Use this list to help you get started with the American Indian Library Association's Read Native challenge. For more information, visit https://ailanet.org/readnative21/.
Upper Skagit author; fiction. "It’s been a hard year for Maisie Cannon, ever since she hurt her leg and could not keep up with her ballet training and auditions. Her blended family is loving and supportive, but Maisie knows that they just…
Upper Skagit author; fiction. "All her life, Edie has known that her mom was adopted by a white couple. So, no matter how curious she might be about her Native American heritage, Edie is sure her family doesn’t have any answers. Until the…
Ojibwe author; fiction. "Collin can't help himself—he has a unique condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It's a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and a continual frustration to the adults around him,…
Muscogee Creek author; non-fiction, short stories and poetry. "A collection of intersecting stories set at a powwow that bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. In a high school gym full of color and…
Onondaga author; autobiography and poetry. "The term 'Apple' is a slur in Native communities across the country. It’s for someone supposedly 'red on the outside, white on the inside.' Eric Gansworth is telling the story of his family, of…
Gitxsan author and Métis illustrator; this book is part of the Mothers of Xsan series if you would like to read more; non-fiction told as a story. "An engaging look at how the animals, people, and seasons within an ecosystem are…
Métis author; graphic novel; currently four volumes in the series. "The Manitoba Act’s promise of land for the Métis has gone unfulfilled, and many Métis flee to the Northwest. As part of the fallout from the Northwest Resistance, their…
Umpqua/Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde and Cherokee authors; historical fiction. "Regina Petit's family has always been Umpqua, and living on the Grand Ronde Tribe's reservation is all ten-year-old Regina has ever known. Her biggest…
Chippewa author; biographical fiction; book 1 in the Birchbark series. "Omakayas and her family live on the land her people call the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. Although the "chimookoman," white people, encroach more and more…
Chippewa author; biographical fiction; book 2 in the Birchbark series. "Her name is Omakayas, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop, and she lives on an island in Lake Superior. It is 1850, and the lives of the Ojibwe have…
Chippewa author; biographical fiction; book 3 in the Birchbark series. "When Omakayas is twelve winters old, she and her family set off on a harrowing journey. They travel by canoe westward from the shores of Lake Superior along the rivers…
Chippewa author; biographical fiction; book 4 in the Birchbark series. "Twin brothers Chickadee and Makoons have spent every day side by side and have done everything together since they were born—until the day the unthinkable happens and…
Chippewa author; biographical fiction; book 5 in the Birchbark series. "Named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, Makoons and his twin, Chickadee, have traveled with their family to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory. There they must…
Lakota/Sioux author; fiction. "Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy, though you wouldn’t guess it by his name. His mother is Lakota, and his father is half white and half Lakota. Over summer break, Jimmy embarks on a journey with his grandfather,…
Author's husband and community is Inupiaq; historical fiction. "Luke knows his I'nupiaq name is full of sounds white people can't say. He knows he'll have to leave it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of…
Graphic novel; non-fiction; history. "During World War II U.S. forces had to keep battle plans and other top secret information out of the enemy's hands. Coded messages were often used, but secret codes could be broken. To solve this…
Non-fiction; history. "On the Pacific front during World War II, strange messages were picked up by American and Japanese forces on land and at sea. The messages were totally unintelligible to everyone except a small select group within…
