Draft Version
Native American Literatures
Educational and Historical Resources
in the library
of
Dorothea M. Susag
The books listed here are made available to teachers and
others at workshops and conferences throughout the state wherever I make
presentations or “book talks.” Anyone using this list should
keep in mind that teachers may contact specific
Identifying tribal affiliations of authors and stories, I have organized the books in this list according to the following categories:
1. Picture Books, Juvenile Fiction and Non-Fiction, Biography, and Cultural Tradition (with summaries)
2. Traditional Story Picture Books and Published Collections (with summaries)
3. Montana Publications – Tribal and Others (with summaries)
4. Chapter Books - Young Adult Novels, Biographies, Plays (with summaries)
5. Novels, Short Stories, Plays
6. Collections of Traditional Stories
7. Biographies and Autobiographies – People and Their Words
8. Anthologies of Short Stories, Essays, and Poetry
9. Historical and Cultural Resources
10. Poetry
12. Literary Criticism Resources
#1 Picture Books, Juvenile Fiction and Non-Fiction, Biography, and Cultural Tradition
Armstrong, Jeanette (Okanagan). Enwhisteetkwa: Walk in Water.
Summary:
These stories are set
in the mid-1800's in
Bateson-Hill, Margaret. Shota and the Star Quilt. Illustrated
by Christine Fowler. Consultant, Gloria Runs Close to Lodge.
(Oglala) Lakota text by Philomine
Lakota.
Juvenile Fiction and Cultural Tradition - Grades 2 - 6
Summary:
“Set in
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic) A Boy Called Slow. Illustrated by Rocco Baviera.
Juvenile Fiction – Grades 4 - 9
Summary: This is the story about the childhood of a boy, born to the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Sioux. He was called “Slow” until one winter when a group of Lakotas meet a Crow war party. Slow has the chance to earn his new name. “And so it was that the boy who was once called “Slow” gained the name Tatan’ka Iyota’ke, a name which is known well, for Tatan’ka Iyota’ke, means Sitting Bull–one of the greatest of all the Lakota warriors. And this is his story.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic) Crazy
Horse’s Vision. Illustrated by S.D.
Nelson.
Juvenile Historical Fiction – Grades 3 - 8
Summary: This is a story based on the life of the dedicated young Lakota boy who grew up to be one of the bravest defenders of his people. In the “Author’s Note,” Bruchac provides background of the Lakota peoples and the oral tradition and mystery that surrounded the life of Crazy Horse. Nelson’s “Illustrator’s Note” describes the influences for his paintings in this book.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic) Jim Thorpe’s Bright
Path. Illustrated by S.D. Nelson.
Juvenile Biography – Grades 3 - 8
Summary: This is the biography of the early
years of Jim Thorpe, son of a mixed-blood father (Sac and Fox) and a Pottowatomie woman. A twin, and born in Indian
Territory that would become
After three years, Charlie died of pneumonia while at school. Devastated,
Jim ran the twenty-three miles home and begged his father to let him
stay. To prevent his son from running away from school again, Pa Thorpe
sent him to Haskell in
Again a family crisis drew him running the 300 miles home. His father had
been shot in a hunting accident. Although he recovered, Pa sent his son
to another school closer to home –
The rest of the book tells of Jim’s introduction to high-jumping and
competitive football. The last three pages complete the story of the
person U.S. Congress would eventually resolve in 1999 to name “
Bruchac,
Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic).
Many Nations: an Alphabet of Native
Children’s Picture Book
Summary: Illustrated by
Robert F. Goetzl, Many Nations teaches the
alphabet while it depicts the diversity and beauty of Native American cultures
and communities. Each page begins with a different Native American
culture, or an animal, or an experience important to Native people: Anishinabe, Blackfeet, Choctaw, Dakota...Eagle,
Fox...Tuscarora,
Campbell, Maria. (French
Canadian/Cree). People of the
Juvenile History/Culture - All ages
Summary: Countering stereotypes of the romanticized Plains Indians, this book tells how Plains Indians lived, communicating the spiritual connection between all aspects of life, where “every part of life and all forms of life made up ‘the whole.’” People of the Buffalo describes the area and languages of the people, other means of communication, the traditional respect for tribal territories, Beliefs and Ceremonies, and the importance of sacred ritual, the Family, Shelter, Food, Storage and Utensils, Clothing, Transportation, and Warfare. “Today Indian people are . . . going back to their spiritual way of life. That is the most important weapon of all: to know who you are and where you come from.” (47)
Campbell,
Maria. (French Canadian/Cree). Riel’s
People: How the Metis Lived.
Juvenile History/Culture - All ages
Summary: “This book blends words and drawings to describe how the Metis lived and hunted. . . . The story culminates in the Metis rebellions of the late 1880s led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont.”
Dakota
Indians Coloring Book.
History and Culture – Children
Summary:
with text in both
Dakota and English, “the drawings in this book show how one part of the Dakota
or Sioux nation – the Eastern or Santee division – lived in the early 1800s on
the prairies and in the wooded valleys of southern
Dawavendewa, Gerald (Hopi-Cherokee). The Butterfly Dance.
Summary: “A young Hopi girl names Sihumana, or Flower Maiden, is getting ready to perform her first Butterfly Dance. . . . Even though she has practiced very hard for weeks, Sihumana is feeling nervous as she puts on the beautiful headdress her partner has made for her.” The story concludes with an explanation of The Butterfly Dance, a Glossary, The Hopi.
Erdrich, Lise.(
Picture Book K - 3
Summary: This is a collection of stories created by the author and inspired by paintings that depict the special relationships between the plains and woodland Indians and such animals as bear, deer, moose, crows, and loons. No specific nation is ever named.
Erdrich, Lise. (
Juvenile Biography - Grades 3-8
Summary:
This is a biography
of the Shoshone girl Sacagawea from age eleven when she was kidnapped by the Hitdatsa to the end of her journey with Lewis and
Erdrich, Louise (
Grades K and up
Summary:
Winner of
Smithsonian Notable Book for children, Parenting Magazine Reading Magic
Award, and Missouri Show Me Readers Award, Grandmother’s Pigeon is the
story of a family, left behind with memories and collections when their
mysterious and mystical grandmother boards a porpoise for
This is a magical story about loss and grief, about hope and recovery, and about the way memory and imagination can heal. Just as the family had let go of grandmother when she left on the porpoise, they let the pigeons go. The book addresses several significant issues: the value and necessity of grandparents in children’s lives, our need to protect the environment and endangered species, respect for all creatures’ rights to freedom, the value of concrete treasures to remind us of those who have left or died, and the truth that “what goes around comes around” in a positive way.
Erdrich, Louise(
Grades K and up
Summary: This beautifully illustrated picture
book is based on the memories of the author’s grandparents’ home and an old
stove in the
Grace, Catherine O’Neill, and Margaret M. Bruchac (Abenaki). 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving. Photographs by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson. National Geographic Society, 2001. 48 pages. ISBN: 0-7922-7027-4
Juvenile Literature and History 4th and up
Summary: “Taking a new look at Thanksgiving means putting aside the myth. It means taking a new look at history. It means questioning what we think we know. It means recovering lost voices–the voices of the Wampanoag people. True history includes the voices of all of its participants.”
Harjo, Joy. (Muskogee Creek)
The Good Luck Cat. Illustrated by Paul Lee. New York Harcourt, Inc.,
2000. ISBN: 0-15-232197-7
Children’s literature – Grades K-3
Summary: Few relationships are as sacred and close as children and their pets, whether it’s a horse or a snake, a dog or a hamster, a chicken or a sheep, a pig or a cat. Providing security and unqualified loyalty, children grieve whenever their pets are injured or lost, often suffering grief that equals the loss of another human being.
The Good Luck Cat is the story of a pet, who survives to live beyond the designated life-span of nine, for cats. The narrator herself nearly causes Woogie to lose her “eighth life” when she wants to take the cat to a powwow. Disobeying her parents, she packs the cat in the trunk of the car–in the summer. Finally, after disappearing for four nights, the narrator sings Woogie’s “favorite song” and asks “her to come home,” and the narrator sees her cat running towards her in a dream. The next morning Woogie, a little the worse for wear, is found sleeping by her empty feed dish, the meat loaf all gone. An accomplished poet and musician, this wonderful story is Harjo’s first children’s book. Told in a child’s voice, the pages sound alive in words, phrases and images.
Kreipe de
Montano, Marty (Potawatomi). Coyote in Love with a
Star. Illustrated by Tom Coffin(Potawatomi).
Summary:
“Coyote gets lonely
in the wide-open spaces of the Potawatomi Reservation in
Ortiz, Simon J.(Acoma
Non-fiction/poetry – Grades 4 - 12
Summary: This is a story from the point of view of American Indian peoples, recounting the history of European contact on the American Continent from 1492 to the present. At the end of the story, the People saw: “Black People, Chicano People/ Asian People, many White People and others/who were kept poor by American wealth and power/ The People saw that these People/ who were not rich and powerful shared/ a common life with them/ The People realized they must share /their history with them.” (23) The result of this sharing is a communal yet very personal power to overcome any debilitating conflicts. The People Shall Continue is an excellent overview for all ages of the "American" story from the tribal perspective, however, they need a background in American History to understand it.
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Smith. (Muscogee Creek) Jingle Dancer. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa
Hu.
Children’s Book – Grades K-5
Summary: “Jenna, a member of the Muscogee Nation and also of Ojibway descent, is a child centered in the powwow tradition. She has watched her Grandma Wolfe jingle dance, and daily she dreams of dancing herself to the “brum, brum, brum brum of the powwow drum.”
This story demonstrates the circle of love that surrounds Jenna and the way the child completes the circle by dancing for “Great-aunt Sis, whose legs ached ...for Mrs. Scott, who sold fry bread,...for Elizabeth, who worked on her big case,...and for Grandma Wolfe, who warmed like Sun.”
