"Tree Frog Vans," a detail from "Art Outside the Box," by artist and activist Louie Gong (Nooksack)
"This book stemmed from a desire to showcase the real life of indigenous people. Not the life portrayed in mainstream media and certainly not the life of Native peoples as it is seen through the lens of Hollywood. We wanted to give people a fresh perspective on what it means to be Native in North America."
- from the Welcome to Dreaming in Indian
Flight by Sherman Alexie
Acts of violence trigger time-travel and body-hopping in this story of 15-year old Zits. By the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Don't miss the movie Smoke Signals, for which he wrote the screenplay.
Moccasin Thunder edited by Lori Carlson
Carlson (who is not Native) has collected 10 short stories by contemporary Native authors. See especially Smith's A Real Life Blond Cherokee and His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate.
Dreaming in Indian edited by Lisa Charleyboy
A vibrant, wide-ranging mix of visual art, poetry, short stories and more. Don't miss this one! The back pages give a bit of information about each writer or artist.
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
Lewis lives on the Tuscarora Indian reservation. George's family is military. A story about cultural differences and friendship. Set in 1975 upstate New York, a time and place with serious racial tension.
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
The story of Tayo, a World War II veteran who has returned to the Laguna Pueblo reservation.
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Multiple murders threaten the opening of her family's vampire-themed restaurant. Quincie worries that Keiren, her best friend (and a werewolf) may be the prime suspect.
The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor
Newcomers to the Otter Lake native reserve don't go unnoticed for long. So it's no surprise that 16-year-old Tiffany is curious when her father rents out her room to a complete stanger. A graphic novel.
House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
In this suspenseful story Rose Goode witnesses an arson fire at an Indian boarding school. Set in pre-statehood Oklahoma.
Robopocalyse by Daniel H. Wilson
"Each walnut-sized robot is lost in the mix as they climb over each other and the whole nightmare jumble of legs and antennae blends together into one seething, murderous mass." And, yes, they are out to get us.
Crazy Horse's Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth
"It was the dude in the corner that I hated. He was not a pot-head, he was a meth-head. And he looked sick. His face looked like someone had broken glass over it, but it was just what he had done to himself...." Margaritte is a sharp-tongued, drug-dealing 16-year-old floundering in a town crippled by poverty, unemployment and drug abuse.
more Native writers
Jospeh Bruchac | Adam Fortunate Eagle | Louise Erdrich | Joy Harjo | N. Scott Momaday | Simon Ortiz | Richard Van Camp
more information
American Indians in Children's Literature provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society.