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

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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