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Before Columbus : the Americas of 1491
Muskrat will be swimming
Black Elk's vision : a Lakota story
The birchbark house
Walking on earth & touching the sky : poetry and prose by Lakota youth at Red Cloud Indian School
Lincoln and the indians : Civil War policy and politics
God is red : a native view of religion
The creator's game : a story of baaga'adowe/lacrosse
Home to Medicine Mountain
The displacement of native peoples
Birch Coulie : the epic battle of the Dakota War
The Dakota prisoner of war letters = Dakota Kaŝkapi Okicize Wowapi
Native defenders of the environment
Sacred wilderness
Songs of Shiprock Fair
Navajo long walk : the tragic story of a proud people's forced march from their homeland
Dance in a buffalo skull
Nanabosho & Porcupine
How I became a ghost : a Choctaw Trail of Tears story #1
Buffalo Bird Girl : a Hidatsa story
Buffalo song
A broken flute : the Native experience in books for children
The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
An infinity of nations : how the native New World shaped early North America
Itse selu : Cherokee harvest festival
Hungry Johnny
Dreaming in Indian : contemporary Native American voices
The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven
All our relations : native struggles for land and life
The chichi hoohoo bogeyman
SkySisters
The woman who outshone the sun : the legend of Lucia Zenteno = La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol : la leyenda de Lucía Zenteno
Not my girl
Native women of courage
The Mishomis book : the voice of the Ojibway
You don't have to say you love me : a memoir
Taku wadaka he? = (What do you see?)
D(L)akota star map constellation guidebook : an introduction to D(L)akota star knowledge
Wild berries = Pikaci-mīnisa
Ojibwe sky star map constellation guidebook : an introduction to Ojibwe Star knowledge
Sharing the skies : Navajo astronomy
Custer died for your sins : an Indian manifesto
Follow the blackbirds
If I ever get out of here : a novel with paintings
Sky dancers
Mni sota makoce : the land of the Dakota
Sacagawea
Beloved child : a Dakota way of life
Crazy brave : a memoir
Mission to space
Native writers : voices of power
In the footsteps of Crazy Horse
Hidden roots
Grandmother Spider brings the sun : a Cherokee story
A boy called Slow : the true story of Sitting Bull
Giving thanks : a Native American good morning message
Eagle song
The people shall continue
Saltypie : a Choctaw journey from darkness into light
Bears make rock soup and other stories
Cell traffic : new and selected poems
When I was eight
Me funny : a far-reaching exploration of the humor, wittiness and repartee dominant among the First Nations people of North America, as witnessed, experienced and created directly by themselves, and with the inclusion of outside but reputable sources necessarily familiar with the indigenous sense of humour as seen from an objective perspective
The blue roses
Moccasin thunder : American Indian stories for today
Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué rico! : Americas' sproutings
The dance boots
For indigenous eyes only : a decolonization handbook
Lana's Lakota moons
Sitting Bull : Lakota warrior and defender of his people
Jingle dancer
Native athletes in action!
My name is not easy
A man called Raven
I am not a number
Songs from the loom : a Navajo girl learns to weave
First laugh : welcome, baby!
House of purple cedar

Access the MN American Indian Collection Literature collection

A large selection of fiction and non-fiction works written by Native authors and focusing on Native American culture has been added to our collection, which is made possible by a project of the Minnesota Office of Indian Education using federal funding, Library Service and Technology Act [LS 00-17-0024-17].

The collection boasts works such as “Buffalo Song” by Joseph Bruchac, “The Birchbark House” by Louise Erdrich and more, and offers something for all age groups from childhood to adulthood.

To access the full collection of works, library customers can search our catalog for “MN American Indian Literature” using the keyword search and quotation marks. While the collection was originally designed for use by educators teaching grades K-12, the materials have been wildly popular for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Click here to access the American Indian Literature Resources for Educators: An Annotated Bibliography. This document includes the MN English Language Arts Standards for K-12, the grade level served, the title and author of the recommended book, and an annotation.

A printable version of the American Indian book list is also available.

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