The book concludes with an Author’s Note about the Creek nation, the importance of traditional story, and an explanation of the place of celebration, the jingle dress dance, and a description of the way dresses are usually made. And finally, a Glossary provides definitions for fry bread, Indian taco, powwow, and regalia (“not to be confused with costume”).
Tallchief, Maria with Rosemary Wells
(Osage). Tallchief, America’s Prima Ballerina. Illustrated by Gary Kelley.
Juvenile biography – 3 - 8
Summary: “Growing up on the Osage Indian reservation, to a full-blood father on oil-rich land, and a Scots-Irish mother, Maria proved to be a gifted pianist and dancer. Every day she practiced piano and ballet, getting better at each. When she was twelve, Maria’s father told her it was time to choose between her two loves. Maria chose ballet. It was a decision that would change not only the course of her life, but the face of classical ballet in American forever.”
Tapahonso, Luci (Navajo). Songs of Shiprock Fair. Illustrated by Anthony Chee Emerson Walnut, CA: Kiva Publishing, 1999. 30 pages. ISBN: 1-885772-11-4
Juvenile Poetry - Picture Book K-6
Summary:
“The Shiprock Fair, held annually in
Van Camp, Richard. (Dogrib Nation
from Canadian
Picture Book - Grade 3 - up
Summary: Two boys find a raven in their garage. Like many boys their age, they start to play with it, try to catch it and to beat it with hockey sticks. They don’t see anything wrong because ravens “get into [their] garbage and spread it all over the street.” But a mysterious man appears who chastises them and insists they take him to their home. Their mother realizes this man has something important to say to the boys, and so the whole family listens to “what the stranger” with “long black hair and huge eyes” has to say.
Mysterious and magical, this is a growing-up story. The boys realize why they must respect Raven and not abuse nature. And when the stranger is gone, he leaves behind this lesson and “the thunder of wings.”
Wheeler, Bernelda (Cree/Saulteaux).
A Friend Called ‘Chum’. Illustrated by Andy Stout.
ISBN: 0-919143-13-X
Juvenile Fiction K-4
Summary: A Friend Called ‘Chum’ is the story of a little girl who mistreats her dog and ignores her cats when she has a bad morning and nearly misses the school bus. Through a dream where her “small dog, chum,” saves her life, Marji May learns to appreciate him.
Wheeler, Jordan (Cree). Just a Walk. Illustrated by
Bill Cohen (Okanagan).
Children’s Book K-2
Summary: One day Chuck decides to take a walk and loses all track of time. His imagination takes him flying with a hawk, falling in a river, riding with a fish, floating on a cloud – and more. Eventually he returns home to a very worried mother because he’s been gone all day. He responds, “I’m okay, Mom. I just went for a walk.” The story is told twice in rhyming couplets, with the second time without color and a blank for the second rhyming word – just so children can tell and illustrate the story themselves.
Yolen, Jane. Encounter. Illustrated by David Shannon.
Juvenile Fiction - Grades 3 and up
Summary:
A Taino Indian boy on the
#2 Traditional Story Picture Books and Published Collections
Ahenakew, Freda. How the Mouse Got
Brown Teeth. (Cree) Illustrated by George Littlechild. ISBN 0-920079-40-7
Picture Book - K and up
Summary:
From the Preface:
“This is a student story which was written in an intermediate Cree course at
Ahenakew, Freda. How the Birch Tree
Got Its Stripes. (Cree) Illustrated by George Littlechild. ISBN 0-920079-38-5
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: This is the story of the Cree Trickster/Transformer, Wisahkecahk, who wants to test his endurance beyond common sense. After catching ducks, he prepares them for eating and then asks two birch trees to hold him away from the ducks to see how long he can go without eating. Among other lessons, the story communicates the dangers of too much pride.
Bahti,
Mark.
Summary:
“Many of the pueblos
of
Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote
Story. (Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes)
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: This book is the center of the Fire History Project, a website, interactive DVD, and storybook program available to all. Beaver Steals Fire is a story for all ages, an illustrated creation story, about the origin and nature of things. Germaine White and David Rockwell, project creators, are trusting teachers who use this material to respect the tradition of the culture. Stories are told only in the winter when animals sleep.
Notes from a presentation about the project:
Fire was a gift to humans. Animals needed to make this earth fit for people. Fire and our use of fire is exhibited in a collision of cultures.
Europeans and fire - view it as destructive, so the connection is bad
Indians and fire - view it as rebirth and a means of land management. Fire was used as the center of the cultural experience - the ancient cultural landscape. When fire was excluded, plants necessary for survival couldn’t grow. Many place names refer to fire. Problems occurred when there was an early suppression of native burning.
The interactive DVD will show how native peoples used fire in the northern
The website, still under construction: www.cskt.org/trlfire_firehistoryproject.htm
To order the DVD, contact dxn3365@blackfoot.net
Big Crow, Moses Nelson.(Lakota) Hoksila
and the Red
Summary: According to the storyteller, this is a story passed down from generation to generation and changing with each telling. The story begins when a Lakota grandmother takes her grandson to the place where he will wait for a vision because he is looking for guidance and wisdom to kill the red buffalo with the “big ugly black spots” and to rescue his wife and the other women who have been captured. This is a story of adventure, bravery, spiritual and physical growth, and personal responsibility for the community.
Big Crow, Moses Nelson.(Lakota) A Legend From
Crazy Horse Clan. Chamberlain,
Summary: Legendary Tashia Grupa (Meadowlark) and her baby raccoon are left behind after a buffalo stampede scatters their camp. Befriended by a buffalo calf, Tashia becomes a member of the Buffalo Nation. Years later, warriors find and take her with them. The story communicates the Lakota tradition of accepting strangers into a clan or community, the problems for individuals who must live between two cultures or ways, and it shows how even the youngest children are taught to respect and to express gratitute to Wakan-Tanka, the Great Mystery, who brings every new day.
Brass, Eleanor (Cree). Medicine
Boy and other Cree Tales.
Grades - late primary and up
Summary: In this collection of twenty-six stories, Eleanor Brass explains the legendary culture hero figure, Wesuketchuk. The collection includes creation stories, stories which reflect the influence of the French language and culture, some more contemporary stories, and stories featuring Wesuketchuk. Although all the stories communicate traditional values, some close with the essential teaching of the story: to always listen to warnings, to remember to think of others, to never be greedy and neglect responsibilities, and to be grateful for all gifts on earth. Students from all grade levels can appreciate these stories.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). Between Earth and Sky:
Legends of Native American Sacred Places. Illustrated
by Thomas Locker.
Picture Book - Grades 2 and up
Summary:
“Western culture speaks
of four directions. Native American cultures throughout the continent
recognize seven. There are the cardinal directions of East, South, West,
and North, directions that correspond to our life cycle of birth, youth,
adulthood, and the time of being an elder, respectively. Then there are
the directions of Earth and Sky. . . . The Seventh Direction . . . is the
direction within us all, the place that helps us see right and wrong and
maintain the balance by choosing to live in a good way. Each story ends
with the name of the Native tribe from which the story originated: Wampanoag,
Seneca, Navajo, Cherokee, Papago,
Bruchac, James and Joseph Bruchac.(Abenaki/Slavic). Native American Games and Stories. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2000. 84 pages ISBN: 1-55591-979-0
Summary: Native American Games is separated into types of games: Ball Games and Team Sports, Bowl Games and Other Games of Chance, Games of Skill, Hoop Games, and Awareness Games. The collection includes relevant traditional stories (with tribal origins) and illustrated directions for playing the games.
Bruchac, Joseph.(Abenaki/Slavic). Native American Stories Told by Joseph Bruchac. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1991. 145 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-094-7
Summary: This is the collection of stories from Keepers of the Earth, with a Foreword by N. Scott Momaday and illustrated by John Kahionhes Fadden.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet. Illustrated
by Thomas Locker.
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: In this companion to Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back, Joseph Bruchac has told twelve stories of the living earth seen from the sky. Each story ends with an acknowledgment of the story’s tribal source: Mohawk, Pima, Winnebago, Lenape, Chumash, Lakota, Navajo, Pawnee.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). The
First Strawberries.
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: This is a Cherokee story, retold by Abenaki storyteller, Joseph Bruchac, with water color illustrations by Anna Vojtech. The story begins the way so many legends begin: “Long ago...” It is a story of a couple who married and lived happily for a long time until one day they quarreled because the husband’s words hurt his wife, and she left, saying “I will live with you no longer.” Her husband feels sorry and follows her, but he can’t catch up to her. She doesn’t stop to pick the first gifts of the Sun: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. But when she sees the strawberries in the warmth of the Sun, she remembers her happiness with her husband and stops to pick the berries for him. Her husband approaches her and says, “Forgive me for my hard words,” and she shares the berries with him. “So it was that strawberries came into the world.” The story teaches about the importance of respect for others and about gifts of the earth.
Bruchac, Joseph and Gayle
Ross. The
Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native
Summary: From the Introduction by Gayle Ross: “Of all the misconceptions and misunderstandings perpetuated about native peoples, the role of women in traditional cultures is perhaps the most falsely portrayed. . . . Though the survival of the tribe often sharply defined the roles of both men and women, the balance that existed between the sexes was as important as the harmony between the people and the world in which they lived. . . . And so we offer these stories both to honor the generations of grandmothers who have gone before us and to reach the daughters and granddaughters who will come after.” Each of the four sections (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest), with four stories in each, is prefaced with an explanation of the tribal backgrounds and focus of the stories.
Long Standing Bear Chief. (Blackfoot) Yellow Shirt & Black Necklace. Browning, MT: Spirit Talk Press, The Blackfoot Nation, 1996. ISBN: 0-9635148-9-X 13 pages
Summary: This is the story of an honor given to Meadow Lark. The story of the gift of the yellow shirt and black necklace “is to remind us that kindness is remembered for a long, long time. The gift of kindness is always rewarded.”
