Indigenous peoples have in common a historical continuity with a given region prior to colonization and a strong link to their lands. Most of the titles are by Indigenous and First Nations authors and/or illustrators. You'll find both stories and nonfiction, as well as some that are historical and others that are contemporary. The books range in age from 3 on up. (Updated November 2023)
Still This Love Goes on
A love letter to Indigenous communities everywhere, this picture book gorgeously illustrated by Julie Flett celebrates seasons, nature, and community. Based on Academy Award-winning Cree icon Buffy Sainte-Marie's song of the same name, Still This Love Goes On is a stunning celebration of Indigenous experience.
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View Still This Love Goes onSweetgrass
It's early July, and for Matthew and his Auntie that means one thing: time to go sweetgrass picking. This year, Matthew's younger cousin Warren is coming along, and it will be his first time visiting the shoreline where the sweetgrass grows. With Auntie's traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge and Matthew's gentle guidance, Warren learns about the many uses for sweetgrass--as traditional medicine, a sacred offering, a smudging ingredient--and the importance of not picking more than he needs.
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View SweetgrassTâpwê and the Magic Hat
Tâpwê can't wait to spend a week with his cousins on the other side of the reserve--especially since his Kokum has given him the most amazing gift. His new Magic Hat has bluebirds and grass snakes that come to life!
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View Tâpwê and the Magic HatTreaty Words
The first treaty that was made was between the earth and the sky. It was an agreement to work together. We build all of our treaties on that original treaty. On the banks of the river that have been Mishomis's home his whole life, he teaches his granddaughter to listen--to hear both the sounds and the silences, and so to learn her place in Creation. Most importantly, he teaches her about treaties--the bonds of reciprocity and renewal that endure for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the rivers flow.
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View Treaty WordsUnstoppable
In the autumn of 1912, the football team from Carlisle Indian Industrial School took the field at the U.S. Military Academy, home to the bigger, stronger, and better-equipped West Points Cadets. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States.
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View UnstoppableThe Water Walker
The determined story of an Ojibwe grandmother (nokomis), Josephine Mandamin, and her great love for nibi (water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect nibi for future generations and for all life on the planet. She, along with other women, men and youth, has walked around all the Great Lakes from the four salt waters, or oceans, to Lake Superior.
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View The Water WalkerWe Are Water Protectors
Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all... When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people's water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource. Inspired by the many indigenous-led movements across North America, this bold and lyrical picture book issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption. Caldecott medal award recipient.
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View We Are Water ProtectorsThe Whale Child
Shiny, a whale child, is turned into a boy to teach Alex, a young girl, the wisdom of the Native American value of environmental stewardship so that she can share it with others. Includes glossary of environmental terms, facts about Pacific Northwest Native cultures, and other educational resources.
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View The Whale ChildWhat your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me
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View What your Ribbon Skirt Means to MeWhere Wonder Grows
A grandmother explores her special garden with her granddaughters. Wonder grows everywhere but Grandmother especially loves to show it in her story garden. She invites her granddaughters to join her there in a sweet meditation on the treasures she's brought to that magical place--the rocks, the shells, the crystals, the meteorites : how they came to be, how they were formed, how they each have a story to tell
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View Where Wonder Grows