Books by Native American Authors

While Native creators should be celebrated all year long, Native American Heritage Month is a good opportunity to spotlight books by Native American authors. Below are some of our new favorites, including picture books, middle grade novels, and a graphic novel. Some address difficult issues such as prejudice, residential schools, or a missing young woman, while others celebrate indigenous joy, including loving families, pride in one’s culture, and a strong connection to the natural world.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I received complimentary copies of some of the books below for review purposes; however, all opinions are my own.

Books by Native American Authors

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with these books by Native American authors!

This beautiful book tells of a young girl on her way to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline (a fight that continues to this day). She is nervous, but her elders teach her the importance of this fight and of her connection to the earth and to all those who have gathered to protect it. Despite the gravity of the subject, there is so much love and peace in this book, which showcases the strength of Native communities and their leadership in the fight to protect our natural resources. The book features beloved activist LaDonna BraveBull Allard, who was a personal friend of the author and the inspiration for this story. Be sure to watch my interview with the author & illustrator.

Buy The Sacred Stone Camp on Amazon or Bookshop

Esteemed storyteller Carole Lindstrom brings us her version of the Little House on the Prairie books, reminding us of the larger context in which those books took place, in which Native peoples also lived on the prairie, honoring traditions and carefully crafted laws that allowed them to live in harmony with nature, especially the buffalo. The book follows Rose, a young Métis girl who wants to help her father with the biannual buffalo hunt, made more difficult by the growing scarcity of buffalo on the prairie. Rose finds a clever way to track the buffalo, helping her community to survive despite the encroachment on their land and way of life. A beautiful tribute to the ingenuity of the Métis people and the buffalo they honored, wonderfully illustrated by the same illustrator as The Sacred Stone Camp, above. 

Buy The Gift of the Great Buffalo on Amazon or Bookshop

Like so many young children, Bud feels like everyone else but her has an important job to do. When her Nokomis (grandmother) offers to help her do something very important, Bud is surprised that the very important thing is saying thank you to nature. Nokomis teaches her that all creatures were brought into the Earth with a special gift to share. When we are observant and notice these gifts, we can show gratitude and begin to discover our own gifts, which we can offer to the world as thanks. A beautiful book from the author of Braiding Sweetgrass that helps teach children mindfulness, gratitude, and their own important role to play in the great web of life.

Buy Bud Finds Her Gift on Amazon or Bookshop

This tender book highlights how difficult it can be for indigenous children to learn the history of residential schools, demonstrating the intergenerational trauma that still echoes through Native communities. The book gives families and educators ideas for how to sensitively help children work through their emotions, reassuring them that they are safe and guiding them to develop ways for them to honor those who suffered in the past. I feel like this book should be required reading for teachers, especially if they have indigenous children in their classrooms.

Buy Miya Wears Orange on Amazon or Bookshop

This book demonstrates a simple truth: that the food we eat carries memories and culture. These memories help connect us to the past and ground us in the land, as a young girl learns through cooking with her grandmother. With each dish, she is reminded of the natural web in which they are embedded and feels deeply connected to the spirits of her ancestors. Dish by dish, the connection strengthens, until finally she and her grandmother share the food with their loved ones, deepening bonds in the present as well.

Buy Our Ancestors’ Kitchen on Amazon or Bookshop

This colorful book pays joyous tribute to the fierce aunties of the world, who are always in your corner, supporting, encouraging, and inspiring. The book showcases the importance of extended family, whether made up of blood relatives or found family. Sometimes parents are overextended and can’t give each individual child their full attention, but fierce aunties are always around to help each child feel special. I love that the fierce aunties of the book are all different in their looks and their talents, but possess the same fierce love and devotion to the young people in their lives. Be sure to watch my interview with the author.

Buy Fierce Aunties! on Amazon or Bookshop

From acclaimed master carver Mavasta Honyouti comes a poignant story of trauma, resistance, and, ultimately, joy. A young boy is captured and forced to attend a residential school, where they attempt to strip him of his culture and language. Yet he survives (while many did not) and returns to his family after many years. His suffering makes him more determined to pass on the old ways to his children and grandchildren, resisting through creating a peaceful, loving home for his family, steeped in tradition. Based on the story of the author’s own grandfather, this is an emotional read, brought to life through Honyouti’s stunning art, which draws on traditional carving styles, with his own artistic twist. Highly recommended.