Caduto, Michael J., and Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki), eds. Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1988, 208 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-027-0
Summary: Keepers of the Earth is the flagship book in a series. It provides illustrated stories from various tribal orientations, together with a Teacher’s Guide and a list of other resources. Many of the classroom activities inspire environmental awareness. Although the series aims at the primary through intermediate levels, any of the books works well in secondary classes because individuals of any age can identify with the characters in the stories.
Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1994. 265 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-186-2
Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1991. 265 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-088-2
Keepers of the Night: Native American Stories and Nocturnal Activities for Children. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1994. 146 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-177-3
Native American Gardening: Stories, Projects and Recipes for Families. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1996. 157 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-148-X
Medicine Crow, Joe
(Crow).
Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird. Illustrated by Linda R. Martin (Navajo).
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: “Every spring a great big monster climbs out of the lake and up the cliff to steal the mother Thunderbird’s young chicks. This year she is determined to save them, but she needs human help. So she snatches up Brave Wolf while he is out hunting and carries him to her nest, where he comes up with a plan. First, he says, ‘I want to build a fire.’ And then, ‘I’ll need some nice round rocks.’ When the water monster arrives to attack the nest this year, he is greeted by more than just chicks at the top of the cliff.”
“The thunderbird invited all the birds of the country to come have a big feast. They came and ate the monster – ate it all up!”
The end of the book includes an explanation of the thunderbird in the Crow culture, a Glossary of Crow Words, and some history and photographs of the Crow people.
For other “Tales of the People” series books: www.abbeville.com
Moore, Marijo
(Cherokee). The Ice Man: A Traditional Native American Tale. (Cherokee).
Picture Book - K and up
Summary:
In the
Moore, Marijo
(Cherokee). The Cherokee Little People: a Native American Tale.
(Cherokee).
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: When a Cherokee couple’s corn crop grows too big for them to harvest it themselves, Tooni, the husband, goes for help. While he is gone, the crows threaten to eat all the corn. Worried and waiting, Polly has dreams that the Cherokee Little People have helped them. The next morning they see the harvested corn. So Polly makes many small moccasins and cornbread for the Little People who helped them.
Moore, Marijo
(Cherokee). First Fire.
Picture Book - K and up
Summary: This is the story of how the animals tried to bring fire from a “little green island” because the world was so very cold. Although several try, no one succeeds until Water Spider brings back one little burning coal which grew into a “glowing fire that seemed to light up the world.” In the end, the animals gather around the fire and share stories.
Otokahekagapi (First
Beginnings) Sioux Creation Story. Transcribed
and Illustrated by Thomas E. Simms. Chamberlain, SD: Tipi Press,
Paul-Dene,
Simon (Cree). I Am The Eagle Free (Sky Song).
Summary:
Color illustrated
and told by
Ross, Gayle (Cherokee). How
Rabbit Tricked Otter and Other Cherokee Trickster Stories.
Summary: Fifteen traditional stories by the leading storytellers that follow the adventures of Rabbit, the Cherokee trickster/transformer. “Traditional manners and morals, culture, and spirituality are lightly woven into the selections.” Gayle Ross is a direct descendant of John Ross, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation during the infamous “Trail of Tears.”
Te Ata. (Chickasaw) Baby Rattlesnake.
Adapted by Lynn Moroney and Illustrated by
Mira Reisberg.
Summary: Lynn Moroney, and Oklahoma storyteller, received permission to tell and publish this story from ninety-two-year old Chickasaw, Te Ata, who has been telling stories across the country and in Europe for sixty-five years.
Baby Rattlesnake is a story that teaches a lesson–the consequences of getting “something before you’re ready for it.” Wanting a rattle of his own, just like all the big snakes, Baby Rattlesnake keeps all the people awake with his crying. So they decide to give him a small one, knowing it will get him into trouble teach him a lesson. Baby Rattlesnake loses his rattle and sorrowfully returns to his loving family. This is like the story of the Prodical Son. Even after he has rejected the advice of his parents, he is welcomed home in the end. It is a story about the impulsiveness of youth, the wisdom of elders, the value of forgiveness, and the importance of learning lessons for ourselves.
Thunder Hawk,
Picture Book - Grade 2 - up
Summary: If we’re lucky, the lessons we learn might result from less than serious consequences. The Lesson of the Feather is that kind of story. It features two boys and their grandfathers: Star, a ten-year-old Lakota boy, who lived in a small band led by his grandfather Stone; and Legs, the grandson of grandfather Lizard, of the animal people who live in the surrounding canyons’ “caves and crevices.” The Lesson of the Feather is a story that will make you laugh while it teaches, softly, that children should respect tradition and the wisdom of their elders. Again, this growing-up story demonstrates the tradition that children can learn how to behave from listening to stories; if not, they will learn from experiences natural consequences.
White, Ellen (Coastal Salish/Kwalsulwut). Kwulasulwut:
Stories from the Coast Salish.
Summary: Written in memory of White’s grandmother, Mary Rice, “who never tired of telling us her stories,” this collection includes five stories. In each story demonstrate the ways the weak and small can help the strong, the ways individuals can overcome fears and learn from those who are different, the values of respect for all of nature and for the needs and feelings of others, negative consequences of selfishness and rewards of generosity.
#3
Allen, Minerva (
Summary:
Allen welcomes both
Native and non-Native teachers and students to use these little books.
Most represent traditional stories told by elders, but some are based on
historical events. Although they are Basal Readers for teaching
the
-----. “Bandit the Racoon.”
(
This story may be used at all levels to teach about the problems individuals
experience when they live in one culture and misunderstand the rules of the
alien culture. The story also may be used to teach about the way individuals
are judged by their appearance. Like all of Allen’s Bilingual Readers,
the text is written in both
-----. “Chinook Winds.” (
This is story about the origin of warm winter winds and the way the elements of earth respond to the needs of human beings, especially when humans respect and revere their power.
-----. “Inktomi Goes
Visiting.” (
Inktomi--Iktomi in the Nakota dialect--the Indians’ brother is also a brother to all the animals and birds. Because he is wise and cautious, he observes the behavior of his little brothers, the snakes, and does not eat the meat they have poisoned.
-----. “Pretty Flower.” (
This is a story about the origin of the sunflower and the intimate and interdependent relationship between human beings and things of the earth.
----. “The Fat Pig.” (Gros Ventre)
This story teaches the consequences of selfishness.
-----. “School Days at Big Warm.”
(
“School Days” represents a positive experience in the acculturation of Indian children. It takes place in the mid 1900's when children traveled by horse, cars and wagons to a one-room day school with no electricity. The children bring their own lunches, play games and put on a play for Christmas. “It was a happy school.”
-----. “Selling Wood in Lodgepole.” (
In a more contemporary story, a young boy, whose family sells wood for a living, demonstrates his responsibility to help his family without being told. Although the family lives in the country outside a town, they still participate in the local market economy.
-----. “The Little Rat & The Big Rat.” (Gros Ventre)
This story teaches the negative consequences of refusing to help a relative or friend in need.
-----. “The Rat and the Cat.” (Gros Ventre)
A little rat frightens the bigger rats when he plays a trick on them. But the little rat also learns what it feels like to be chased and frightened himself. He later learns, “I will not play that trick on the rats!
-----. “Vanishing Braves.”
(
Lost braves are found when a grandmother shows a brave how to use medicine to turn trees into missing braves. The story teaches the importance of spiritual power, and the wisdom of elders and their concern for their community.
Allen, Minerva (
Allen, Minerva (
Summary: “Minerva Allen’s poetry is an honest perception of Indian America. She uses her poetic power and her creative insight to allow us to look upon the lives and events of the Native American in a whole new light.” Ardy Clarke
A Brief
History of the Flathead Tribes.
Bull Shows, Harry (Crow). Legends of Chief Bald Eagle. As told to Hap
Gilliland.
Summary: In the introduction, Harry Bull Shows tells Hap Gilliland that he has decided to tell these stories “so our children will have them.” Gilliland has made every effort to keep the language as Harry Bull Shows used it, a free translation from the beautiful Crow. Although the English may not sound appropriate, Gilliland believes it is most appropriate since it is closer to the Crow language.
Illustrated by Harvey King and George Shields Jr., and produced by the
Curriculum Development Project of the Fort Belknap Education Department, these
stories represent personal accounts of
Belle Highwalking - The Narrative of a
Summary:
At seventy-nine
years, the half-sister of John Stands in Timber told Katherine Weist the remembered stories she had heard and lived in on
the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Those reservation years brought
dramatic change to the
Comes at Night, George (Blackfeet/Flathead). Roaming Days: Warrior Stories. Browning, MT: Blackfeet Heritage Program, 1978. 67 pages.
Summary: The history and culture of the Blackfeet people are reflected in the ten short warrior stories which demonstrate the powerful influence of visionary and magical experiences the Blackfeet people have accepted as real. They are examples of the kind of stories told long ago that recount many brave deeds of Miah-wa, Mik-ka-pi, Eagle Head, First Rider, Iron Pipe, and White Quiver who were assisted by their “secret helpers.”
Feather Earring, TurnsBack, Old Coyote and Lela M. Puffer (Crow). Prairie
Legends.
Summary: In the first story, “How We Got the Great War Dance,” Red Wolf learns the dance from watching prairie chickens. In the second story, after years of separation, a “Lost Boy” returns to his camp because his parents followed the advice of a young man. In “Crow Courtship,” Sun Eagle wishes to marry beautiful Dawn Star. Although she gives him no encouragement, he persists and continues to bring her presents. One day Sioux warriors capture Dawn Star, but she risks her life to escape and return to Sun Eagle. These stories reflect the values of close observation, fortitude, commitment to a purpose, and interdependence between humans and animals.
The
Gathering. Poplar, MT:
Summary: This literary magazine includes poetry, art, stories, essays.
