Indigenous Literature

When reading literature about Indigenous people, it is important to look for books that are #ownvoices – a term that means they were written by Indigenous authors about themselves or their own people.

This lends a book an authenticity and insider knowledge that an author of another ethnicity or race cannot bring to the material. It also means that when you buy the book, you are supporting an Indigenous artist and author.

• The History of Us: Nisenan Tribe of the Nevada City Rancheria by Richard B. Johnson

• Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah A. Miranda 

• A Cross of Thorns: The Enslavement of California's Indians by the Spanish Missions by Elias Castillo 

• Enough for All: Foods of My Dry Creek Pomo and Bodega Miwuk People by Kathleen Rose Smith 

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States written by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez 

• Native DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science by Kim Tallbear

• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

• #Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy

• Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices edited by Lisa Charleyboy