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