Gingras, Louie (Kootenai)..Coyote and Kootenai. (Kootenai)
As told to Jo Rainbolt.
Summary: During the winters when Louie was little, his grandmother would tell him these humorous stories about the oldtimers (animals) and “Coyote and his brave and silly deeds,” and about the ways “Coyote got in a lot of trouble, but Fox always got him out of it.” When Coyote misbehaves, he is often aided by his friend, Fox, who is quick to point out Coyote’s mistakes. These tales teach the value of following directions, being yourself, and showing respect for wildlife. There are also tales of how Coyote prepared the animal world for the coming of people and how he tricked and changed animals like the owl and the mosquito. The stories communicate the importance of being satisfied with who we are, what we have, and what we can do, but they also tell about the origins of animal characteristics, about natural landmarks, and about the Kootenais’ conflict with the Blackfeet.
Good Strike, The
Boy, and Joe Assiniboin (
Summary: On July 27, 1937 at Hays, Montana, The Boy told three stories which Thomas Main translated into English: “How Horses Came to the Ha’A’Ninin,” “Red Bird’s Death,” and “Chief Mountain’s Medicine.”
Ground, Mary (Blackfeet). Grass Woman Stories. Janet Bailey, editor. Browning, MT: Blackfeet Heritage Program, 1978. 59 pages
Summary:
During her
lifetime, Mary Ground, whose Indian name was Grass Woman, experienced extreme
changes in the life of Blackfeet Indians, from the travois and teepee days to
the time when the reservation was a fenced compound patrolled by
How the
Morning and Evening Stars Came to Be and Other
Summary: Three traditional Assiniboine Indian stories–one the story of the creation of the morning and evening stars, the others stories about Inktomi the trickster–offer a reflection of a sustaining culture, many of whose members live in northwestern Montana on the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations. The collection concludes with a map and a brief explanation of the history and culture of the Montana Assiniboine people.
How the
Summer Season Came and Other
Summary: “Recorded by Assiniboine storytellers and illustrated by Indian artists from the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations in northern Montana, these stories were originally intended to help educate young tribal members about their history and culture.” The collection concludes with a map and a brief explanation of the history and culture of the Montana Assiniboine people.
Huberman, Robert G., assisted by Karen Pale
Moon Huberman. Our Only Homeland: An Ecological
Look at the Land of the Gros Ventre
and
Indian Reading Series. www.nwrel.org/indianed/indianreading/ (Download free any title) Or www.nwrel.org/nwreport/2003-09/Indian.html (Available again)
Written by local Indian authors and illustrated by Indian artists from the Plains and Northwest, the series comprises 140 stories - levels K-6 for reading, but all ages can appreciate the stories. “Children have been asking questions for as long as there have been people. The Indian answered these questions in time-honored stories to show children how to live and to teach them of the world. The stories teach all children how to become real people: that they have to feel love, respect and trust, knowing the joy of caring and sharing, and be willing to help one another.” (From the flyer )
Illustrated Stories in the Series
from
How the Big Dipper and North Star Came to Be Level V Book 14
How the Summer Season Came Level IV Book 6
Duckhead Necklace and Indian Love Story Level V Book 15
Ghost Stories Level V Book 7
The Crow Level II Book 13
How the Morning and Evening Stars Came to Be Level III Book 7
Inkdomi and the
Blackfeet
School Level I Book 3
Friends Level I Book 16
Warrior People Level IV Book 21
Ghost Woman Level V Book 4
Pat Learns About Wild Peppermint Level II Book 5
Helpers Level I Book 8
Napi and the Bullberries Level II Book 17
The Lodge Journey and The Lone Pine Tree Level V Book 5
The Wild Buffalo Robe Level III Book 15
The Blacktail Dance Level III Book 3
Old Man Napi Level III Book 18
A Little Boy’s Big Moment Level I Book 18
Napi’s Journey Level IV Book 17
Memorable Chiefs Level VI (p. 23)
A Cultural Change Level VI (p. 27)
Crow
My Name is Pop Level I Book 13
Birds and People Level I Book 11
Santa Claus comes to the Reservation Level I Book 14
Tepee, Sun and Time Level II Book 14
Far Out, A Rodeo Horse Level I Book 9
Water Story Level II Book 15
End of Summer Level II Book 1
Grandma Rides in the Parade Level II Book 7
I Am a Rock Level III Book 16
Gros Ventre
Broken Shoulder Level V Book 13
How the Horses Came to the Gros Ventre,Red Bird’s Death Level V Book 17
Kootenai
How Marten Got His Spots Level III Book 4
Kootenai Stories Level IV Book 11
Little Weasel’s Dream Level IV Book 7
Tepee Making Level IV Book 19
Coyote and Trout Level III Book 10
Story of
Willie’s Tribe Level VI (p. 111)
Salish/Flathead
Coyote and the
Salish Coyote Stories Level IV Book 15
Coyote and the Man Who Sits On Top Level II Book 12
Mary Queequeesue’s Love Story Level V Book 6
One that Got Away Level VI (p. 97)
Medicine Woman Saves Flatheads from Warring Enemy Level VI (p. 101)
Philene and Buttons Level I Book 4
The Bear Tepee Level IV Book 9
The Bob-Tailed Coyote Level II Book 8
The Story of Firemaker and Little Ghost Bull Level V Book 1
Insects Off to War Level I Book 5
Long Hair Level VI (p. 73)
Sioux/Fort Peck
Sioux Stories and Legends Level IV Book 10
The Turtle Who Went to War Level III Book 19
White Rabbit Level V Book 16
Scabby Bear Level VI (p. 57)
Story About the Sun and the Moon Level VI (p. 65)
48 Additional Books from the Muckleshoot,Klamath, Modoc, and Paiute, Yakima, Burns Paiute, Skokomish, Warm Springs, Fort Hall, Coast Area, and Shoalwater Bay people and reservations
The Indian Reading Series Level I, II, III Teacher’s Manual
The Indian Reading Series Level IV Teacher’s Manual
The Indian Reading Series Level I, II, III Teacher’s Manual
The Indian Reading Series Level V Teacher’s Manual
The Indian Reading Series Level VI Teacher’s Manual
Long Standing Bear Chief (Blackfoot). Ni-Kso-Ko-Wa Blackfoot Spirituality, Traditions, Values and Beliefs. Browning, MT: Spirit Talk Press, 1992. 61 pp.
Summary: “In this book you will find answers to questions about the Indian way of life, past, present, and future. The language and style is easily acceptable to all reading levels and age groups. It is also suitable for college study, and historians will welcome the fresh insights to age-old material.”
Many Guns, Tom (Blackfeet). Pinto Horse Rider. Browning, MT: Blackfeet Heritage Program, 1979. 67 pp.
Summary: As part of an effort to preserve oral tradition and produce a history about the Blackfeet people, Tom Many Guns related the story of his life in his native language, revealing the rich cultural heritage of the Blackfeet. Excellent reading material, this collection includes legends and personal stories either experienced by Many Guns or handed down to him.
Mary Quequesah’s
Love Story: A Pend d’Oreille Indian Tale (Pend d’Oreille).
Told by Pete Beaverhead.
Summary: This publication is developed by the Salish Culture Committee, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. “In Mary Quequesah’s Love Story, a tale from the buffalo-hunting era of the nineteenth century, Mary Quequesah confronts the difficulties of love. After Mary’s husband leaves her, a wise old woman dreams of her sorrow and tells her how to win him back. Elegant woodcuts by noted Native American artist Dwight BilleDeaux accompany this intriguing story, which, while written at a fifth-grade reading level, will speak to readers of all ages.” The publication concludes with a map and a description of the tribes who people the Flathead Indian Reservation.
McDonald, W.H. (Salish) Creation
Tales from the Salish.
Summary: This collection of eight Coyote stories begins with the creation of the earth. In the first story, Amotken follows his mother’s advice, creates Coyote, and gives him power to be the special helper of “wicked” human beings “until they learn to get along.” Although Coyote is fallible and the “fool” of his pride, he uses his wits and his power from Amotken “to make the world safe for the human people.”
Napi Stories. Rides at the Door (Blackfeet), compiler, Darnell Davis. Napi Stories. Browning, MT: Blackfeet Heritage Program, 1979. 38 pages
All Blackfeet People knew of Napi, from the serious side of his creation to the foolish and spiteful deeds he performed. He could talk with all living things, and he teased and pulled pranks many times on himself and others. His actions began a cycle of existence. Although each family had their own interpretation of the various Napi stories, each has a common moral. Through these stories, it is hoped that Blackfeet children and others will begin to obtain an understanding of the Blackfeet people. Full page black and white illustrations by Blackfeet artists Barbara Gilham Aubert, Tracy Rutherford, and Kenny Doore accompany the stories.
Old
Coyote, Elnora (Crow)
and Jon Reyner. Teepees are Folded - a Book of Indian
Poetry.
Owl’s Eyes & Seeking a Spirit –
Kootenai Indian Stories. (Kootenai)
Summary:
“These Kootenai
Indian stories were recorded by Kootenai elders and illustrated by Kootenai
artists from the Flathead Indian Reservation in western
Recollections of
Summary:
Personal accounts
of elders reflecting an era of “great change and transition in
Salish Coyote Stories. (Salish).
Summary:
“Here are
traditional Salish Indian coyote stories, recorded by Salish elders and
illustrated by Indian artists from the Flathead Indian Reservation in western
Salish/Pend D’Oreille Coyote Stories. (Salish/Pend d’Oreille). Salish Flathead Culture Committee of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, 1981. 79 pp.
Summary: Compiled by Clarence Woodcock, Director of the Flathead Culture Committee, this collection of stories is used in a Native American Studies class and is available in the Salish/Kootenai College Bookstore. Several stories resemble Mourning Dove’s Coyote Stories, but nothing has been edited from these--they are transcribed from the tellings of contemporary tribal elders. Consequently, they are best taught by teachers who are very familiar with Salish and Pend D’Oreille culture and storytelling tradition.
