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High School | Native American Voices
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Native American is the school mascot.
Apple by Eric Gansworth
Indian artist and author Eric Gansworth tells the story of his life, his family, and his search for identity. Gansworth discusses the legacy of government boarding schools, the ramifications of his family being Onondaga among the Tuscarora, and the issues he has faced while trying to become an artist.
The Assassination of Hole in the Day by Anton Treuer
Examines the life of Hole in the Day the Younger, the self-styled leader of all the Ojibwe, focusing on events that led to his assassination in 1868 by a group of Ojibwe men while he was on his way from Minnesota to Washington, D.C., to protest the planned removal of the Mississippi Ojibwe to the White Earth Reservation.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Discusses indigenous teaching regarding the wisdom of plants and animals, and explores the intersection between science, healing, and indigenous knowledge and spirituality.
The Brave by James Bird
Collin has a compulsive behavior to count every letter spoken to him. After he is kicked out of yet another school, his father is fed up and sends him to go live with the mother he's never met in Minnesota. His mother lives on an Ojibwa reservation, and Collin soon finds a warm and welcoming environment unlike anything he has ever known. He befriends his neighbor, Oredna, and soon embraces his new family and way of life.
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Dreaming in Indian by Lisa Charleyboy (Editor); Mary Beth Leatherdale (Editor)
Looks at over fifty emerging and established contemporary Native American artists.
Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer
Contain 120 questions and responses regarding Native American history, culture, languages, politics, economics, education, and more.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Fire Starters by Jen Storm; Scott B. Henderson (Illustrator); Donovan Yaciuk (Contribution by)
Looking for a little mischief after finding an old flare gun, Ron and Ben suddenly find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriff's son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light.
Flight by Sherman Alexie
Depicts the story of a troubled, orphaned and violent Indian teenager nicknamed Zits who, after a killing spree, travels through time experiencing eye-opening moments in American history. Examines prejudice, cynicism, good and evil as Zits "flies" into the body of an Indian boy at Little Big Horn, Indian tracker and airline pilot. Includes more than forty discussion questions and a list of suggested reading.
Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth
In 1980 life is hard on the Tuscarora Reservation in upstate New York, and some of the teenagers feel they have fewer options than they'd like: Carson Mastick dreams of forming a rock band, and Maggi Bokoni longs to create her own conceptual artwork instead of the traditional beadwork that her family sells to tourists--but tensions are rising between the reservation and the surrounding communities, and somehow in the confusion of politics and growing up Carson and Maggi have to make a place for themselves.
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer
Examines the history of Native tribes in America, focusing on the complicated modern cultural decline and the slow disintegration of tribal lands. Written as part history part memoir, the Ojibwe author discusses his observations of the tribal experience all over the country and how the forced assimilation has affected Native identity. Explores the actions of Native tribes to fight back against cultural appropriation, destruction, and assimilation during the transformative period between 1890 through the modern day.
Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Louise dumps her popular, jock boyfriend after he makes some insensitive remarks about his brother's Native American fiancée without regard for the fact that she is also Native American. As a reporter for her school newspaper, she finds herself working on the story of the year alongside Joey. A story that involves racism, blackmail, and bullying centered around the cast of the school play--a cast that includes Louise's younger brother.
The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
Describes Native American and White relations in North America since initial contact, from fabricated stories of Native American savagery to the history of Native American resistance.
Looks Like Daylight by Deborah Ellis; Loriene Roy (Foreword by)
For two years she traveled across the United States and Canada interviewing Native children. The result is a compelling collection of interviews with children aged nine to eighteen. They come from all over the continent, from Iqaluit to Texas, Haida Gwaai to North Carolina, and their stories run the gamut — some heartbreaking; many others full of pride and hope. Many of these children are living with the legacy of the residential schools; many have lived through the cycle of foster care. Many others have found something in their roots that sustains them, have found their place in the arts, the sciences, athletics. Like all kids, they want to find something that engages them; something they love.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
In a world where most people have lost the ability to dream, a fifteen-year-old Indigenous boy who is still able to dream struggles for survival against an army of "recruiters" who seek to steal his marrow and return dreams to the rest of the world.
New Poets of Native Nations by Heid E. Erdrich (Editor)
Presents a collection of poems from Native American poets published from the year 2000 to the present, including long narratives, political commentaries, experimental poems, and traditional lyrics.
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.
This Place by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm
Presents a graphic novel anthology written and illustrated by a number of different authors and illustrators of Native American Indigenous descent, offering their perspectives on the last 150 years of American history.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
After Geraldine Coutts is attacked on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota, her husband Bazil, a tribal judge, tries to find justice for his wife, and their teenage son Joe tries to help his mother heal.
