Native American Heritage Month Book Recommendations

November is Native American Heritage Month! Let's celebrate with a list of books to learn about the history, language, and traditions of Native American communities.

Picture Books 

Birdsong by Julie Flett 

Follow Katherena over the course of a year as she moves from her city home to a home in the country and develops an endearing friendship with an older women named Agnes. Make sure to check out some of Flett’s other books including We All Love and We All Play.  

Circle of Love by Monique Gray Smith  

Join Molly for a day at the intertribal community center, where friends, family, and community members come together to sing, dance, feast, garden, and celebrate love!  

Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers 

Baby brother Chooch seems to get away with everything in this 2025 Caldecott Medal winning book. Whenever he helps Sissy or another family member, he accidentally makes things worse. However, Sissy realizes that this is how Chooch learns and that she is one of his most important teachers.  

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard 

A Native American family spends time cooking fry bread with Nana. While readers learn the ingredients of the tasty bread, they also learn all the things fry bread represents. Make sure to check out Kevin’s fry bread recipe included in the back of the book! 

Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten 

Maple and Quill listen to their grandmother, N8hkumuhs in the Wôpanâak language, tell the story of a time when their Wampanoag ancestors helped the Pilgrims during the time of harvest. What many Americans celebrate as the first Thanksgiving is told from the perspective of the Wampanoag in this vital book.

My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom 

A young girl cannot wait for her hair to grow long, especially since her ancestors consider hair a source of strength, stories, and memories. This book is beautifully illustrated by Steph Littlebird and written by Carole Lindstrom, the acclaimed author of We Are Water Protectors.  

Middle Grade 

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan  

While visiting her maternal grandparents on the Cree reservation in northern Alberta, Summer encounters unmarked graves of children at a nearby residential school and learns about how Indigenous children were made to go to residential schools by the government. This book is heartbreaking, but it will leave you hopeful as the community comes together to heal.  

Jo Jo Makoons series by Dawn Quigley

Follow Jo Jo Makoons Azure as she experiences life on her Ojibwe reservation in these beginner chapter books.  

Mascot by Carles Waters and Traci Sorell 

This novel in verse explores the perspectives of several students at Rye Middle School when the school’s mascot is seen as racist by some students but a beloved part of school sports by others. 

Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-Ciotti 

Ivy and Skye become friends when they bond over an injured fox, the truth about poachers, and various Cherokee and Nakota stories about foxes that their uncles tell.  

Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley 


Ariel and Tomah are close friends who have lived in the intertribal housing complex all their lives. However, autumn brings challenges as Tomah struggles at school and Ariel’s beloved aunt goes missing.  

Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen 

Mia questions her identity as she feels out of place in her Jewish day school as well as unconnected to her Muscogee family.  

Non-Fiction 

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell 

This biography of Mary Golda Ross highlights her Cherokee principles and beliefs alongside her journey to secretly working as an aircraft engineer.  

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell 


During the 1911 World Series, John Meyers and Charles Bender made history as the first two citizens of Native Nations to play against each other in the championship. The book details both men’s lives before facing off in the World Series, the racism and discrimination they both had to endure, and the historic series itself. Be sure to check out Traci Sorell’s other highly rated books including We Are Grateful, At the Mountain’s Base, and Powwow Day.  

Lost and Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina Rathgeber 

Follow Ilsa as she survives freezing temperatures, no food, and wild animals for days using Traditional Indigenous Knowledge after being lost in a snowstorm.  

Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids 


As a child, Sharice Davids loved both talking and listening. In this autobiographical story, Sharice, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, recounts how she used those skills to become one of the first Native American women in Congress. 

She Persisted: Deb Haaland by Laurel Goodluck 


Follow Deb Haaland’s life as she perseveres and works to be the first Native American to become cabinet secretary. Be sure to also check out the She Persisted books on Maria Tallchief, first Native American Prima Ballerina, and Wilma Mankiller, first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.  


I hope this helps you find your next great read!

- Stacy

 


 


 


 

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