Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Our Indigenous Book Recs

I hope that you all had a great Halloween! Halloween is my favorite holidays; I love to dress up, decorate my room, and watch my favorite Halloween specials. But as much as I love Halloween, I am content to leave it behind in October to embrace the November festivities and celebrations. 

November is Native American Heritage Month. During this month, we celebrate the culture and traditions of Native Americans and Alaska Native Communities. We also honor the contributions of Native American figures and remember the people who have enriched the Native American community. National Native American Heritage Day is always the day after Thanksgiving. This year this day falls on Friday, November 28th. 

Last year, one of our librarians Meg Garnett worked hard to bring new Native American centered books and stories to our collection. You can learn more about her process here. This year, Garnett has worked ever harder to bring new books to our collection. To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, Garnett and Morgan MacVaugh have created a great book recommendation list! 

Notable Native People 

By Adrienne Keene and Ciara Sana 

Our first recommendation is Notable Native People by Adrienne Keene and Ciara Sana. This collection tells the story of 50 Indigenous figures across all professions. It celebrates the stories of these individuals and shares the powerfulness of their journeys. This book is a great way to kick of your Native American Heritage reading! 

Calling for a Blanket Dance 

By Oscar Hokeah 

Calling for a Blanket Dance is Oscar Hokeah’s debut novel, and tells the fictional story of Ever Geimausaddle, a half Native American and half Mexican boy. This multigenerational novel follows Ever throughout his life as his family works to connect him with his Cherokee culture. If you are looking for an honest piece about finding ones place in ones culture, this is the novel for you. 

Woman of Light 

By Kali Fajardo-Anstine 

If you saw our Hispanic Heritage Month book recommendations, then this next title will be familiar to you. Woman of Light is a fiction novel that tracks the life of Luz Lopez, a Hispanic-Native American tea leaf reader, as she navigates 1930s Denver. When she begins to have visions of her Indigenous homeland, Luz learns more about her culture , and realizes that it is up to her to save her family’s stories from disappearing. If you didn’t get a chance to read this book in September, now is your second chance! 

Where the Dead Sit Talking 

By Brandon Hobson 

This next book tells a story of love and loss. Where the Dead Sit Talking follows fifteen-year-old Sequoyah, a Cherokee boy who is placed into foster care after his mother goes to jail. At first, Sequoyah keeps to himself, but that changes when he meets Rosemary, a troubled artist that lives with the same family. Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American background. As they become closer, their past and growing feelings for each other threaten to undo them both. 

The Night Watchman 

By Louise Erdrich 

The Night Watchman is a fictional story that is inspired by author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather. Set in 1953, the book follows nightwatchman Thomas Wazhashk and his fight against legislation threatening Native lands and sovereignty in North Dakota. Erdrich includes a multitude of characters that are interwoven with Thomas’ journey, including Patrice Paranteau, a young woman that lives on the reserve who is searching for her sister. This novel explores life as a 1950s Native American, and discusses human nature within its complex characters. 

A History of My Brief Body 

By Billy-Ray Belcourt 

If you were hoping for a memoir on this list, this next recommendation is for you. A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt reflects on his Indigenous identity and his early life in Joussard, Alberta and on the Driftpile First Nation. Belcourt invites us to explore his world and watch as he experiences both love and loss, while also exploring his sexual identity. This intimate memoir is the perfect way to expand your current understanding of what it means to be a Native American. 

Trail of Lightning 

By Rebecca Roanhorse 

Set in a post-climate-apocalypse United States, Trail of Lightning is a speculative fiction novel that blends Navajo mythology and Indigenous world-views together. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. Maggie travels to a small town to help find a missing girl, but instead finds a mystery about the monsters that is waiting to be solved. With the help of Kai Arvisio, an unconventional medicine man, Maggie works to discover the truth behind the killings that haunt this town.  

FEED 

By Tommy Pico 

FEED is a collection of stories written in verse about the Indigenous experience in New York City. Tommy Pico blends humor, heartbreak, pop-culture, and themes of identity and the queer experience in one unique but raw package. 

