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

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.

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