I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t read a lot of middle grade or adult Native American literature. I think part of the reason is that they just aren’t as hyped and are still marginalized in publishing. November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is often called, American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month. I made it a point to learn a little more about Native American literature and read more, not just this month, but in general.
In this list, I have tried to include selections of own voices by Native American authors or authors of Native American descent. You’ll find books for young adults and middle grades. I have to give credit to the wonderful Cynthia Leitich Smith for the wonderful resources on her website, which you can visit for even more selections from Native American writers. please let me know if an author on this list is not Native American; I may have missed that detail.
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Best Native American Middle-Grade Books
apple in the middle
Published: August 2, 2018
apple starkington turned her back on her native american heritage the moment it was called a racial slur for someone of white and indian descent, not that she really knew how to be indian in the first place. she pity that the white world does not accept it either. and so she begins to gain acceptance for her peculiar habits.
Apple’s name, chosen by his Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: the treasured apple of my eyes, but also the negative connotation of a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white inside.
After being kicked out one summer by her wealthy father, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota for the first time. Ella Apple learns to deal with the culture shock of Indian customs and the native Michif language, while trying to find a connection to Ella’s dead mother. She also has to deal with a vindictive Indian man who loved her mother in high school but now hates Apple because her mother married a white man.
Bouncing between two cultures, Apple meets her Indian relatives, breaks down Indian stereotypes, and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color.
the sea in winter (Jan. 2021)
Published: January 5, 2021
It’s been a tough year for Maisie Cannon, ever since she injured her leg and was unable to continue her ballet training and auditions.
Her blended family is loving and supportive, but Maisie knows they can’t understand how desperate she feels. With everything she’s facing, Maisie isn’t thrilled about her family’s trip in the dead of winter along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.
But soon, Maisie’s anxieties and gloomy moods start to hurt as much as the pain in her knee. How can she keep pretending to be strong when inside she feels as churning and cold as the ocean?
neversea sisters (June 2021)
Published: June 1, 2021
lily and wendy have been best friends ever since they became stepsisters. But with her estranged parents planning to spend the summer apart, what will become of her family and their friendship?
Little do they know that a mysterious boy has been watching them from the oak tree outside their window. a boy who intends to take them home forever, to an island of wild animals, mermen, fairies and kidnapped children, to a sea of mermen, pirates and a giant crocodile.
a boy who calls himself peter pan.
Ancestor Approved: Inter-Tribal Stories for Children (February 2021)
Published: February 9, 2021
native families from nations across the continent gather at the mother earth powwow dance in ann arbor, michigan.
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In a high school gym filled with color and song, people dance, sell beads and books, and celebrate friendship and legacy. the young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway places, mysterious strangers, and sometimes each other (plus a rudimentary rez dog).
in the footsteps of the crazy horse
Published: November 10, 2015
Through the stories of Lakota leader Crazy Horse, a boy learns about his heritage and himself in this award-winning American Indian children’s literature novel by acclaimed author Joseph Marshall IIIthough jimmy mcclean is a lakota boy you wouldn’t guess from his name. his mother is Lakota, and his father is half white and half Lakota. During summer vacation, Jimmy goes on a road trip with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle. As he travels, his grandfather tells him the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history. Expertly intertwining fiction and non-fiction, celebrated Brulé Lakota author Joseph Marshall III recounts the many exploits of Crazy Horse. , especially his taking up arms against the us. government. Fiercely fought against invasions of the Lakota people’s lands and way of life, even leading a war party to victory at the Battle of Greasy Grass (the Battle of the Little Big Horn) and playing an important and dangerous role as a decoy in the battle of the hundred in the hands (the fetterman battle). with sitting bull, crazy horse was the last of the lakota to hand over his people to the us. army. Through his grandfather’s tales of the famous warrior, Jimmy learns about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, about himself. Drawing references and inspiration from the oral histories of the Lakota tradition, Marshall gives readers an inside perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse.