Our Hidden Landscapes 

By Lucianne Lavin and Elaine Thomas 

Our Hidden Landscapes is a volume of works that introduce readers to eastern North America’s Indigenous ceremonial stone landscapes (CSLs). Contributors of this volume include archaeologists, historians, conservationists, and members of the public. These contributors work together to present why these often-unrecognized sites are significant cultural landscapes in need of protection and preservation.  

Native Foods 

By Michael Wise 

In his book Native Foods, Michael Wise confronts common myths about Indigenous food history. He explains how colonial expectations of food and agriculture have influenced the way people see Native American food today. Through his own research and the inclusion of informed Indigenous sovereignty food advocates, Wise sheds light on the historical roles of Native American cuisine and works to reshape the future of Indigenous food and history. 

Living Nations, Living Words 

By Joy Harjo 

This next recommendation is an anthology of writing by Native American poets and authors. Composed by Joy Harjo, the first Indigenous poet to serve as U.S. Poet Laurate, Living Nations, Living Words includes works that reflect on themes of place and displacement, persistence, resistance, and acknowledgment. Make sure to check out this collection of poems if you want to gain multiple perspectives about the Indigenous experience. 

Heart Berries 

By Terese Marie Mailhot 

Another memoir on our recommendation list is Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot. Mailhot tells her story of growing up in a dysfunctional household and her dual diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder. She writes about the effects of intergenerational trauma and the violence against Indigenous woman. The book functions both as a personal testimony and as a wider reflection on colonial legacies and healing. 

The Archeology of Native Americans in Pennsylvania 

By Kurt Carr 

This next recommendation should resonate with anyone from Pennsylvania. The Archeology of Native Americans in Pennsylvania is a volume that uses to archaeological evidence and interpretation to document long-standing Indigenous presence. For all the history lovers out there, this book is a great way to learn more about the Native American culture in our great state of Pennsylvania. 

White Magic 

By Elissa Washuta 

White Magic is a collection of essays written by Elissa Washuta. These essays detail Washuta’s relationship to magic and her Indigenous culture. The reader follows Washuta as she combats abuse, addiction, PTSD, and heavy-duty drug treatment before finding her way back to the cultural spirits that guide her. 

NDN Coping Mechanisms 

By Billy-Ray Belcourt 

Another book by Billy-Ray Belcourt that you can read to celebrate this month is NDN Coping Mechanisms. Similar to White Magic, this book is a collection of poems and essays. In this work, Belcourt discusses belonging, queerness, and the politics of survival in Indigenous life. He questions the ways Native people navigate the world, and comments on the past, present, and future of Native life. 

An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States 

By Kyle Mays 

Kyle Mays traces the intertwined histories of Indigenous and Black people across the U.S. in his book An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States. Mays argues that the foundations of the U.S. are rooted in antiblackness and settler colonialism, and that these facets are still present today. This book reframes U.S. history to center on both Native and Black experiences, and dicusses the efforts we can make to erase prejudice. Fans of Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi should plan to pick this up! 

Grandmothers of the Light 

By Paula Gunn Allen 

Grandmothers of the Light is a collection of Native American stories and interpretations that centers around the teachings of Indigenous women. Paula Gunn Allen highlights the cultural role women play in Indigenous myths, traditions, and life. This book mixes myth, analysis, and feminist Native perspectives to reclaim women’s centrality in many Native traditions. I know that I will definitely be picking this one up, and I hope you do to. 

Native Americans in the Susquehanna River Valley 

By David Midnerhaut 

Our last recommendation is close to our hearts here at Susquehanna. Native Americans in the Susquehanna River Valley shares the history of Native American presence our area. David Midnerhaut combines archaeology, cultural anthropology, and the study of contemporary Native American issues to explore the experiences of these Indigenous groups. This book is an excellent way to expand your understanding of both the Native experience and the history of our great Susquehanna River Valley. 

I hope that some of these titles stood out to you. If you want to see our full Pennsylvania Native American Collection created by Garnett, you can visit it here. Make sure to check out the list and visit our display in the library! 

Madeline Davis (’28) is a sophomore at Susquehanna University.  She is a Marketing and Advertising & Public Relations dual major. In addition to her marketing work at the Blough-Weis Library,  Madeline serves as the Public Relations manager for Susquehanna’s Best Buddies chapter and as an editor for Ginkgo Magazine. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, writing, and antiquing with friends.