BPL Native American Heritage Month | Nesmith Library

Nesmith Library is closed Monday, January 20, for Martin Luther King Civil Rights Day.

1) Fry bread: a Native American family story

Author

Maillard, Kevin Noble

Formats:

Book, Playaway Wonderbook

Description

Using illustrations that show the diversity in Native America and spare poetic text that emphasizes fry bread in terms of provenance, this volume tells the story of a post-colonial food that is a shared tradition for Native American families all across the North American continent. Includes a recipe and an extensive author note that delves into the social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized tribes.

2) Finding my dance

Author

Thundercloud, Ria

Description

"In her debut picture book, professional Indigenous dancer Ria Thundercloud tells the true story of her path to dance and how it helped her take pride in her Native American heritage."--

Author

Bruchac, Joseph

Description

"Twelve-year-old Malian lives with her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic"-- Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation. She’s there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There’s a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration. Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family...

4) Colonization and the Wampanoag story

Author

Series

Race to the truth

Description

"Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: the "discovery" of America told by Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists. Here's the true story of America from the Indigenous perspective. When you think about the beginning of the American story, what comes to mind? Three ships in 1492, or perhaps buckled hats and shoes stepping off of the Mayflower, ready to start a new country. But the truth is, Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims,...

5) Trickster: Native American tales : a graphic collection

6) Rock your mocs

Author

Goodluck, Laurel

Description

In this happy, vibrant tribute to Rock Your Mocs Day, observed yearly on November 15, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and artist Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) celebrate the joy and power of wearing moccasins--and the Native pride that comes with them. A perfect book for Native American Heritage Month, and all year round!

7) The first blade of sweetgrass: a Native American story

Author

Greenlaw, Suzanne

Description

In this Own Voices Native American picture book story, a modern Wabanaki girl is excited to accompany her grandmother for the first time to harvest sweetgrass for basket making. Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as her ancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees...

8) Shaped by her hands: potter Maria Martinez

Author

Freeman, Anna Harber

Description

"The most renowned Native American Indian potter of her time, Maria Poveka Martinez learned pottery as a child under the guiding hands of her Ko-ōo, her aunt. She grew up to discover a new firing technique that turned her pots black and shiny, and made them--and Maria--famous. This inspiring story of family and creativity illuminates how Maria's belief in sharing her love of clay brought success and joy from her New Mexico Pueblo to people all across...

9) Chester Nez and the unbreakable code: a Navajo code talker's story

Author

Bruchac, Joseph

Description

"As a boy, Chester Nez was taught his native language and culture were useless, but he was later called on to use his Navajo language to help create an unbreakable military code during WWII."--

10) Navajo code talkers: secret American Indian Heroes of World War II

Author

Series

Fact finders. Military heroes

Formats:

Description

"Discusses the heroic actions and experiences of the Navajo code talkers and the impact they made during times of war and conflict"--

11) The birchbark house

Author

Erdrich, Louise

Series

Birchbark house volume 1

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

"Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has. But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever--but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling." -- "She was named Omakakiins,...

12) We are grateful: otsaliheliga

Author

Formats:

Book, Playaway Wonderbook

Description

"The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah."--Amazon.com.

13) We are still here!: Native American truths everyone should know

Author

Series

Live Oak Media eReadalong

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

"A group of Native American kids from different tribes presents twelve historical and contemporary time periods, struggles, and victories to their classmates, each ending with a powerful refrain: we are still here."--

14) Mystic horse

Author

Description

After caring for an old abandoned horse, a poor young Pawnee boy is rewarded by the horse's mystic powers.

15) The legend of the White Buffalo Woman

Author

Description

A Lakota Indian legend in which the White Buffalo Woman presents her people with the Sacred Calf Pipe which gives them the means to pray to the Great Spirit.

16) Encyclopedia of American Indian history & culture: stories, time lines, maps, and more

Author

O'Brien, Cynthia

Series

National Geographic kids

Description

"More than 160 tribes are featured in this outstanding new encyclopedia, which presents a comprehensive overview of the history of North America's Native peoples. From the Apache to the Zuni, readers will learn about each tribe's history, traditions, and culture, including the impact of European expansion across the land and how tribes live today. Features include maps of ancestral lands; timelines of important dates and events; fact boxes for each...

17) Voices of the people

Author

Bruchac, Joseph

Description

"Through poems that capture the essence of each person's life, acclaimed Native American writer Joseph Bruchac introduces readers to famous indigenous leaders from The Peacemaker in 1000 A.D. to modern day dancer Maria Tallchief and Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller. Each poem is illustrated by a modern-day tribally enrolled artist." -- Publisher.

18) Contenders: two Native baseball players, one World Series

Author

Description

"The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native American pro baseball players to face off in a World Series, teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports"--

19) Navajo code talkers

Author

Kallen, Stuart A

Series

Heroes of World War II

Description

In the South Pacific during World War II, a group of Navajo Marines sent secret messages for the Allies using a code based on the Navajo language. Learn more about these heroes, whose unbreakable code helped win the war.

20) At the mountain's base

Author

Description

"At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war."--Amazon.