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

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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