Spirit Talk. Volume 1, Number 1, Summer 1994. Browning, MT: Spirit Talk Press. 44 pp.
Summary:
Long Standing Bear
Chief Mii-sa-mii-pai-poi-ii Nii-nohk Kyi-yo(Blackfoot) is the publisher of this first edition of
a new quarterly magazine. This volume begins with a message from the
publisher wherein he defines the title, philosophy, intended audience, and his
welcome for readers: to “a magazine in celebration of Indian culture. May
you always walk in a sacred manner and in beauty.”
Glossy color photos by Layout and
Spirit Whispers III and IV: St.
Ignatius Anthology of Student Writing.
Sta-Al-TSA-Nix-SIN: Ghost Stories.(Blackfeet) Browning, MT: Blackfeet Heritage Program, 1979. 47 pp.
Summary: This collection includes various Blackfeet storytellers: Bill Big Springs, Sr., Louie Fish, Tom Found A Gun, Francis Potts, Annie Short Robe Running Crane, Mike Swims Under, Dave Wells, and Vernon No Runner, Illustrator. Told and heard in different cultures throughout the world and centered around incidents or experiences that are true but cannot be easily explained, Ghost Stories such as these are universal. These are stories told in the winter; in contemporary Blackfeet life, they are told primarily for entertainment and for social control. To traditional Blackfeet, they were told to reinforce Blackfeet religious beliefs, to explain events that were forewarned, and to link the known with the unknown. These stories are a part of Blackfeet culture that is still intact.
Stories By Our Elders: The Fort Belknap People. (Gros Ventre\Assiniboine) Minerva Allen, ed. Hays, MT: Hays/LodgePole Title IV Program, 1983. Illustrated by Frank Cuts The Rope and John D. Doney, this collection includes hirty-five illustrated stories told by Jenny Gray, Hank Chopwood, Lucille Chopwood, Wallace Chopwood, Vernie Bell, Estelle Blackbird, George Shields, Dora Helgeson, Theresa Lamebull, and Andrew Lamebull.
Useful at
all levels, these stories, which may be read or told, communicate traditional
values: the importance of generosity, of personal sacrifice, of ingenuity and
courage, of natural beauty, and of trusting in the power of medicine. In
some stories, characters like Iktomni play
jokes on others, but the stories also warn listeners to watch out for those who
might deceive or hurt them. Several stories recreate actual events in the
life of the
Tall Bull, Henry (
Summary:
In this
contemporary story,
-----.Cheyenne
Legends of Creation.
Summary: The Introduction to this collection suggests these stories may represent the “oldest surviving form of oral literature known to man.” The stories begin with Maheo, the Creator, turning mud into dust to make the “earth we walk on.” These stories teach about the interdependent relationship between human beings and the animals, and between human beings and their environment. The stories also teach the importance of ritual and ceremony for the perpetuation of the good life.
-----.Cheyenne
Warriors.
Summary: The stories of six 19th-century Cheyenne Warriors and their battles, as told by those who participated in these events, are recounted in this collection Although the names may not sound familiar to those who are not Cheyenne, these men represent the character and bravery which Cheyenne people today still admire and honor.
----.Grandfather
and the Popping Machine.
Summary:
Without taking one
driving lesson, old man Raven buys the first Ford owned by a
-----.The
Rolling Head.
Summary: Several plains tribes have tales about the rolling head, and in his Introduction to the story, Hap Gilliland tells how this tale is still told today.
-----.The Spotted Horse.
Summary:
This is the story
of a
-----.The Winter Hunt.
Summary: This short collection relates three stories which teach the values of wisdom, courage, bravery, and commitment to relatives. In the first story, Little Thunder’s father returns home with frostbitten feet and no game. Little Thunder decides he must do the hunting so his family can eat. The wolf helps him find the buffalo; and when Little Thunder returns to camp, the medicine man tells him that the wolf is now his medicine: “he is wise, able to take care of himself, and knows how to surprise his enemies.”
The Turtle
Who Went to War and Other Sioux Stories. (Sioux).
Historical Society Press in cooperation with the Fort Peck Assiniboine and
Sioux Tribes, 2003. 51 pp. ISBN:0-917298-95-0
Summary: “These traditional stories, illustrated by Indian artists, have been handed down for generations among the Sioux. Made available in cooperation with the Fort Peck Tribal Library, they reveal a world in which animals, spirits, and humans are deeply intertwined. Although written in clear, easy to understand language, these are not children’s stories, but stories from a vibrant, particular culture.” The collection concludes with a map and description of the Fort Peck Sioux.
Van Ahnen and Joan Azure Young
Bear. Charlie Young Bear.
Summary:
This story is based
on an 1955 incident in
#4 Chapter Books - Young Adult Novels, Biographies, Play
Achimoona. (Canadian
Cree/French). Introduction by Maria Campbell.
Grades 3 and up
Summary: Achimoona, which means “stories” in Cree, is a collection of tales by Native writers: Jordan Wheeler, Wes Fineday, Harvey Knight, and others. The stories are full of magic and music, ranging from realism to fantasy, adventure to allegory, set in the present but replete with echoes of the past. . . . In her introduction, Maria Campbell tells young readers about the changing role of storytellers in Native society, and of their continuing importance as teachers and historians.
With stories complemented by full-color reproductions of works by Native artists, including Allen Sapp, Gerald McMaster, Michael Lonechild, and others. Achimoona is an “Our Choice” selection of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
Bruchac,
Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic) Arrow
Over the Door. Illustrated
by James Watling.
Juvenile Fiction - Chapter Book – Grades 4 - 9
Summary:
“For young Samuel Russell,
the summer of 1777 is a time of fear. The British army is approaching and
the Indians in the area seem ready to attack. To Stand Straight, a young Abenaki Indian scouting for King George, Americans are
dangerous enemies and a threat to his family and home. When Stands
Straight’s party enters the Quaker Meetinghouse where Samuel worships, the two
boys share an encounter that neither will ever forget. Told in
alternating viewpoints, The Arrow over the Door is based on a true
story.” From the “Author’s Note:” . . . a tale of a group of hostile
Indians coming to the Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse in nearby Easton, New York,
during the Revolutionary War, seeing that the people gathered there were people
of peace, and being so moved that they embraced them as friends. That
story from what in 1777 was called “
Bruchac,
Joseph (Abenaki). Code
Talker.
Young
Adult Novel - Grades 6 and up
Summary: This is a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II, told from the perspective of Ned Begay, a fictional young Navajo, who wants to join the “cause – especially when he hears that Navajos are being specifically recruited by the Marine Corps.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic) Eagle
Song. Illustrated by Dan Andreasen.
Juvenile Fiction – Grades 3 - 8
Summary:
When Danny Bigtree’s mother is offered a job as social with the
American Indian Community House in
In the fourth grade and in a new school, Danny feels alone, different from the rest. When Danny’s father is home, he makes them laugh with stories and jokes, and he teaches Danny about his heritage: the Mohawk clan system; the importance of women in their culture; the importance of the eagle and the Peace Hymn or Eagle’s Song; and the story of Aionwahta (Hiawatha) and Peacemaker who formed the plan for a Great League of Peace, the plan that had impressed Benjamin Franklin as he considered what form the government of the colonies would take.
One day, Richard Bigtree comes to Danny’s class as a guest speaker, to tell the story of Peacemaker. At recess the next day, someone calls him “Hiawatha,” and a basketball thrown at Danny hits him square in the face and causes a serious bloody nose.
In the end, Danny’s father helps him gain the courage he needs to try to make peace with the class bully.
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki).
Children of the Longhouse.
Summary: This is a story of the Mohawk, The Flint Nation, one of the Six Iroquois Nations which were organized under The Great Law of Peace, the forerunner of the United States Constitution. Ohkwa’ri and Otsi:stia are eleven-year-old twins, at home in a Flint Nation village in the late 1400's.
The children learn the ways of their people through historical and sacred story, while they work and play beside their elders. But they also come into conflict with an older group of boys after Ohkwa’ri overhears their plans of war against a people who had once made slaves of the Mohawk people.
As Ohkwa’ri and Otsi:stia Change and Grow, they learn about the importance of peace and the obligation of all people to give thanks for all gifts. They learn to respect the elders and the powerful role women and men hold in maintaining peace, and they learn about the ways to avoid conflicts.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). Pushing Up the Sky: Seven
Native American Plays for Children.
Grades 3 - 7
Summary:
“Bruchac has adapted seven traditional tales from Native
peoples around
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). Sacajawea.
Juvenile Historical Fiction Grades 4-12
Summary:
“Told in alternating
points of view–by Sacajawea herself and by William Clark–and including
authentic excerpts from
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/lewisclark/1998/sakakindex.html
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki/Slavic). Turtle
Meat and Other Stories.
Short Stories Grades 9-12 (Roots and Branches 146)
Summary:
Rendering laughter,
insight, tears, and the absolute certainty that dreams are real, all of the
stories in Turtle Meat are short enough to be read aloud–or told–and
teachers may easily use them in combination with science, social studies, and
other literature and writing activities. Some of the seventeen stories
are traditional, and a few occur in historical settings and situations, such as
eighteenth century
Carlson, Lori Marie, ed. Moccasin
Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today.
Grades 9 & up
Summary: This is an amazing collection of fine stories with teens or young adults as protagonists. The authors include: Joy Harjo, Sherman Alexie, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Richard Van Camp, Linda Hogan, Joseph Bruchac, Louise Erdrich, Greg Sarris, Lee Francis, and Susan Power. While some of the stories can easily appeal to middle-school children, others deal with sensitive issues such as gender identity, sexual abuse, and drug abuse, and teachers will want to select materials based on the particular needs of their students, as well as their communities.
Carvell, Marlene. Sweetgrass
Basket.
