Recommended student reading

American Indian Books – preschool to 3rd grade

• Crazy Horse’s Vision by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)·
• How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)
• Grandfather Stories of the Navajos by Sydney M. Callaway (Navajo), Gary Witherspoon (Navajo), and others
• First Nations Families by Karin Clark (Salish, Kwakwaka/wakw, Nuu Chah Nulth First Nations)
• Grandmother’s Pigeon by Louise Erdrich (Ojibwe)
• The Range Eternal by Louise Erdrich (Ojibwe)
• The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo (Muscogee)
• A Rainbow at Night: The World in Words and Pictures by Navajo Children by Bruce Hucko
• Salmon Boy: A Legend of the Sechelt People by Donna Joe (Sechelt)
• Hide and Sneak by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak (Inuit)
• Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak (Inuit)
• The Sugar Bush by Winona LaDuke (Anishinabe) and Waseyabin Kapashesit (Anishinabe)
• Alice Yazzie’s Year by Shanto Begay (Navajo)
• Songs of Shiprock Fair by Luci Tapahonso (Navajo)

American Indian Books – 4th grade to 8th grade

• A Legend from Crazy Horse Clan by Big Crow, Moses Nelson (Lakota)
• A River Lost by Lynn Bragg (Metis)
• The Heart of a Chief 1998 (Penacook) Contemporary issues facing young people today.
• Navajo Long Walk: The Tragic Story of a Proud Peoples’ Forced March from their Homeland by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and Shonto Begay (Navajo)
• When the Chenoo Howls: Native American Tales of Terror by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and James Bruchac (Abenaki)
• Black Mountain Boy: A Story of the Boyhood of John Honie by Vada Carlson (Navajo), and Gary Witherspoon (Navajo), illustrated by Andy Tsinajinnie (Navajo)

American Indian Books – 7th grade to 12th grade

• Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa by Shonto Begay
  Twenty of the author’s paintings are combined with his original poetry to portray an intimate look at Navajo life today.
• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
  An Ojibwa girl tells of her life on an island in Lake Superior in 1877.
• Sing Like a Hermit by Richard G. Green
  Driven to solve a mysterious dream, the main character begins an adventure and experiences the ability to predict coming events.
• Less Than Half, More Than Whole by Katherine Lacapa
  A boy of mixed heritage struggles to understand why his friend called him less than half Indian.
• Cloudwalker: Contemporary Native American Stories by Joel Monture
  In six stories, children from various tribes come to appreciate their heritage through relationships with their elders.
• Forbidden Talent by Redwing Nez
  A boy growing up on the reservation with his grandparents finds that his way of painting is in conflict with the Navajo Way.
• Muskrat Will Be Swimming by Cheryl Savageau
  With gentle guidance from her grandfather, a girl learns to find strength in her identity as a Native person living in white society.
• Skywoman: Legends of the Iroquois by Joanne Shenandoah & Douglas M. George
  A selection of Iroquois traditional stories.
• High Elk’s Treasure by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
  While trying to locate a valuable horse lost during a storm, a 13-year-old discovers an object of historical importance.
• The Great Change by White Deer of Autumn
  A wise grandmother explains her understanding of death, or the Great Change, to her questioning granddaughter as they work together on the land.
• Shadows on the Koyukuk: An Alaskan Native’s Life Along the River by Sidney Huntington as told to Jim Reardon. One man’s incredible tale of hardship and success in Alaska.
• Dawn Land and Long River both by Joseph Bruchac
  Dawn Land tells the story of a young Abenaki dedicated to becoming a pure hunter. Long River tells the story of a young man who uses his knowledge of the Circle of Life to face evil.
• Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears by Robert J.Conley
  In weaving together song, legend, and historical documents, Conley tells the love story of two ordinary people caught up in the removal from their traditional lands and brings to life the suffering and endurance of the Cherokee people.