I can make this promise
Published: October 1, 2019
Edie has known all her life that her mother was adopted by a white couple. So no matter how curious she may be about her Native American heritage, Edie is sure her family doesn’t have any answers.
Until the day she and her friends discover a hidden box in the attic: a box full of letters signed “I love you, Edith” and photos of a woman who looks just like her.
suddenly, edie has a new set of questions about this woman who shares her name. Could she belong to the native family that edie never knew about? But if her mom and dad have kept this secret from her all her life, how can she trust them to tell her the truth now?
Indian shoes
Published: April 2, 2002
what are indian shoes like? like beautiful beaded loafers… or bright orange lace-up high tops?
Ray Halfmoon prefers high-tops, but he gladly trades them in for a nice pair of loafers for his grandfather. After all, it’s Grandpa Crescent who’s always there to help Ray get in and out of trouble, like when they’re forced to get creative after a homemade haircut makes Ray’s head look an accident while mowing the lawn.
This collection of interrelated stories is heartwarming and fun. Cynthia Leitich Smith writes with wit and candor about what it’s like to grow up a Seminole-Cherokee boy who is as happy hitting the pavement in windy Chicago as he is rowing in rural Oklahoma.
Indian no more
Published: December 10, 2019
regina petit’s family has always been umpqua, and living on the reservation of the great ronde tribe is all ten-year-old regina has ever known. her biggest concern is that sasquatch might exist in the forest. But when the federal government enacts a law saying that Regina’s tribe no longer exists, Regina becomes “no more Indian” overnight, even though she lives with her tribe and practices tribal customs, and although their ancestors were indigenous for countless generations.
Now that they have been forced to leave their homeland, Regina’s father enrolls the family in the federal Indian Relocation Program and relocates them to Los Angeles. Regina finds a whole new world in her neighborhood at 58th. She has never met children of other races, and they have never met a real Indian. For the first time in her life, Regina comes face to face with the cruelty of racism, personally and towards her new friends.
Meanwhile, his father believes that if he works hard, his family will be treated like white Americans. But it’s not so easy. It’s 1957, during the civil rights era, and the family is struggling without their tribal community or land. At least Regina has her grandmother, Chich, and her stories. at least they’re all together.
In this heartwarming middle-grade novel based on Umpqua author Charlene Willing McManis’s own tribal history, Regina must find out: who is Regina Petit? Is she Indian, American or both? Will she and her family ever be okay?
dear miss karana
Published: December 1, 2013
while reading island of the blue dolphins in school and learning about the real woman stranded on san nicholas island, ten-year-old tishmal begins emailing “miss karana” in hopes of speaking with his spirit. When she arrived on the mainland of Southern California, Miss Karana spoke a language no one could understand even back then, and all that remains is a recording of the song she sang when she was found on the island. Tishmal realizes that some of the words sound very similar to Chamtéela (Luiseño), the language spoken on her reservation. As she writes to Miss Karana, Ella Tishmal becomes more and more determined to understand the song of the lonely woman. The only person able to help her is a cantankerous great-uncle, Wéh Powéeya (“two tongues”), the last one alive who speaks fluently the language of his ancestors from the navel of the ocean: the islands, including Saint Nicholas. Together, Tishmal and Wéh Powéeya must discover what the lonely woman said long ago in order to help her spirit complete the journey west.
First written in Chamtéela and developed according to the fourth grade Common Core State Standards, Dear Miss Karana tells a compelling story of family, determination, and cultural perseverance.
note: this list previously included sharon’s creech two moon walk, which has now been removed because the author is not native.
best young adult books
native american
firefighter’s daughter
Published: March 16, 2021
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As a member of a biracial unenrolled tribe and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in his hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when his family suffers a tragedy, he puts his future on hold to care for his frail mother.
