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

Access the MN American Indian Collection Literature collection here.

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.

Back To Top