Buy Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story on Amazon or Bookshop

This empowering book encourages kids to be brave and stand up for themselves. A indigenous young boy is teased by schoolmates for his long hair, but his father teaches him of the history of their people, in which how they wore their hair was often a symbol of their connection to their ancestors and cultures. When they were forced to cut their hair, that connection was nearly severed – but never completely. Each generation did their best to stand up for themselves and their traditions, so that now he could choose to be brave and follow in the old ways. Most importantly, the boy’s freedom to express himself and his customs was a sign of how much he was loved and supported completely by his family, along with the spirits of his ancestors.

Buy Brave on Amazon or Bookshop

One memorable night, a young girl asks her grandmother about the moon, which she sees following them through the night as they drive from the city to the reservation. Her grandmother shares stories about Grandmother Moon and teaches the girl about Grandmother’s significance, such as tracking time and controlling the tides. The girl is transported by her grandmother’s words, just as she always is when her grandmother tells stories. This very personal book is based on the author’s memories of the times she spent with her grandmother, listening to her stories of the old ways. A magical book about how traditional teachings are still being passed on from one generation to the next.

Buy Grandmother Moon on Amazon or Bookshop

This middle grade novel follows a young girl traveling with her family to Canada, back to the reservation where her mother grew up. Summer is ready for another fun summer with her relatives, yet she begins to have mysterious dreams of another young girl long ago. What follows is both a mystery and a process of personal discovery and collective healing, as Summer and her cousin learn about the residential school in the area, where unmarked graves have just been discovered. This book handles the topic with sensitivity, telling the story of this terrible past in an age appropriate manner without sugar coating the truth. It also showcases indigenous joy, as Summer’s investigation takes places within her large, loving family. Highly recommended. Be sure to watch my interview with the author.

Buy Buffalo Dreamer on Amazon or Bookshop

This middle grade novel is for anyone who has felt that they don’t fit in. An adventure story set in the wilderness of Minnesota, it follows three students who decide to work together to track down the illusive white wolf, in the hopes that it will help them with the challenges each faces. Their quest is a journey of friendship among people that on the surface seem to have nothing in common. It is also a lesson in self-reliance, as the characters must dig deep to find their own strengths. The book also addresses trauma and the different ways that children deal with difficult situations. A great adventure story that is sure to spark conversations. Be sure to watch my interview with the author.

Buy Wolf Club on Amazon or Bookshop

This middle grade novel is a sequel to Healer of the Water Monster. Nathan, the protagonist of the first book, is transitioning out of childhood, meaning he is no longer able to be the guardian of the water monster. Instead, he decides to pass the responsibility on to Edward, the son of his mom’s girlfriend. But his will be no leisurely apprenticeship, because an Enemy has returned to threaten the Navajo Nation. On their journey, Nathan and Edward must confront the painful history of their people in order to face a modern enemy. A wonderful coming of age adventure story that weaves together past and present to represent Navajo kids and the issues they confront today. Be sure to listen to my interview with author Brian Young, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, as he discusses the care he took in representing Navajo history and beliefs in his books.

Buy Heroes of the Water Monster on Amazon or Bookshop

This graphic novel about MMIW (Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women) is a collaboration among four different authors/artists. It is a searingly beautiful look at a family grappling with loss after a teenager goes missing one day after school. The book strikes just the right emotional pitch, capturing how each family member deals with grief in their own way, including a younger brother who sees his sister’s spirit as little moons. The story centers around a thirteen year old, who honors her sister’s spirit through her dance and her beadwork. This book for older readers is a tribute to all of the missing women and two-spirit people and the grieving families they leave behind, each on their own journey to honor their missing loved ones.

Buy Little Moons on Amazon or Bookshop

What are your favorite books by Native American authors? Let us know in the comments!

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