Picture Books

What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland’s Historic Inauguration by Alexis Bunten, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2023, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Pia is excited to go to the Native American Center, where everyone is gathered around the TV to watch the inauguration of Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior and to make ribbon skirts like the one Auntie Deb wore. Details of the Turtle Island culture are woven into the story.

Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child, translated by Gordon Jourdain, illustrated by Jonathan Thunder (Minnesota Historical Society, 2018, 32 pages, grades K-3). When Windy Girl and her dog Itchy Boy go to the powwow, Windy falls asleep and dreams about a powwow populated by dogs. She wakes up just in time to join the last dance. The story is in both English and Ojibwe.

This Land: A History of the Land We’re On by Ashley Fairbanks, illustrated by Bridget George (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024, 40 pages, ages 4-8). As the narrator travels around the U.S. with his family, he learns about different Indigenous groups who lived in those places and remembers how they once honored the land they were on. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Birdsong by Julie Flett (Greystone Kids, 2019, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A beautiful book about intergenerational friendship and the cycles of life. Julie Flett deftly inserts Cree words and imagery into the story. Includes a glossary of Cree words.

We All Play = Kimêtawânaw by Julie Flett (Greystone Kids, 2021, 48 pages, ages 3-7). Children and animals play throughout this simple book that will have kids up on their feet and moving. Includes a list of animals in English and Cree.  There’s also additional information on the Cree language, a website readers can visit to hear pronunciations of the words in the book, and a letter from the author. 

Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022, 40 pages, ages 4-8). A girl learns from her grandmother how to find food in nature: herring eggs and seaweed from the ocean and most of all, berries from the forest.

Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten, illustrated by Garry Meeches Sr. (Charlesbridge, 2022, 32 pages, grades K-4). Maple and Quill love visiting their grandmother N8hkumuhs and hearing her stories.  One is of Weeâchumun (corn), and how she and her sisters Beans and Squash helped new people who came to their land in this Thanksgiving story from a Wampanoag perspective.

The First Blades of Sweetgrass: A Native American Story by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey, illustrated by Nancy Baker (Tilbury House Publishers, 2021, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Musquon learns from her grandmother the art of gathering and braiding sweetgrass. Includes an author’s note with additional information about sweetgrass and the Wabanaki Confederacy, and a list of the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet words.

Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Random House Studio, 2023, 40 pages, ages 5 and up). Former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s poem celebrates life: the cosmos, the Earth, the plants and animals, and people. Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade’s illustrations depict a child traveling through the universe, with images inspired by traditions from her Tlingit culture.

Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story/Tutuqaykingaqw nima: hopisino pahan tutqayiwuy ep yorhomti by Mavasta Honyouti (Levine Querido, 2024, 48 pages, grades 1-5). The author relates the story of his grandfather’s time at a boarding school and the impact it had on their family.

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki, illustrated by Carrielynn Victor (Orca Book Publishers, 2023, 32 pages, grades 2-5). Mary and her classmates use ingenuity and teamwork to overcome some of the hardships at their indigenous boarding school in Canada. 32 pages; grades 2-5.

An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew (Onigaming First Nation), illustrated by Erin Hill (Tundra Books, 2024, 48 pages, ages 4-8). As Baby and her family head to the Rez to celebrate the winter solstice, she learns some Anishinaabe words and how they help describe their holiday celebration. 48 pages, ages 4-8.

Josie Dances by Denise Lajimodiere, illustrated by Angela Erdrich (Minnesota Historical Society, 2021, 32 pages, ages 4-8). The women in Josie’s family and tribe help her prepare to dance in her first powwow, sewing her costume and giving her her spirit name.  Includes a glossary and information about Turtle Mountain, a reservation where the author lives as a citizen of the Tribal Band of Chippewa and the illustrator is a tribal member. 

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Bridget George, foreword by Autumn Peltier (Roaring Brook Press, 2023, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Water narrates the story of how humans lost their respect and stewardship for water. Activists like Grandma Josephine and her niece Autumn Peltier have tried to reverse that; the book invites readers to consider what they might do to preserve and protect the water.

The Gift of the Great Buffalo by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Aly McKnight (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025, 40 pages, grades K-3). Rose is excited to be helping Pa during the Metis buffalo hunt in this story which tells of a group of indigenous people who lived in the same time and place as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books describe.

My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Steph Littlebird (Harry N. Abrams, 2023, 48 pages, ages 4-8). The narrator can’t wait to grow her hair out, believing, as her ancestors did, that hair is a source of strength and memories.  Her mother has always had short hair, having been forced to have it cut at an Indian school but eventually decides to join her daughter in the journey of growing her hair long. 

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Published by Roaring Brook Press, 2020, 40 pages, grades K-3). The Ojibwe narrator recounts the prophecy of a black snake poisoning the water; now it seems that prophecy has come true, and she joins others at Standing Rock to protect the water. Includes author’s and illustrator’s notes with more information about Standing Rock; a glossary of six words from various indigenous languages from the text; and an “Earth Steward and Water Protector Pledge” to sign.