Sovereign Traces by Gordon D. Henry Jr. (Editor); Elizabeth LaPensée (Editor)
An anthology of contemporary North American Indian literature with imaginative illustrations by U.S. and Canadian artists.
There There by Tommy Orange
Twelve individuals travel to the Big Oakland Powwow for their own reasons. Following each one, their stories reveal a unique glimpse into the struggles faced by modern Native Americans in urban America, highlighting the complex history and inheritance of both a profound spirituality and a propensity for addiction and suicide.
While the Locust Slept by Peter Razor
The author, an Ojibwa Native American, recounts his early life up to the age of seventeen, from his arrival as an infant at a Minnesota orphanage in 1929 to his teenage years spent as a farmhand, including the abuse he suffered at the hands of his elders in both settings.
Apple by
Indian artist and author Eric Gansworth tells the story of his life, his family, and his search for identity. Gansworth discusses the legacy of government boarding schools, the ramifications of his family being Onondaga among the Tuscarora, and the issues he has faced while trying to become an artist.
The Assassination of Hole in the Day by
Examines the life of Hole in the Day the Younger, the self-styled leader of all the Ojibwe, focusing on events that led to his assassination in 1868 by a group of Ojibwe men while he was on his way from Minnesota to Washington, D.C., to protest the planned removal of the Mississippi Ojibwe to the White Earth Reservation.
The Brave by
Collin has a compulsive behavior to count every letter spoken to him. After he is kicked out of yet another school, his father is fed up and sends him to go live with the mother he's never met in Minnesota. His mother lives on an Ojibwa reservation, and Collin soon finds a warm and welcoming environment unlike anything he has ever known. He befriends his neighbor, Oredna, and soon embraces his new family and way of life.
Dreaming in Indian by
Looks at over fifty emerging and established contemporary Native American artists.
Fire Starters by
Looking for a little mischief after finding an old flare gun, Ron and Ben suddenly find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriff's son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light.
Flight by
Depicts the story of a troubled, orphaned and violent Indian teenager nicknamed Zits who, after a killing spree, travels through time experiencing eye-opening moments in American history. Examines prejudice, cynicism, good and evil as Zits "flies" into the body of an Indian boy at Little Big Horn, Indian tracker and airline pilot. Includes more than forty discussion questions and a list of suggested reading.
Give Me Some Truth by
In 1980 life is hard on the Tuscarora Reservation in upstate New York, and some of the teenagers feel they have fewer options than they'd like: Carson Mastick dreams of forming a rock band, and Maggi Bokoni longs to create her own conceptual artwork instead of the traditional beadwork that her family sells to tourists--but tensions are rising between the reservation and the surrounding communities, and somehow in the confusion of politics and growing up Carson and Maggi have to make a place for themselves.
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by
Examines the history of Native tribes in America, focusing on the complicated modern cultural decline and the slow disintegration of tribal lands. Written as part history part memoir, the Ojibwe author discusses his observations of the tribal experience all over the country and how the forced assimilation has affected Native identity. Explores the actions of Native tribes to fight back against cultural appropriation, destruction, and assimilation during the transformative period between 1890 through the modern day.
Hearts Unbroken by
Louise dumps her popular, jock boyfriend after he makes some insensitive remarks about his brother's Native American fiancée without regard for the fact that she is also Native American. As a reporter for her school newspaper, she finds herself working on the story of the year alongside Joey. A story that involves racism, blackmail, and bullying centered around the cast of the school play--a cast that includes Louise's younger brother.
Looks Like Daylight by
For two years she traveled across the United States and Canada interviewing Native children. The result is a compelling collection of interviews with children aged nine to eighteen. They come from all over the continent, from Iqaluit to Texas, Haida Gwaai to North Carolina, and their stories run the gamut — some heartbreaking; many others full of pride and hope. Many of these children are living with the legacy of the residential schools; many have lived through the cycle of foster care. Many others have found something in their roots that sustains them, have found their place in the arts, the sciences, athletics. Like all kids, they want to find something that engages them; something they love.
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.
Sovereign Traces by
An anthology of contemporary North American Indian literature with imaginative illustrations by U.S. and Canadian artists.
There There by
Twelve individuals travel to the Big Oakland Powwow for their own reasons. Following each one, their stories reveal a unique glimpse into the struggles faced by modern Native Americans in urban America, highlighting the complex history and inheritance of both a profound spirituality and a propensity for addiction and suicide.
While the Locust Slept by
The author, an Ojibwa Native American, recounts his early life up to the age of seventeen, from his arrival as an infant at a Minnesota orphanage in 1929 to his teenage years spent as a farmhand, including the abuse he suffered at the hands of his elders in both settings.
