THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE by Louise Erdrich (Ojibway) (Hyperion, 1999)

Touching on the same era as the Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this first book in a planned trilogy is in some ways Erdrich’s answer to the imbalance in the way Native-white relations have historically been portrayed in children’s literature. Readers will be engaged by appealing protagonist, Omakayas, educated by this glimpse at Ojibway daily life, and perhaps inspired to look at history with an eye to different points of view.

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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.

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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.

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THE WORLD IN GRANDFATHER’S HANDS by Craig Kee Strete (Cherokee) (Clarion, 1995)

Jimmy struggles to adjust after the death of his father and moving from the pueblo to his Grandfather Whitefeather’s house. Strete’s characters are complex and his themes are multi-layered. Most notably, the story incorporates the U.S. government policies that recently led to the unauthorized sterilization of so many Native women. Without romanticizing, he touches on much of the sadness tied to the Indian way of life and explores the strength,

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THE WINDOW by Michael Dorris (Modoc) (Hyperion, 1997)

In this story, the late Michael Dorris returned his attention to Rayona Taylor, the hero of two of his books for adults, A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE RIVER (1987) and CLOUD CHAMBER (1997). THE WINDOW is set earlier than the other two and features Rayona at age 11, whose Native mother is preoccupied with her own problems, including drinking, and whose African American father eventually ships her to live with his mother,

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