Danny Bigtree encounters racism when he moves from the Mohawk reservation to the city. However, Danny is inspired by the Iroquois hero Aionwahta and by his own father to choose peace. Ages 7-up.
Book Genre: Native Americans
DOVE DREAM by Hendle Rumbaut (Chickasaw) (Houghton Mifflin, 1994)
In the summer of 1963, Eleanor “Dove” Derrysaw, age 13, is sent to live with her aunt in Kansas. Eleanor comes of age with her first romance, her first job, and a greater appreciation of her Chickasaw heritage while looking to her aunt’s life for inspiration. Ages 8-up.
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DAUGHTER OF SUQUA by Diane Johnston Hamm (Whitman, 1997)
Ida, a young Suqhamish girl, and her people are faced with allotment, boarding schools, and more harsh changes. But through it all, the relationships between this young girl and the people of her community, especially her grandmother, are truly inspiring. Ages 8-up.
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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.
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.
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (Morrow, 2000)
Jenna, a Muscogee (Creek)-Ojibwe girl, is enthusiastic about wanting to jingle dance at the upcoming powwow. With time running short, she seeks the assistance of women of her contemporary intertribal community in bringing together the remainder of her regalia. A story of reciprocity and respect. Ages 4-up.
INDIAN SHOES by Cynthia Leitich Smith (HarperCollins, 2002)
Ray and Grampa Halfmoon face the challenges of daily life with love and humor in this collection of short stories set in Chicago and rural Oklahoma. Together, they encounter homesickness, bad hair cuts, mystery, artistic competition, and a wedding without proper pants for the ring bearer. Ages 7-up.
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