Only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. However, even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she feels the dashing hockey star is hiding something. It all comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly continues his own investigation, tracking down the criminals with his knowledge of chemistry and traditional Ojibwe medicine. But the deceptions and deaths keep piling up, and soon the threat strikes too close to home.
Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe Kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she will go to protect her community, even if it shatters the only world she has ever known.
intact hearts
Published: October 9, 2018
When louise wolfe’s first real boyfriend taunts and disrespects the natives in front of her, she interrupts things and dumps him via email. it’s her senior year, anyway, and she prefers to spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with joey kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and before long the newspaper’s staff finds themselves with an important story to cover: the school music director’s inclusive approach to casting the wizard of oz has sparked a backlash. violent mostly white, middle class kansas town.
From newly formed parents against revisionist theater to anonymous threats, longstanding prejudices are being exposed and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents and students, especially the cast members at the center of the controversy. , including lou’s little brother. , who is playing the tin man. As tensions at school rise, so does a romance between Lou and Joey, but as she’s learned, “native dating” can be tough. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?
give me some truth
Published: May 29, 2018
Carson Mastic is entering his senior year of high school and is desperate to make his mark, on and off the reservation. a rock band, and winning the battle of the bands, is his best chance. but things keep getting in the way. Little things like the lack of a real gang, or his brother being shot by the racist owner of a local restaurant.
maggi bokoni has just returned to the reserve with her family. she’s dying to stop making the same traditional art that her family sells to tourists (conceptual stuff is cool), stop feeling out of place in her new (old) home, and stop being treated like a girl. she would also like to fall in love for the first time.
Carson and Maggi, along with their friend Lewis, navigate loud protests, louder music, and first love in this heartwarming novel about coming together in a world defined by difference.
rain is not my indian name
Published: June 19, 2001
It’s been six months since Cassidy Rain Berghoff’s best friend, Galen, died, and so far she’s managed to isolate herself from the world. But when controversy erupts over Aunt Georgia’s Indian camp in her mostly white Midwestern community, Rain decides to face the outside world again, with a new job photographing campers for her town’s newspaper. p>
Soon, Rain has to decide how involved she wants to be in the Indian camp. Does she want her to keep a professional distance from her native teenage peers? And, though she is still grieving, will she be able to embrace new friends and new beginnings?
surviving the city (graphic novel)
Published: March 1, 2019
Tasha Spilett’s debut graphic novel tells a story of kinship, resilience, cultural resurgence, and the heartbreak of a missing loved one. miikwan and dez are best friends. miikwan is Anishinaabe; dez is new. Together, the teenagers face the challenges of growing up as indigenous people in an urban landscape: they are so close that they even completed their berry fast together. However, when Dez’s grandmother gets too sick, Dez is told that he can no longer stay with her. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can’t bring himself to go home and disappears. miikwan is devastated and her missing mother’s wound resurfaces. Will the dez community find her before it’s too late? Will miikwan be able to cope if they don’t?
two paths
Published: October 23, 2018
It’s 1932, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his dad have been riding the rails for years after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Cal likes to be a “gentleman of the road” with pop, even if they’re broke. but then dad has to go to washington, d.c., some of his fellow vets are marching for their government checks, and dad wants to make sure he gets his due, and cal can’t go with him. so dad tells cal something he never knew before: dad is actually an indian from the creek, which means cal is, too. and dad has decided to send cal to a government boarding school for native americans in oklahoma called the challagi school.
At school, the other creek boys quickly take lime under their wings. Even in the harsh and squalid conditions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school, he begins to learn about the history and heritage of the pueblo from him. he learns their language and customs. and above all, he learns to find strength in a group of friends who have nothing beyond the other
there they are: 16 of the best middle grade Native American books, with some titles already. I hope these are a great starting point. I’ve only read one book on this list, but I’m working on fixing it ASAP!
have you read any of these native american books or middle grade titles? which ones did you love? If you haven’t already, where would you like to start?
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