of their prints and selected for the exhibit some that i felt shed some light on a cultural, sociopolitical, personal or universal matter that the artist was expressing. As a result, the exhibit at Kennedy Heights Arts Center will feature 91 prints by 31 such contemporary artists. The prints are varied in their printmaking technique, in their imagery and in the topics they address. They include works by young emerging artists, side by side with those by very well established, and for some, internationally known, artists.

It is hoped that sharing them with the Cincinnati community will contribute to cultural exchange and enrichment, and to illustrating the power of art as the voice of the artist for a universal better world. Also that it will help bridge cultural divides and promote cross cultural understanding and appreciation.

To all participating artists who invited me in their studios, allowed me to peek through their numerous prints and trusted me to handle and show their work, and to Kennedy Heights Arts Center who gave me such a great opportunity to curate a beautiful and meaningful show, all my gratitude and appreciation.

Saad Ghosn, curator

President, SOS ART

Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto

Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto

By Vine Deloria Jr.

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, is a 1969, non-fiction book by the lawyer, professor and writer Vine Deloria, Jr. The book was noteworthy for its relevance to the Alcatraz-Red Power Movement and other activist organizations, such as the American Indian Movement, which was beginning to expand. Deloria's book encouraged better use of federal funds aimed at helping Native Americans. Vine Deloria, Jr. presents Native Americans in a humorous light, devoting an entire chapter to Native American humor. Custer Died for Your Sinswas significant in its presentation of Native Americans as a people who were able to retain their tribal society and morality, while existing in the modern world.

This excerpt from and article by David E. Wilkins in Indian Country Today can give you a feeling for this must-read:

He managed to articulate the concept in a way that made sense for Native peoples politically, legally, and perhaps most importantly, culturally. For Deloria knew that cultural integrity — Native lands, languages, values, and spiritual traditions — was the beating heart of Native sovereignty. And it was that integrity, fully acknowledged, if not always enforced, which was woven throughout the several hundred treaties and other diplomatic accords negotiated and ratified between tribal nations and the United States. His grasp of Native personal and political realities led prominent Pueblo scholar Alfonso Ortiz in a review in 1969 to deem Custer, “the most ambitious and most successful overview of contemporary American Indian affairs and aspirations I have ever read.”

The book’s publication in 1969 coincided with events, personalities, and social movements that were exploding across Indian Country and the United States. Americans in the midst of the Vietnam War knew about the Civil Rights Movement, the fight for women’s rights, the Stonewall riots, Johnson’s War on Poverty, Woodstock, and the Poor People’s Movement, but there was very little popular awareness of Native peoples. And a lot was happening within Indian Country, including the Fish Wars of Washington state led by Billy Frank and Hank Adams, the Alcatraz takeover, and the birth of the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis. Thus, the timing of Custer’s release, coupled with the force of Deloria’s trenchant observations rendered in his trademark sardonic prose, elevated the work and gave it real staying power.

Within the slim volume, Deloria skillfully and often humorously lambasted many of the entrenched myths and stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. He castigated powerful institutions. Anthropologists, with their discipline’s penchant for preying on and profiting from Indigenous communities were singled out. Christian churches were called out for their corrupt actions. The main target was the federal government with its multiple branches, departments, and agencies still devising far too many unprincipled laws and policies deployed with arrogance and disrespect towards Native communities.

Dreaming In Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices

Dreaming In Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices

Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale Ages 12+

Publisher's Synopsis: “Anthology of art and writings from some of the most groundbreaking Native artists working in North America today. Emerging and established Native artists, including acclaimed author Joseph Boyden, renowned visual artist Bunky Echo Hawk, and stand-up comedian Ryan McMahon, contribute thoughtful and heartfelt pieces on their experiences growing up Indigenous, expressing them through such mediums as art, food, the written word, sport, dance, and fashion.

Renowned chef Aaron Bear Robe explains how he introduces restaurant customers to his culture by reinventing traditional dishes. And in a dramatic photo spread, model Ashley Callingbull and photographer Thosh Collins reappropriate the trend of wearing 'Native' clothing. Whether addressing the effects of residential schools, calling out bullies through personal manifestos, or simply citing hopes for the future, Dreaming In Indian refuses to shy away from difficult topics.”