Juvenile Fiction/Historical Fiction Grades 7-12
Summary: “In prose poetry and alternating voices, award-winning author Marlene Carvell weaves a heartbreakingly beautiful story based on the real-life experiences of Native American children. Mattie and Sarah are two Mohawk sisters sent to an off-reservation school after the death of their mother. Subject to intimidation and corporal punishment, with little hope of contact with their father, the girls are taught menial tasks to prepare them for life as domestics. How Mattie and Sarah protect their culture, memories of their family life, and their love for each other under this forced assimilation makes for a powerful, unforgettable historical novel.”
Marlene Carvell received her master of Fine Arts
degree from the
Charbonneau, Eileen (Cherokee). The Ghosts of Stony Clove.
Young Adult Historical Fiction Grades 7-12
Summary: “Stony Clove, a little town snuggled in a rugged mountain pass, was cleared and farmed by Dutch settlers one hundred years ago. It was rumored amongst the townsfolk that the solid rock of the area had been forged by the Devil himself, who, in a fury, had fashioned it after his own cleft foot.” “A fine first novel, written around a historical 18th-century tragedy and its attendant ghost stories. An adventure with ghosts: but best a satisfying love story.” Pointer, Kirkus Reviews
Charbonneau, Eileen (Cherokee). In the Time of Wolves.
Young Adult Fiction Grades 7-12(Roots and Branches 149)
Summary:
Living
between the worlds of “heathen” and Catholic, Native, French, and Dutch
ancestry, fourteen-year-old Joshua and his family face discrimination and
conflicts throughout the summer of 1824, when they trust the prediction that it
will be a year without summer. Charbonneau explains in the “Author’s
Notes” that in 1816 a killing frost occurred in every month of the year, with
snowstorms in July and August. Scientists believe it was caused by the
eruption of
Deloria, Ella Cara (Yankton Sioux). Waterlily.
Fiction Grades 7 and up
Summary:
First written in
1944, this mid-nineteenth-century novel provides insight into the traditional
Dakota customs, rituals, and values of the
Dorris, Michael (Modoc). Morning Girl.
Juvenile Fiction – Grades 3-7
Summary: In alternating
chapters--and in separate voices, Michael Dorris
creates the lives of two Taino children on a Bahamian
island in 1492. Twelve-year-old Morning Girl is “always doing things in
her dreams, swimming or searching on the beach for unbroken shells or figuring
out a good place to fish.” Star Boy, her brother, sees “everything so
upside down from [her].” At the end, they welcome “the strangers
[Columbus and his men]. With dramatic irony, Dorris
closes his story of Morning Girl and Star Boy with an excerpt from one of
Christopher Columbus’ letters to the King and Queen of
Dorris, Michael. (Modoc) Sees Behind Trees.
Juvenile Fiction - Grades 4 - 9
Summary: Sees Behind Trees was listed as A School Library Journal Best Book, A Publishers Weekly Best Book, and A Book Links Best Book of 1996. “No matter how hard he tries, nearsighted Walnut just can’t earn his adult name the way other boys do, by hitting a target with a bow and arrow. With his highly developed other senses, however, he shows he can “see what can’t be seen” and earns a new name: Sees Behind Trees.” “Set in sixteenth-century America, this richly imagined and gorgeously rite-of-passage story has the gravity of legend . . . Dorris once again demonstrates that he is a brilliant and deeply humane writer whose words can show you something you have never seen.” Booklist (starred review)
Dorris, Michael. (Modoc) The Window.
Juvenile Fiction - Grades 6 - 9
Summary: The Window was listed as a 1998 Notable Book for the
Global Society and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, as well as
a Horn Book Fan Fare Book for 1998. This is not typical young adult
fiction, where vocabulary and images are often simplified for less mature
readers. Written in vividly crafted prose, Dorris
tells the story of Rayona, an eleven-year-old girl –
half Black, she believes, and half Indian – whose mother is placed in a
month-long rehabilitation program in
After two foster situations that don’t work out, Rayona’s often absent African-American father decides to fly her to Louisville, Kentucky, to stay with relatives she has never met – his Irish mother, aunt, and grandmother. Through a series of “windows,” both literal and metaphorical, enlightening and painful, Rayona learns to accept herself, her mixed heritage, and the love of her extended family.
Eastman, Charles A. (Santee
Sioux). Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains.
Biography
Summary: An important alternative to many popular biographies of Native American warriors and leaders, this collection from the Native perspective provides sensitive, and sometimes first-hand, stories of fifteen Plains leaders. (Roots and Branches 155)
Erdrich, Louise (
Young Adult Novel - Grades 6 and up
Summary: Louise Erdrich’s first novel for young readers, and the first book she has illustrated herself, The Birchbark House was inspired by Erdrich and her mother’s research into their own family history.
The novel begins with the discovery of a baby girl, the only Anishinabe who survived a smallpox epidemic on a small
island at the southern tip of
But this happy cycle of events is tragically interrupted when a weak man enters their camp and dies of smallpox the next day. Members of the community begin to fall ill, they are separated, and Omakayas’ grandmother is the one who moves in to take care of them, and Omakayas survives the epidemic.
In The Birtchbark House Erdrich’s strong poetic voice and her knowledge of the cultural ways of the early Ojibwa people create a vivid experience in place and time. Incorporating traditional stories, as told by the grandmother, with historical experiences, and traditional ways, many Ojibwa terms that are defined within the text, it is a good novel for young people.
Erdrich, Louise (
Novel Grades 6 and up
Summary: A sequel to The Birchbark House, with maps and Ojibwe Language vocabulary at the end. This is the story of a nine-year-old Omakayas who moves West with her family in 1849. The Game of Silence has received the 2005 Scott O’dell Award for Historical Fiction.
Hale, Janet Campbell (
Young Adult Novel Grades 7 and up
Summary:
As a child on the reservation
in
Lowie, Larry (Cree) with
Constance Brissenden. Illustrated
by Heather D. Holmlund.
Juvenile Biography Grades 4 - 8
Summary: “At the beginning of the summer of 1944, ten-year-old Lawrence overhears the adults talking about the school he will be attending in the fall. A priest will gather up the children and take them far away to a school where they will live in dormitories and learn English. If the parents resist or try to hide the children, they will be arrested.
Like other First Nations children, he learned through observation, practice, stories and ceremonies and gained the skills needed to survive, as well as the values, language and history that enabled them to pass on their heritage.
An epilogue describes the fate of children like Lawrence who were forcibly taken from their families and put in government-sponsored residential schools.
McNickle, D’Arcy (Salish/Metis). Runner in the Sun.
Grades 6 and up
Summary: Salt, a young Indian boy, is sent on a long journey southward in search of some “unknown” that will save his people, who are threatened by poverty, drought, and discord from within.(Roots and Branches 169)
Monture, Joel (Mohawk). Cloudwalker: Contemporary Native American
Stories. Illustrated by
ISBN: 1-55591-225-7
Juvenile Fiction - Grades 3 -8
Summary: With an introduction about the impact of culture contact on Native people and children who are “straddling two cultures,” this book features six contemporary short stories and a glossary. “These stories are about life and loss, creativity and destruction. They are from the point of view of native children, who themselves are learning about their worlds, which seem to rush at greater speeds.”(Monture)
“What happens when Virgil, a Mohawk boy, walks on a high beam, trying to
imitate his father? Louis, a Cree, never thought he would be building the
new family canoe after his father falls through the old one. Betty, who
is Koyukon from
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Smith. (Muscogee Creek) Indian Shoes. Illustrated by Jim Madsen.
Chapter Book Grades 2 - 8
Summary: “Indian Shoes” is the first of five
humorous and heartwarming stories about Ray and his Grampa
Halfmoon who live in
Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk(Lakota).The Chichi Hoohoo
Bogeyman.
Juvenile Fiction - Grades 4 - 8
Summary: This is the story of adventure, of loyalty to peers, of responsibilities to parents and to grandparents, of the effects of stereotypes on children, and of the strength of traditional cultural values and beliefs. When three cousins meet a strange man in the woods, they playfully name him the Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman, after hearing Uncle George tell a story about his car honking in the middle of the night. Just as many parents have used the “bogeyman” to discipline their children, the Crow have used the chedah, the Sioux people have used the chichi spirit, which represents the enemy, and the Hopi have used the hoohoo to inspire children to behave appropriately.
Sneve realistically portrays three young girls with distinct personalities and backgrounds, who come into conflict with each other, with parents and grandparents, and with the surrounding world of humans and nature. By the end of the story, they have learned the importance of responsibility, of honesty, and of compassion for those who are different.
Summary: Biographical and Pictorial Essays of 20 Dakota Leaders. “The Sioux history was an oral one and often is in conflict with the written records of white historians. Time had a different meaning to the Indian and was of lesser importance to the incidents that dramatically affected their lives. When such were reported to white historians, who then had to interpret and set dates, conflicting information was recorded. Therefore, few of the men in this book have accurately recorded birthdates, and even their deaths, most of which occurred after white men became a permanent part of their land, are often speculated. This conflict of data extends to the recorded likenesses from which the portraits in this book were drawn.” The author, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
Juvenile Fiction - Grade 4 - 8
Summary: When Thunders Spoke is
a contemporary story of Norman, a young Sioux who collects rough agates to
trade for candy at the trading post. Out of respect for his grandfather,
Eventually
The
story demonstrates the very realistic conflicts between traditional cultural
and spiritual ways and materialism, individualism, and Christianity as
expressed by his mother and the local pastor.
The non-Indian characters in the book represent stereotypes of whites who are ignorant and at times disrespectful of Indian ways. They are interested in serving their own material needs at the expense of the Indians.
Standing Bear,
Luther (Lakota). My Indian Boyhood.
Grades 3 and up
Summary: “Standing Bear details many native beliefs and interpretations, as well as the symbolism, of the things of nature that guided the very lives of the Lakota, and makes lucid many conceptions that white people have usually regarded as mere superstition because not understood.” Saturday Review of Literature
Young Adult Novel Grades 7 and up
Summary:
Written in diary
form,
Taylor, Drew Hayden(Ojibway).
