Native American Nonfiction (2021)Like this list

25 items

• Spirit Run

  a 6,000-mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land

  Álvarez, Noé

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  A Mexican American descendant of the Purépecha people, Álvarez reconnected with his ancestry and forged new bonds with other Indigenous peoples by running in the Peace and Dignity Journeys, an Indigenous relay race across the continent.

• A History of My Brief Body

  Belcourt, Billy-Ray,

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  Driftpile Cree poet and author Belcourt's recent memoir juxtaposes the personal and the political, the poetic and the philosophical in a profound, insightful and moving collection essays about growing up queer and Indigenous.

• Black Indian

  Buchanan, Shonda,

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  This "inspiring story . . explores [Buchanan's] family's legacy of being African Americans with American Indian roots and how they dealt with not just society's ostracization but the consequences of this dual inheritance." -- Publisher's description

• Tawâw

  Progressive Indigenous Cuisine

  Chartrand, Shane,

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  First Nations chef Chartrand (Cree) draws from his Indigenous roots as well as French and Asian culinary traditions in this beautifully designed cookbook featuring essays on Native culture alongside mouthwatering recipes.

• Making a Difference

  My Fight for Native Rights and Social Justice

  Deer, Ada Elizabeth,

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  The first woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Deer (Menominee) was a tireless advocate for her people in their ultimately successful campaign to restore their tribal status. Learn more about her life and work in this inspiring memoir.

• Becoming Mary Sully

  Toward An American Indian Abstract

  Deloria, Philip Joseph,

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  Scholar Philip J. Deloria (Dakota) reassesses the work of Dakota Sioux artist Mary Sully, a largely self-taught abstract Indigenous artist whose unique blend of traditional craft with early 20th-century modernism remained unknown until recently.

• A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

  Elliott, Alicia,

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  A bicultural and binational author, Elliott (Tuscarora) writes poignantly about the legacy of trauma and oppression in her communities and her own family, and its impact on the mental health of Indigenous peoples on both sides of the border.

• Our History Is the Future

  Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance

  Estes, Nick,

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  Activist, scholar, and Lower Brule Sioux citizen Estes traces the history of Indigenous resistance to colonization and environmental degradation from first contact to the present day in this spirited account.

• As Long as Grass Grows

  the Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, From Colonization to Standing Rock

  Gilio-Whitaker, Dina,

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  Scholar Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) has written a thoughtful and stirring call to arms for an intersectional environmental justice movement that centers the centuries-long work of Indigenous peoples to protect the land.

• Haboo

  Native American Stories From Puget Sound

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  Translated and edited by Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert, this new edition of 33 stories from the Lushootseed-speaking peoples of Puget Sound features a beautiful redesign and a new foreword by Jill La Pointe, Hilbert's granddaughter.

• Poet Warrior

  a Memoir

  Harjo, Joy,

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  The first Indigenous US Poet Laureate, Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. In this hybrid memoir, she combines poetry and prose to describe her lifelong love of words and her transformation into a gifted poet.

• Bitterroot

  a Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption

  Harness, Susan Devan,

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  In this poignant, soul-searching memoir, Harness (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) describes the struggles and complexities she experienced as an Indigenous child adopted and raised by a white couple in the rural West.

• Carry

  a Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land

  Jensen, Toni,

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  Métis writer and English professor Jensen investigates the proliferation of violence -- through guns, white supremacy and misogyny -- across the American landscape in this thought-provoking series of personal essays.

• Heart Berries

  a Memoir

  Mailhot, Terese Marie,

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  Stó:lō First Nations (Seabird Island Band) author Mailhot has written a searing yet poetic memoir about coming of age as a young woman on a Pacific Northwest reservation, where poverty and intergenerational trauma left deep scars.

• Mamaskatch

  a Cree Coming of Age

  McLeod, Darrel J.,

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  In this poignant memoir, debut author McLeod recalls his tumultuous childhood in a small Alberta town and how his Cree heritage and culture sustained him through difficult times.

• Legacy

  Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing

  Methot, Suzanne, 1968-

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  "Nehiyaw writer and educator Methot investigates the impact of intergenerational trauma upon Indigenous peoples, and how a reconnection to traditional practices and beliefs can provide a roadmap to healing." -- Library Journal

• Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's

  Midge, Tiffany, 1965-

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  Midge (Hunkpapa Lakota) brings a healthy dose of humor to her thoughtful explorations of Indigenous identity, contemporary politics and pop culture in this collection of personal reflections on life as a Native woman in 21st-century America.

• Native Enough

  O'Leary, Nina,

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  Cherokee photographer O'Leary interviewed and took portraits of Indigenous students from a variety of tribes and backgrounds at the University of Minnesota Morris and Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.

• Iwígara

  American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions and Science

  Salmón, Enrique, 1958-

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  Rarámuri (Tarahumara) ethnobotanist Salmón delves into the traditional medicinal and ceremonial uses of North American plants by Indigenous peoples in this beautifully illustrated and philosophically uplifting guide.

• Shapes of Native Nonfiction

  Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers

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  Edited by Elissa Washuta (Cowlitz) and Theresa Warburton, this groundbreaking anthology collects 22 creative nonfiction works from contemporary Indigenous authors who display a wide range of approaches to the form.