Talking Leaves

Talking Leaves

By Joseph Bruchac Ages 9+

A work of historical fiction about Sequoyah and the creation of the Cherokee alphabet, from the acclaimed author of Code Talker

Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has not seen his father, Sequoyah, for many years. So when Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali is eager to reconnect. But Sequoyah’s new obsession with making strange markings causes friends and neighbors in their tribe to wonder whether he is crazy, or worse—practicing witchcraft. What they don’t know, and what Uwohali discovers, is that Sequoyah is a genius and his strange markings are actually an alphabet representing the sounds of the Cherokee language.

The story of one of the most important figures in Native American history is brought to life for middle grade readers. This text includes a note about the historical Sequoyah, the Cherokee syllabary, a glossary of Cherokee words, and suggestions for further reading in the back matter.

* “Bruchac has crafted a tale of depth and universal humanity in this fictionalized account of Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee syllabary, and his son, Jesse." —School Library Journal, starred review

“Although the particulars of the novel occur two hundred years ago, the universality of fitting into a blended family and looking for love and acceptance from a once-absent father feel strikingly contemporary." —Horn Book

"A vivid retelling of a pivotal time for the Cherokee nation.” —Kirkus Reviews

I Am Not A Number

I Am Not A Number

By Jenny Kay Dupuis, Kathy Kacer, Gillian Newland (Illustrations)

When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene's parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law? Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.

Shin-chi’s Canoe

By Nicola I. Campbell Ages 7+

When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko reminds Shinchi, her six-year-old brother, that they can only use their English names and that they can't speak to each other. For Shinchi, life becomes an endless cycle of church mass, school, and work, punctuated by skimpy meals. He finds solace at the river, clutching a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from his father, and dreaming of the day when the salmon return to the river — a sign that it’s almost time to return home. This poignant story about a devastating chapter in First Nations history is told at a child’s level of understanding.

Encounter

Encounter

By Jane Yolen Ages 6+

This is the story of Columbus’ landing in the Americas, as told by a boy of the Taino people who already lived there. The 500th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage was coming up, and my Harcourt editor of the time–Bonnie Ingber–suggested such a book was needed. I thought a Taino should write it. After doing some early research, I felt the likelihood of any full-blooded Taino people to be still alive was not great and the story needed to be told. So I said I would do it. The book was the only one in that anniversary year to speak for the Taino people in a picture book edition. It still is. There is an exchange about this book between James C. Juhnke and me in the Spring 1993 issue of The New Advocate (Vol. 6, No. 4). In 1996 Harcourt printed a Spanish edition, Encuentro, translated by the indefatigable Alma Flor Ada. In 2000 a French edition was published under the imprint Carre Blanc, Les 400 Coups.

Material for Teachers from the Author:

Young Water Protectors

Young Water Protectors

By Aslan Tudor Ages 6+

In this book the young author documents his experiences as an 8 year old in the Standing Rock camp. His story is accompanied by his mother’s photos.

From the official website of the Lipan Apache Tribe:

About
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock


Aslan Tudor spent some time at the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock when he was 8 and 9 years old. Noticing the lack of resources for children about what happened there, he decided to write a book. Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock is about his experiences there as a child activist. In his book he explains what happened at Standing Rock, why and what it was like. He also highlights the significance of the historical event. All of this is explained in a way children can understand and is accompanied by photographs taken by his mother. His family is originally from south Texas and plans to move home soon, but he currently lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. He loves books and plans to write more.

Note from Dr. Walking Woman,
Director of Education for the Lipan Apache Tribe:


Aslan is a member of our tribe and we are proud of this young writer and his activism. In his book, Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock, Aslan talks about his experience in 2016 at Standing Rock during the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s #NODALP protest against building the Dakota Access Pipeline under the tribe’s primary source of drinking water, the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, and through sacred burial grounds. Aslan has packed much information into this children’s book. With great pride, we highly recommend Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock.

When We Were Alone

When We Were Alone

By David A. Robertson Illustrated by Julie Flett

Ages 4+

When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother's garden, she begins to notice things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long braided hair and wear beautifully coloured clothing?

Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where everything was taken away. When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history and, ultimately, a story of empowerment and strength. (From Portage and Main Press)