Drama - Grades 7 - 12
Summary:
Obtusely echoing Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, the first play, Toronto
at Dreamer’s Rock, dramatizes the story of three boys who hold a surprise “
When Rusty goes to an age-old dreaming place on the Birch Island Reserve to drink his beer and listen to his walkman, he is suddenly joined by Keesic, a pre-contact Odawa boy, and later by Michael from 2095, an intellectual, who applies his knowledge of history and his analytical abilities to understand the other two boys.
Keesie challenges Rusty to learn and practice The Old Ways, to know the language, the rituals, the sacred ceremonies, and Michael shows both boys how very much will be lost before the people begin to recover.
When the play ends, THE audience is left with the hope that Rusty will find a way to apply The Old Ways to the problems in the future.
Education is Our Right also borrows from Charles Dickens, but in this version, the Spirits of
Education Past, Present, and Future attempt to show the minister of Indian
Affairs the error of his ways. The play was produced less than a year
after Pierre Cadieux, then the Federal Minister of
Indian and Northern Affairs in
Wallis, Velma (Athabascan). Bird Girl and the Man who Followed
the Sun: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and
Survival.
Summary:
“Rooted in the
legends of
Wallis, Velma (Athabascan). Two Old Women: An
Summary: Out of her Athabaskan heritage, through mothers and daughters, and mothers and daughters, Velma Wallis tells this story of two elderly women who are abandoned by their tribe. In the face of certain starvation, the tribal leaders decide to make a “practical” decision and leave behind where they will surely die. But the previously dependent women decide to “die trying.” And so we have a story of survival, of ingenuity, of the strength of interdependence, and finally of reconciliation with those who abandoned them. This is a powerful story that addresses problems of aging, care for the elderly, survival in nature, commitment to relatives and community, and the age-old conflict between the rights of the individual and the common good.
This chapter book can be read aloud in three hours; students can read it independently as well. The activities and questions included in the unit may easily be adapted for any grade level 5 - 12, and most can be accomplished having just listened to the story. However, teachers will need to select from the activities and questions, or adapt, what is appropriate for their grade level.
Zitkala- a
(Yankton/Dakota). American Indian Stories.
Biographical Essay and Short Stories Grades 5 and up
Scholars believe that Zitkala- a (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) was one of the first Native writers to publish
without the gloss of non-Native editors. She was born on the Yanton Reservation in 1876 to a white father and a Yankton
Dakota mother, Tate I Yohin Win (Reaches for
the Wind), from whom she learned the ways of her people. The first three
stories in this collection are the three autobiographical essays that Zitkala-Sa originally
published in 1900 in The Atlantic Monthly when she was teaching at
In American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa develops characters who play Iktomi. Using irony, the writer and her characters also outsmart the trickster to prove that her Dakota people were strong and civilized, and those who lured Indian children, with the intention of exploiting or changing them were weak and corrupt.
#5 Novels, Short Stories, Plays
Alexie,
Alexie,
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki/Slavic).
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki/Slavic). Dawnland. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1993. 317 pp. ISBN: 1-55591-134-X
Black Hawk (Sauk). Black Hawk: An
Autobiography. Donald Jackson, ed.
Campbell, Maria (Metis). Halfbreed.
Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth.(Crow Creek Sioux). The
Power of Horses and Other Stories.
Deloria, Ella Cara (Yankton Sioux). Iron
Hawk.
Dorris, Michael (Modoc). A Yellow Raft in Blue Water.
Earling, Debra Magpie (Salish/German). Perma Red.
Erdrich, LouIse (Chippewa).
Beet Queen.
Erdrich, LouIse (Chippewa).
Love Medicine.
Erdrich, Louise (Chippewa). The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.
Erdrich, Louise (Chippewa). The Master Butchers Singing Club.
Erdrich, Louise (Chippewa). Tracks.
Hale, Janet Campbell. (
Hale, Janet Campbell. (
Hogan, Linda (Chickasaw). Mean
Spirit.
Hogan, Linda (Chickasaw). Power.
King, Thomas (Cherokee). Green
Grass, Running Water.
Highway, Tomson.
(
Matheson, David (
McNickle, D’Arcy (Salish/Metis). The Hawk is Hungry and
Other Stories. Brigit Hans, ed.
McNickle, D’Arcy (Salish/Metis). The Surrounded.
McNickle, D’Arcy (Salish/Metis). Wind From an Enemy Sky.
Momaday, N. Scott (Kiowa). House Made of Dawn.
Momaday, N. Scott (Kiowa). The Way to
Rainy Mountain.
Mourning Dove (Okanagan/Colville).
Cogewea, The
Half-Blood.
Power, Susan (Sioux). The Grass
Dancer.
Seals, David
(AIM member-
Silko, Leslie (Laguna Pueblo). Ceremony.
Slapin, Beverly. Basic
Skills Caucasian Americans Workbook.
Stories of
the Road Allowance People. Translated by Maria Campbell, Paintings by Sherry Farrell Racette.
Treuer, David. (Ojibwe). Little.
Vizenor, Gerald (Ojibwe). Dead Voices:Natural Agonies in the
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). The
Death of Jim Loney.
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). The
Indian Lawyer.
Welch, James with Paul Stekler. (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). Killing Custer.
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). Fools Crow.
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). The
Heartsong of Charging Elk.
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). Winter
in the Blood.
#6 Collections of Traditional Stories
American
Indian Myths and Legends. Selected and Edited by Richard Erdoes and
Alfonso Ortiz.
Bullchild, Percy (Blackfeet). The Sun
Came Down: The History of the World as My Blackfeet
Elders Told It.
Dee Brown’s
Folktales of the Native American Retold for Our Times. Illustrated by Louis Mofsie.
Deloria, Ella Cara (Yankton Sioux). Dakota Texts. Vermillion, S.D.: Dakota Press, 1992. 142 pp. ISBN: 0-88249-025-7 (Roots and Branches 152)
Hausman, Gerald. Tunkashila:
A Mythological Saga of Native
Indian
Legends of the
Johnston, Basil. The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway.
Mourning Dove (Okanagan/Colville).
Coyote Stories.
Myths and
Traditions of the Crow Indians. Compiled
and Edited by Robert H. Lowie with an Introduction by Peter Nabokov.
Native American Legends – Southeastern
Legends: Tales from the
Pijoan, Teresa. Healers on the
Mountain and Other Myths of native American Medicine.
Standing Bear,
Luther (Lakota). Stories of the Sioux.
Stories That Make the World: Oral
Literature of the Indian Peoples of the Inland Northwest. As Told by
White Wolf Woman: Native American
Transformation Myths. Collected and retold by Teresa Pijoan.
Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) (Yankton Sioux). American
Indian Legends.
#7
Biographies and Autobiographies
– People and Their Words -
Absaalooka: The Crow Nation, Then and Now. As told through an interview
between a Crow Sun Dance leader/historian and a non-Indian historian: Lloyd G.
Mickey Old Coyote (Crow) and Helene Smith.
Bataille, Gretchen M. And Kathleen Mullen
Sands. American Indian Women Telling Their Lives.
Bennett, Ben. Death,
Too, For The-Heavy-Runner.
Bensen, Robert, ed. Children of the
Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education.
Boyer, Ruth
McDonald and Narcissus Duffy Gayton (Apache). Apache Mothers and Daughters:
Four Generations of a Family.
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki).
Roots of Survival: Native American Storytelling and the Sacred. Golden,
Cruikshank, Julie with Angela Signey, Kitty Smith, and Annie Ned (
Dancing
Colors: Paths of Native American Women. Compiled by C.J. Brafford
(Oglalla Sioux) and Laine
Thorn.
Farley, Ronnie. Women of
the Native Struggle: Portraits and Testimony of Native American Women.
H., Arthur (Ojibwe)
with George McPeek. The
Grieving Indian.
Hirschfelder, Arlene, ed. Native Heritage:
Personal Accounts by American Indians 1790 to the Present.
Horse Capture, George.(Gros Ventre). PowWow.
Horse Capture, George, ed. (Gros Ventre) and gathered by
Fred P. Gone. The Seven Visions of Bull Lodge as told by his
daughter, Garter Snake.
Jones, David E. Sanapia: Comanche Medicine Woman.
Josephy, Alvin M. Jr. and
Trudy Thomas and Jeanne Eder (Assiniboine/Sioux Tribe).
“Just Talking About Ourselves”
Voices of Our Youth.
Kipp, Woody (Blackfeet). Vietcong
at
Lame Deer, John (Fire)(Lakota) and Richard Erdoes.
Lame Deer Seeker of Visions.New York:
Linderman, Frank B. Plenty Coups: Chief
of the Crows.
Lurie, Nancy Oestreich,
ed. Mountain Wolf Woman, Sister of Crashing Thunder: The Autobiography of
a Winnebago Indian.
Marquis, Thomas, Interpreter. Wooden
Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer (
Marshall, Joseph M. III (Lakota).
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History.
McGregor, James H. The Story
of The
Medicine Crow,
Joseph (Crow). From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians’ Own Stories.
McLuhan. T.C., Touch the
Earth: A Self-Portrait of Indian Existence.
Mourning Dove (Okanagan/Colville).
Mourning Dove: A Salishan Autobiography. Ed. Jay Miller.
Nabokov, Peter, ed. Native
American Testimony: A Chronology of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy to
Present.
Nabokov, Peter, ed. Native
American Testimony: An Anthology of Indian-WhiteRelations
First Encounter to Dispossession.
Parker, Dorothy. Singing
an Indian Song: A Biography of D’Arcy McNickle (Metis/Salish).
Paul, R. Eli, ed. Autobiography
of Red Cloud: War Leader of the Oglalas.
Rappaport, Doreen. The Flight of Red
Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa.
