In 1990, Congress began recognizing November as Native American Heritage Month, honoring the diverse cultures and valuable contributions of Indigenous individuals past and present. More than 5 million people identify as Native American in the United States, living within 573 tribal entities. There is a wealth of information to learn about the history, culture, and contemporary lives of Native Americans. Are you interested in learning more? If so, there’s no better place to start than the APL! We have many fiction titles by Native American authors for all ages as well as nonfiction titles available on the library’s third floor.
Here are a some favorite Native American authors of the APL team. Looking for more? Check out this list of the 25 Best Books by Native American Authors to Add to Your Bookshelf as well as these books for young children!
Christine Day has written several wonderful middle grade novels for youth; she is a member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. We recommend these award-winning titles: I Can Make this Promise and The Sea in Winter. Tim Tingle is an author of the Choctaw nation, and has written titles for all ages. We recommend these particular titles: How I Became a Ghost and When a Ghost Talks, Listen.
Finally, Joy Harjo is a national treasure of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She served as the US Poet Laureate a whopping three terms, and is a recent winner of Yale’s Bollingen Prize for American Poetry. She is also the author of An American Sunrise, a previous NEA Big Read title that the City enjoyed in 2021! Check out a list of her book titles here.