When the Stars Came Home by Brittany Luby, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023, 40 pages, ages 4-8). When Ojiig’s father gets a government job, the family moves to the city. Ojiig misses living closer to nature in his Anishinaabeg community, but his loving family helps him to keep his tribal ties and adjust to his new home.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Roaring Brook, 2019, 48 pages, ages 3-6). A celebration of many different Native groups that shows the commonality they share in making and eating fry bread. The author shares his fry bread recipe at the end, followed by eight pages that give a lot more historical and cultural information about each page of the main text.

When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, illustrated by David Kanletakeron Fadden (Lee and Low Books, 2020, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Two girls from a Lenni Lenape tribe, Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister describe their lives with their families through the course of one year. Includes information on the Lenni Lenape people, as well as some of the cultural features portrayed in the book. 

Grandma’s Tipi: A Present-Day Lakota Story by S. D. Nelson (Harry N. Abrams, 2023, 40 pages, grades 2-4). Clara spends a summer on the Standing Rock reservation with her unci (grandmother) and cousin Juniper.

On the Trapline by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett (Tundra Books, 2021, 48 pages, grades 1-5). Moshom (Grandpa) hasn’t been to the trapline in the northern wilderness since he was a boy, but now he and his grandson are going back for a visit. Includes notes from the author (who made a similar journey with his father) and the illustrator, as well as a glossary of Swampy Cree words.

Just Like Grandma by Kim Rogers, illustrated by Julie Flett (Heartdrum, 2023, 32 pages; ages 4-8). Becca learns to bead, paint, and dance from her grandmother. As she grows up, Becca starts sharing some of her own passions, like basketball, with Grandma. .

At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Kokila, 2019, 32 pages, ages 4-8). A family gathers and sings, while thinking of a member of the family who’s in the military and praying for her safety and for peace. Includes an author’s note about American Indian and Alaska Native women who have served in wars. One pilot in particular is profiled, Ola Mildred Rexroat, who was the only Native woman among 1074 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II. 

Being Home by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Kokila, 2024, 32 pages, ages 4-8). A family decides to move from the crowded city to the Cherokee reservation, in a story that celebrates being close to nature, family, and community.

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Charles bridge, 2022, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Powwow day is exciting, but River’s watching from the sidelines this year while recovering from a long illness. The dances inspire her, though, and fill her with strength and certainty that she’ll be participating again next year.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lissac (Charlesbridge, 2018, 32 pages; ages 4-8). Cherokee people express gratitude as they move through the seasons of the year. Cherokee words and their pronunciations are scattered throughout the text. End matter includes a glossary, an author’s note, and a Cherokee syllabary with some lessons about the Cherokee language.  

I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021, 32 pages; ages 4-8). As a mother awaits her baby’s arrival, she gathers items for a medicine bundle: an eagle feather, cedar and sage, a handmade star blanket, and a stone.  The author’s note tells how the story connects to her Inniniwake Nation. .

Raven’s Ribbons by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Daniel Ramirez (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Raven’s grandmother challenges her own beliefs about gender by making Raven a ribbon skirt so he can join in the dance he loves.

Chapter Books

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac (Dial Books, 2021, 192 pages; grades 3-7). Malian is visiting her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation when Covid hits. She loves her grandparents but is sometimes bored, lonely, and frustrated by spotty Wi-Fi. A rez dog provides her with some company and helps her to better appreciate her family and their culture.

Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen (Heartdrum, 2023, 256 pages, grades 4-7). When a boy at school tells her she’s not a “real Indian,” Mia goes on a quest to discover her Muscogee culture, passed down to her from her father’s side. 

We Still Belong by Christine Day (Heartdrum, 2023, 256 pages; grades 3-7). Wesley is excited about two things as she heads to school one day: having her poem about Indigenous People’s Day appear in the school newspaper and asking her crush to the school dance.  As the day unfolds, however, both dreams are destroyed in true middle school fashion, but the powwow turns things around.

The Ribbon Skirt: A Graphic Novel by Cameron Mukwa (Graphix, 2024, 192 pages, grades 4-7). The story of Anang, a two-spirit (non-binary) 10-year-old, who wishes to make a ribbon skirt to wear for powwow. With the help and support of friends and family, they find a way. .

The Used-to-Be Best Friend (Jo Jo Makoons series) by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Tara Audibert (Heartdrum, 2021, 80 pages; grades 1-4). Jo Jo’s a first grader on the Ojibwe reservation with her own unique take on how to deal with family, friends, and her teacher. Includes a glossary of Ojibwe and Michif words and additional information about the Ojibwe people. 