Sevareid, Eric. Canoeing
with the Cree.
Silko, Leslie Marmon (Laguna
Pueblo) and James Wright. The Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters.
Stands in Timber,
John (
Swan, Madonna (Lakota) as
told through
Vanderwerth, W.C., comp. Indian Oratory:
Famous Speeches by Noted Indian Chieftains.
Wood, Erskine. Days
with Chief Joseph.
Zapffe, Carl A. The Man Who Live in
3 Centuries: A Biographic Reconstruction of the Life
of Kahbe nagwi wens, a Native Minnesotan.
#8 Anthologies of Short Stories, Essays, and Poetry
Anthony, Piers and Richard Gilliam,
eds. Tales From the Great Turtle: Fantasy in the
Native American Tradition.
Barnes, Kim and Mary Clearman Blew, eds. Circle of Women: An Anthology of
Contemporary Western Women Writers.
Braided Lifes: An Anthology of Multicultural American Writing.
Lesley, Craig, ed. Talking
Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories.
Multicultural Voices: Literature
from the
Moccasin
Telegraph. A publication of
Plains
Native American Literature. Multicultural Literature Collection. Virginia Seeley, ed.
Riley, Patricia (Cherokee) ed.
Growing Up Native American: An Anthology.
Rosen, Kenneth, ed.
The Man to Send Rain Clouds: Contemporary Stories by American
Indians.
Simonson, Rick and Scott Walker, eds. The Graywolf Annual
Five: Multi-Cultural Literacy.
Spider Woman’s Granddaughters:
Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing by Native American Women. Paula Gunn Allen, (Laguna
Pueblo/Sioux) ed.
Trout, Lawana. Native American Literature: An Anthology.
Velie, Alan R., ed. American Indian
Literature: An Anthology.
Vizenor, Gerald.(Ojibway). Native American Literature: A
Brief Introduction and Anthology.
Vizenor, Gerald.(Ojibway),ed. Touchwood: A Collection of
Ojibway Prose.
Native Heritage: American Indian
Literature.
When I Was
Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up. Amy Ehrlich, ed.
#9 Historical and Cultural Resources
American
Indians Series. 22 volumes.
Beck, Peggy V., Anna Lee Walters (Pawnee/Otoe),
and Nea Francisco (Navajo).
The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life.
Bowker, Ardy (Eastern
Cherokee). Sisters in the Blood: The Education of Women in Native
Fedulo, Mick. Light
of the Feather.
Fixico, Donald L. Termination and
Relocation: Federal Indian Policy 1945-1960.
Fleming, Walter C. The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Native American History.
Foreman, Grant. Indian
Removal: The Emigration of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians.
Fritz, Harry W., Mary Murphy, and
Robert R. Swartout, Jr. eds.
Jahoda, Gloria. The Trail of Tears:
The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teachers
Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.
Hertzberg, Hazel W. The Search
for an American Indian Identity: Modern Pan-Indian Movements.
Hirschi, Ron. People
of Salmon and Cedar.
Hoxie,
Hunsaker, Joyce Badgley.
They Call Me Sacagawea.
Jennings, Francis. The
Invasion of
Lomawaima, K. Tsianina.
They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of
Lowie, Robert H. The
Crow Indians.
McNickle, D’Arcy (Salish/Metis). Native American Tribalism: Indian
Survivals and Removals.
Native Peoples: The Arts and Lifeways of Native Peoples of the
Nardo, Don. The
Indian Wars.
Peavy, Linda and Ursula
Smith. “World
Champions: The 1904 Girls’ Basketball Team from
Ross, Luana
(Salish). Inventing the Savage: The Social Construction of Native American Criminality.
Sheehan, Bernard W. Seeds of
Extinction: Jeffersonian Philanthropy and the American Indian.
Shields, Kenneth Jr.(Dakota Sioux). Images of
Szumski, Bonnie. Christopher
Columbus: Recognizing Stereotypes. Opposing Viewpoints – Juniors.
Usner, Daniel H., Jr. Indians,
Settlers, and Slaves in a Frontier Exchange Economy: The
Walker, James R. Lakota
Society. Raymond J. DeMallie, Ed. Lincoln:
West, Elliott. The Way
West: Essays on the Central Plains.
Witalec, Janet, ed. Native North
American Literature: Biographical and Critical Information on Native Writers
and Orators from the
#10 Poetry
Alexie, Sherman (Spokane/Coeur
D’Alene). The Business of Fancydancing: Stories
and Poems.
Alexie, Sherman (Spokane/Coeur
D’Alene). Old Shirts & New Skins.
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki),
ed. Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American
Native Writers’ Festival.
Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki),
ed. Songs From This Earth on Turtle’s Back.
Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth B (Crow
Creek Sioux). Then Badger Said This.
Endrezze, Anita (Yakii).
At the Helm of Twilight.
Endrezze, Anita (Yakii).
Throwing fire at the Sun, water at the Moon.
Tuscon:
Francis, Lee (Laguna Pueblo)
and James Bruchac (Abenaki),
ed. Reclaiming the Vision: Native Voices for the Eighth Generation.
Harjo, Joy (Muscogee Creek). In Mad Love and War.
Henson, Lance (
Hirschfelder, Arlene B. And Beverly R. Singer,
eds. Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans.
Lerner, Andrea, ed. Dancing on
the Rim of the World: Anthology of Northwest Native American Writing. Tuscon: Universtity of
Libhart, Myles and Arthur
Amiotte (Lakota), eds. Photographs and
Poems by Sioux Children from the
Niatum, Duane (Klallam),
ed. Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry.
Ortiz, Simon (Acoma
Tapahonso, Luci (Navajo).
A Breeze Swept Through.
Tapahonso, Luci (Navajo).
Saanii Dahataal:
The Women Are Singing.
Welch, James(Blackfeet/Gros Ventre). Riding the Earthboy - 40 - Poems.
Welch, James(Blackfeet/Gros Ventre), guest ed. “Tribes.” Ploughshares, 20.1 (Spring 1994). 210 pp. (entireissue). ISBN: 0-933277-10-5 (Roots and Branches 187)
Woody,
#11 Educational Resources
All My Relations: Sharing Native
Values Through the Arts. Catherine Verrall and
Lenore Keeshig-Tobias (Ojibway),
Compilers.
Summary: Intended primarily for non-Native teachers of children in Kindergarten to Grade 6, this publication is an essential tool for all teachers who wish to provide their student with creative, comprehensive, and authentic lessons from the Original Peoples of this land.
Goebel, Bruce. Reading Native
American Literature: A Teacher’s Guide.
Summary: “Bruce Goebel offers innovative and practical suggestions about how to introduce students to a range of Native American works.” The specific texts include early Native American poetry, James Welch’s Fools Crow, Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, and Sherman Alexie’s The Business of Fancydancing. “Reproducible copies of traditional, tribally specific poems and stories are linked to the larger texts being studied. . . . In addition to a brief annotated bibliography of resources for teaching Native American literature, the chapters also contain histories, a glossary, and teaching activities.”
Kuipers, Barbara J. American Indian
Reference Books for Children and Young Adults.
Miller, Donna and Dorothea M. Susag. Commitment to Relatives and To Community: A Nine-Week Thematic Unit for Grade Nine. Featuring Runner in the Sun by D’Arcy McNickle, Waterlily by Ella Deloria, and “Perma Red,” a short story by Debra Earling, as well as selected poetry.
Materials to
Use in a Dialogue Group Format for Fools Crow by James Welch. Compiled by Christine Lencioni, M.S.Ed, 9-12 Reading Coach,
Montana Office of Public Instruction Resources, such as: Guide to Understanding PowWows, From Boarding School to Self-Determination, A Curriculum Guide to Learning About American Indains, Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians, Native American Literature
Reyner, John, ed. Teaching American
Indian Students.
Seale, Doris and Beverly Slapin, eds. A Broken
Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children.
Summary: An addition and extension of Through Indian Eyes, this comprehensive resource includes new essays, book reviews of non-recommended books, poetry, children’s art and writing, arts and crafts, photography, coyote, any many more in the 250 page section “Authors A to Z.” Several indexes make it easy to locate any name or text whatever your purpose.
Slapin, Beverly, and Doris Seale (Santee/Cree),
eds. Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience
in Books for Children.
Stott, Jon C. Native Americans
in Children’s Literature. With a foreword by Joseph Bruchac.
Susag, Dorothea M. Roots and
Branches: A Resource of Native American Literature Themes, Lessons, and
Bibliographies.
Swan, J. Malcolm.
#12 Literary Criticism Resources
Allen, Paula Gunn, ed. Studies
in American Indian Literature: Critical Essays and Course Designs.
Bevis, William W. Ten Tough
Trips:
Dunsmore, Roger. Earth’s Mind:
Essays in Native Literature.
Fox, Dana L. And Kathy G. Short,
eds. Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural
Authenticity in Children’s Literature.
Summary: “The controversial issue of cultural authenticity in children’s literature resurfaces continually, always eliciting strong emotions and a wide range of perspectives. This collection explores the complexity of this issue by highlighting important historical events, current debates, and new questions and critiques.”
Jaeger,
Summary: This study guide was written in conjunction with Public Radio broadcasts of interviews with authors, introductory essays read by Lowell Jaeger, and questions from the radio audience. The broadcasts and this guide include the following books about Native people or by Native authors: The Surrounded (D’Arcy McNickle); Plenty-coups (Linderman); Fools Crow (James Welch); and Winter in the Blood (James Welch).
Owens, Louis (Choctaw/Cherokee).
Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel.
Ruoff, A. LaVonne
Brown,ed. American
Indian Literatures: An Introduction, Bibliographic Review, and Selected
Bibliography.
Ruoff, A. LaVonne
Brown, ed. Literatures of the American Indian. Indians
of
Studies in
American Indian Literatures. A Journal of the Association for the
Study of American Indian Literatures.
Swann, Briann,
and
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