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34 Books By Indigenous Authors to Read for Thanksgiving Break (And Every Day)

34 books by indigenous authors to read on thanksgiving promo image with book covers
Annabel Young
By Annabel Young

As a Saginaw Chippewa descendant (ajijaak/crane clan), this holiday holds complexity for me…

I have fond memories of seeing family and loved ones, while also holding the knowledge that my ancestors were forced to attend both the Carlisle and Mount Pleasant Boarding schools. Here they were stripped of their Ojibwemowin, forced to speak English, and abandon their cultural teachings. Native children were taken from their families all across Turtle Island and put into these boarding schools, also known as residential schools, where millions of children died. The Thanksgiving holiday recalls the horrors of colonial genocide for Indigenous peoples as it reminds us of the violent colonial contact between settlers and Native peoples.

This list attempts to honor the stories told by Indigenous peoples, and to honor the stories of Indigenous resistance and reclamation in the face of ongoing colonial violence globally. I encourage you to read some of these selections over the holiday, taking the time to consider your own positionality in this colonial settler-state called America.

-ANNABEL YOUNG, GIRLS WRITE NOW FELLOW


The sentence louise erdrich

The Sentence
by Louise Erdrich

HarperCollins

Ceremony
by Leslie Marmon Silko

Penguin Random House

how we became human joy harjo

How We Became Human
by Joy Harjo

W.W. Norton

BraidingSweetgrass cover

Braiding Sweetgrass
by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Milkweed Editions

decolonizing methodologies cover

Decolonizing Methodologies
By Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Bloomsbury

Firekeepers Daughter cover

Firekeeper’s Daughter
By Angeline Boulley

Macmillan

where we once belonged by sia figiel

Where We Once Belonged
by Sia Figiel

Kaya Press

heart unbroken cover

Hearts Unbroken
by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Penguin Random House

too much lip cover

Too Much Lip
by Lisa Tatonetti

HarperCollins

when my brother was an aztec cover

When My Brother Was an Aztec
by Natalie Diaz

Copper Canyon Press

the things she's seen cover

The Things She’s Seen
by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekial Kwaymullina

Penguin Random House

probably ruby cover

Probably Ruby
by Lisa Bird-Wilson

Penguin Random House

bad cree cover

Bad Cree
by Jessica Johns

Penguin Random House

New Poets of Native Nations cover

New Poets of Native Nations
Edited by Heid E. Erdrich

Gray Wolf Press

a two spirit journey the autobiography of ma-nee chacaby

A Two-Spirt Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder
by Ma-Nee Chacaby

University of Manitoba Press

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear by Lori Arviso Alvord and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
by Lori Arviso Alvord and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt

Birchbark Books

woman of light cover

Woman of Light
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Penguin Random House

the round house louise erdrich

The Round House
by Louise Erdrich

HarperCollins

poukahangatus cover

Poukahangatus
by Tayi Tibble

Penguin Random House

dog flowers cover

Dog Flowers
by Danielle Geller

Penguin Random House

Almanac of the Dead cover

Almanac of the Dead
by Leslie Marmon Silko

Penguin Random House

carry cover toni jensen

Carry
by Toni Jensen

Penguin Random House

notable native people cover

Notable Native People
by Adrienne Keene

Penguin Random House

surviving the city cover

Surviving the City
by Tasha Spillett

Birchbark Books

american indian stories cover

American Indian Stories
by Zitkála-Šá

Penguin Random House

boarding school seasons cover

Boarding School Seasons
by Brenda J. Child

University of Nebraska Press

Imaginary Borders cover

Imaginary Borders
by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Penguin Random House

this is paradise cover

This is Paradise
by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Penguin Random House

how to lose everything cover

How to Lose Everything
by Christa Couture

Birchbark Books

the grass dancer

The Grass Dancer
by Susan Power

Penguin Random House

the bone people cover

The Bone People
by Keri Hulme

Penguin Random House

split tooth cover

Split Tooth
by Tanya Tagaq

Birchbark Books

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Annabel Young

Annabel Young (she/her) is a writer, poet, and creative who is passionate about decolonization work. She is Ojibwe by way…

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