Find Her by Ginger Reno (Holiday House, 2024, 224 pages, grades 5-8). Wren has a natural instinct for finding lost things, and she’s determined to use it to find her Cherokee mother, who has been missing since Wren was seven years old.

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, 2021, 320 pages; grades 4-7). Kids from all over the United States and Canada come together for the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor Michigan in this anthology of short stories by different Native authors.

Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, 2021, 320 pages; grades 4-7). An updated Peter Pan story, featuring stepsisters Lily, who is Muscogee Creek, and Wendy, a white girl originally from England. Take that, patriarchy! Includes an author’s note that discusses the questions she had about the original story that led her to create this one. 

Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell (Charlesbridge, 2023, 256 pages; grades 4-8). Six eighth graders and their teacher take on the topic of racist mascots when they are assigned to a debate about their town’s Braves mascot, which often inspires face paint and tomahawk chopping at sports events.

Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young (Heartdrum, 2021, 368 pages; grades 4-7). On a summer visit to his grandmother on the Navajo reservation, Nathan discovers his ability to see Holy Beings and must help one of them, Pond, who has been poisoned by radiation.

Nonfiction

To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities by Patricia Morris Buckley, illustrated by E. B. Lewis (Heartdrum, 2025, 40 pages, grades 1-5). Tells the story of the members of the Mohawk tribe from Canada’s Caughnawaga reserve, who, for more than a century, have worked construction as “skywalkers,” balancing on beams high above the ground. 40 pages, grades 1-5.

Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army by Art Coulson, illustrated by Nick Hardcastle (Capstone, 2018, 40 pages; grades 3-6). Given the subtitle, you know from the start the outcome of this game between the West Point team that included Dwight Eisenhower and the Carlisle Indian School team featuring Jim Thorpe and coach Pop Warner. The history behind it and the new kind of football that the Carlisle team played add multiple dimensions to the story. Includes additional information on Thorpe, Warner, and the Carlisle Indian School, as well as a glossary and list of sources.

Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays, illustrated by Joshua Nageshig Pawis-Steckley (HarperCollins, 2021, 40 pages, grades K-4). Sharice Davids narrates the journey that led to her 2018 election as a representative from Kansas, one of the first two Native American women in Congress, and the first LGBTQ Native American there.

Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge by Deidre Havrelock and Edward Kay (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2023, 272 pages, grades 4-8). Before making contact with Europeans, indigenous people had technologies to assist them with communication, transportation, agriculture, health care, and more. As their lands were increasingly taken over, they often hid these technologies, but today, as the author says, they are often hidden in plain sight: when we eat maple sugar, paddle a kayak, or marvel at astronomical wonders. 

If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving by Chris Newell, illustrated by Winona Nelson (Scholastic, 2021, 96 pages, grades 2-5). The question-and-answer format traces the history and culture of the Wampanoag people, the Europeans who sailed on the Mayflower, and what happened when their paths crossed. This story doesn’t end with the 1621 harvest feast but continues on to what happened in the years afterward as Europeans increasingly moved onto indigenous lands and killed many of the people with wars and disease. 

Wilma’s Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Linda Kukuk (Disney-Hyperion, 2019, 48 pages, grades 1-5). How Wilma Mankiller became the first woman to be elected chief of the Cherokee nation in 1985. Includes notes from the author and illustrator, a timeline, a pronunciation guide for the Cherokee words used in the text, and lists of additional resources.

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press, 2017, 288 pages, grades 5-10). A longer, more detailed account of Jim Thorpe’s football career on the Carlisle Indian School Football Team, including the 1911 game with West Point which drew a bigger crowd than any other American sporting event that year.

Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools by Dan SaSuWeh Jones (Scholastic Focus, 2024, 304 pages, grades 5-8). Dan SaSuWeh Jones tells the story of his family’s history with the Quaker-run Chilocco Indian Agricultural (boarding) School in Oklahoma that began with the forcible capture of his grandmother at the age of four and continued for generations.

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kokila, 2023, 48 pages, grades 1-5). The story opens with a key moment of the 1911 World Series: Charles Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitching to John Meyers of the New York Giants and goes on to tell the story of these two athletes, both from Native Nations, who went on to play in a total of nine World Series.

We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lissac (Charlesbridge, 2021, 40 pages, grades 2-5). A group of kids from the Native Nations Community School puts together a presentation for Indigenous People’s Day.  There are reports on such topics as assimilation, relocation, tribal activism, and language revival. Includes additional information on each presentation; a timeline covering 1870-2007; a glossary of terms and a list of sources; and an author’s note giving more information about the book and her personal connection to Native history (she’s a dual citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the United States). 

Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud, illustrated by Kalila J. Fuller (Penguin Workshop, 2022, 40 pages, grades 1-5). Ria Thundercloud tells the story of her dance career, from her days on the powwow circuit to a career in classical dance, and a return to her roots in this celebration of dance and indigenous cultures.