Native American Indian
Children's Literature: Biographies

Books listed here are either by Native American Indian authors or illustrators or both, including books that also feature non-Indian authors and Native illustrators. Where tribal affiliations are known, they are noted. Our intent is not to be all-inclusive but rather to highlight.

AS LONG AS THE RIVERS FLOW: THE STORIES OF NINE NATIVE AMERICANS by Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna Pueblo/Sioux) and Patricia Clark Smith (Micmac) (Scholastic, 1996). Brief but well-done biographies of Weetamoo, Geronimo, Will Rogers, Jim Thorpe, Maria Tallchief, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Wilma Pearl Mankiller, Michael Naranjo, and Louise Erdrich. Notable both for the quality of the writing and presentation of information as well as the diversity of figures, past and present, male and female, and the variety of their pursuits. Ages 10-up.

MY HEROES, MY PEOPLE: AFRICAN AMERICANS AND NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE WEST portraits by Morgan Monceaux (Creek-Seminole), text by Morgan Monceaux (Creek-Seminole) and Ruth Katcher (Frances Foster, 1999). A collection of biography sketches that features stylized, interpretative portraits and historical notes. Highlights well-and-lesser known figures of interest. A must-have for those with an interest in Black Indians and Native history. Ages 12-up.