YA Books with Indigenous Representation from the Americas

Published on 12 December 2024 at 17:13

Native American Heritage Month, celebrated each November, honors the knowledge, traditions, languages, beliefs, and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities. Indigenous communities in the Americas have been fighting for generations to preserve their peoples and identities in the face of colonization, broken treaties, residential schools, and other injustices. Native American Heritage Month helps to raise awareness of the continued struggles that Indigenous communities face, support Native people reconnecting with their cultures and languages, and brings visibility to the continued presence of Native and First Nations peoples.

Learn more about Native American Heritage Month, Orange Shirt Day, Land Back, and other Indigenous-led movements at the links below. Or scroll down to find a collection of YA books with Indigenous representation organized by genre. Subsequent resources will cover books for children and middle grade readers. Where possible, I have included the Indigenous community represented (example: Seminole, Anishinaabe, etc.) in parentheses.

Please note: I have not read all these books for myself. I encourage you to use this resources as a "jumping-off point" and to conduct your own research when deciding which book is right for you. Some books will appear in multiple categories. This is because they fit into more than one genre.

Indigenous-Led Movements

Image Description: A white bookshelf fully-stocked with books. Above is a wooden shelf with a white plaque. The word "teenagers" is written with black block letters.

Credit: Sincerely Media / Unsplash via Webador

YA Books with Indigenous Representation from the Americas

Historical Fiction

  • Codex Black: A Fire Among Clouds by Camilo Moncada Lozano (Mezoamerican)
  • Four Faces of the Moon by Amanda Strong (Michif, Cree, Nakoda, Anishinaabe)
  • House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
  • If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth (Tuscarora)
  • Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth
  • Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac

General Fiction

  • Saints of the Household by Ari Tison (Bribri)
  • Creeboy by Teresa Wouters (Cree)
  • The Floraverse (series) by Wab Kinew (Anishinaabe)
  • Hopeless in Hope by Wanda John-Kehewin
  • Rez Ball by Byron Graves (Ojibwe)
  • Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson)
  • Surviving the City by Tasha Spillet (Anishinaabe/Inninew)
  • Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline (Métis)
  • Little Moons by Jen Storm and Ryan Howe (Ojibwe)
  • Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth
  • My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson (Iñupiaq)

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

  • The Lost Dreamer Duology by Lizz Huerta
  • Hearts of Fire and Snow by David Bowles, Guadalupe Carcia McCall (Nahua)
  • Secret of the Moon Conch by David Bowles, Guadalupe Garcia McCall
  • Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee)
  • A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache)
  • Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Apache)
  • Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Apache)
  • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  • A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette (Métis)
  • Thunderous by M.L. Smoker, Natalie Peeterse (Lakota)
  • House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
  • Shadows Cast By Stars by Catherine Knutsson
  • A Wolf in the Sun (series) by Coltrane Seesequasis
  • Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Nonfiction/Memoir

  • An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese
  • Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Monique Gray Smith
  • Beyond the Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage by William Loren Katz
  • Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin
  • The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Life in Native America by David Treuer (Ojibwe)
  • Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (Onondaga/Tuscaroras)
  • Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition by Anton Treuer (Ojibwe)
  • Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Young Readers: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
  • Killing the Wittigo: Indigenous Culture-Based Approaches to Waking Up, Taking Action, and Doing the Work of Healing by Suzanne Methot
  • Native Women Changing Their Worlds by Patricia Cutwright
  • The Power of Style by Christian Allaire (Ojibwe)
  • Sky Wolf's Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge by Eldon Yellowhorn, Kathy Lowinger
  • This Indian Kid: A Native American Memoir by Eddie Chuculate (Creek/Cherokee)
  • If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie
  • Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Robertson (Cross Lake First Nation)
  • Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life edited by Alina Pete

LGBTQ2SIA+

  • Between the Pipes by Albert McLeod with Elaine Mordoch and Sonya Ballantyne
  • Rabbit Chase by Elizabeth Lapensée (Anishinaabe)

Anthologies

  • This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, et al.
  • #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, edited by Lisa Charleyboy & Mary Beth Leatherdale

Graphic Novels

  • Dreams (series) by Wanda John-Kehewin
  • This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, et al.
  • As I Enfold You in Petals: The Spirit of Denendeh (series) by Richard Van Camp (Tłıcho Dene)
  • Codex Black: A Fire Among Clouds by Camilo Moncada Lozano (Mezoamerican)
  • Four Faces of the Moon by Amanda Strong (Michif, Cree, Nakoda, Anishinaabe)
  • A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette (Métis)
  • If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie
  • Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by James W. Loewen, Nate Powell
  • Marvel's Voices: Heritage by Jeffrey Veregge, et al.
  • Rabbit Chase by Elizabeth Lapensée (Anishinaabe)
  • Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Robertson (Cross Lake First Nation)
  • Thunderous by M.L. Smoker, Natalie Peeterse (Lakota)
  • Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki
  • Surviving the City by Tasha Spillet (Anishinaabe/Inninew)
  • Between the Pipes by Albert McLeod with Elaine Mordoch and Sonya Ballantyne
  • Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life edited by Alina Pete
  • Little Moons by Jen Storm and Ryan Howe (Ojibwe)

Romance

  • Hearts of Fire and Snow by David Bowles, Guadalupe Carcia McCall (Nahua)
  • Hearths Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
  • A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson
  • The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson (Métis)

Thriller/Mystery

  • Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell (Blackfeet)
  • Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer (Ojibwe)
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (Ojibwe/Anishinaabe)
  • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  • Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell (Blackfeet)
  • Firekeeper's Daughter (series) by Angeline Boulley (Anishinaabe)
  • Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Apache)
  • Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Apache)
  • The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk)
  • Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Sources

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