November is Native American Heritage Month, which honors the cultures and traditions of Native Americans. It’s the perfect time to share the outstanding contributions Native Americans have made and to learn more about the issues facing these communities today. Here at Bookish, we plan to celebrate by reading! (Shocking, we know.) We hope you do too. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite books by Native American authors to get you started. We recommend picking these books up, not just this month but all year long.
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier
In her award-winning collection of poetry Whereas, Layli Long Soldier (who is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation) shares important and timely insights about Native American identity and the ways in which Native Americans have been treated by the United States government.
Cynthia Leitich Smith’s young adult novel follows Louise Wolfe, who (like Smith) is a member of the Muscogee Nation, as she juggles senior year responsibilities and fights against prejudice after her school’s inclusive musical brings out an ugly side of her mostly-white high school.
In the foreword, First Nations editor Lisa Charleyboy calls this anthology “a love letter to all young Indigenous women.” This moving book collects the art, poetry, and prose of Indigenous women throughout North America and covers everything from identity to Standing Rock to social media.