CHARLESTON, S.C. - No one knows books and gives better recommendations than librarians. That's one of our favorite things to do, and we spend a lot of time researching and reading new books and old ones to keep our recommendations fresh.
But it's 2020 and we've spent the year wrestling with a pandemic and public health concerns. That means having those conversations has been a lot more difficult. But it's not impossible! And that's why CCPL's librarians have been digging through our resources to build list upon list of recommendations you can pick up from your local branch or download with your smartphone, tablet, or ereader.
This week several CCPL librarians teamed up to offer a collection of reads for all ages to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and children's titles are represented in the list. You’ll also find resources, exhibits, and research tips at the Library of Congress’s Native American Heritage Month website.
Adult Fiction
There There: A Novel by Tommy Orange
"We all came to the powwow for different reasons. The messy, dangling threads of our lives got pulled into a braid--tied to the back of everything we'd been doing all along to get us here. There will be death and playing dead, there will be screams and unbearable silences, forever-silences, and a kind of time-travel, at the moment the gunshots start, when we look around and see ourselves as we are, in our regalia, and something in our blood will recoil then boil hot enough to burn through time and place and memory. We'll go back to where we came from, when we were people running from bullets at the end of that old world. The tragedy of it all will be unspeakable, that we've been fighting for decades to be recognized as a present-tense people, modern and relevant, only to die in the grass wearing feathers." Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame in Oakland. Dene Oxedrene is pulling his life together after his uncle's death and has come to work the powwow and to honor his uncle's memory. Edwin Frank has come to find his true father. Bobby Big Medicine has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather; Orvil has taught himself Indian dance through YouTube videos, and he has come to the Big Oakland Powwow to dance in public for the very first time. Tony Loneman is a young Native American boy whose future seems destined to be as bleak as his past, and he has come to the Powwow with darker intentions--intentions that will destroy the lives of everyone in his path. Fierce, angry, funny, groundbreaking
The Night Watchman: A Novel by Louise Erdrich
It is 1953. Thomas Wazhushk is the night watchman at the first factory to open near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a prominent Chippewa Council member, trying to understand a new bill that is soon to be put before Congress. The US Government calls it an 'emancipation' bill; but it isn't about freedom - it threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land, their very identity. How can he fight this betrayal? Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Pixie - 'Patrice' - Paranteau has no desire to wear herself down on a husband and kids. She works at the factory, earning barely enough to support her mother and brother, let alone her alcoholic father who sometimes returns home to bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to get if she's ever going to get to Minnesota to find her missing sister Vera. In The Night Watchman multi-award winning author Louise Erdrich weaves together a story of past and future generations, of preservation and progress. She grapples with the worst and best impulses of human nature, illuminating the loves and lives, desires and ambitions of her characters with compassion, wit and intelligence.
Winter Counts: A Novel by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When justice is denied by the legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver punishment, the kind that's hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil's nephew, his vigilantism becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop. They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power. As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realizes that being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.
Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza
Beautifully written with a riveting plot and a richly drawn, diverse cast of characters, Hearts of the Missing is the mesmerizing debut from 2017 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Carol Potenza. When a young woman linked to a list of missing Fire-Sky tribal members commits suicide, Pueblo Police Sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned to the case. As the investigation unfolds, she uncovers a threat that strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Fire-Sky Native: victims chosen and murdered because of their genetic makeup. But these deaths are not just about a life taken. In a vengeful twist, the killer ensures the spirits of those targeted will wander forever, lost to their family, their People, and their ancestors. When those closest to Nicky are put in jeopardy, she must be willing to sacrifice everything--her career, her life, even her soul--to save the people she is sworn to protect.
Young Adult
This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm et al.
Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.
#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American women ed. Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
Native Women demand to be heard in this stunning anthology.
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden--but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.
Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth
Carson Mastick is entering his senior year of high school and desperate to make his mark, on the reservation and off. A rock band -- and winning Battle of the Bands -- is his best shot. But things keep getting in the way. Small matters like the lack of an actual band, or his brother getting shot by the racist owner of a local restaurant.
Maggi Bokoni has just moved back to the reservation with her family. She's dying to stop making the same traditional artwork her family sells to tourists (conceptual stuff is cooler), stop feeling out of place in her new (old) home, and stop being treated like a child. She might like to fall in love for the first time too.
Carson and Maggi -- along with their friend Lewis -- will navigate loud protests, even louder music, and first love in this stirring novel about coming together in a world defined by difference.
Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?
Children's
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story written by Kevin Noble Maillard
Using illustrations that show the diversity in Native America and spare poetic text that emphasizes fry bread in terms of provenance, Maillard tells the story of a post-colonial food that is a shared tradition for Native American families all across the continent. Includes a recipe and an extensive author note that delves into the social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized tribes.
Bowwow powwow = bagosenjige-niimi'idim by Brenda J. Child
"When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers -- all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow."--Provided by publisher.
Birdsong written and illustrated by Julie Flett
When a young girl moves from the country to a town, she feels lonely and out of place. But she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of nature and art. As the seasons change, can the girl navigate the failing health of her new friend? Acclaimed author and artist Julie Flett's textured images of birds, flowers, art, and landscapes bring vibrancy and warmth to this story, which highlights the fulfillment of intergenerational relationships and shared passions. A brief glossary and pronunciation guide to Cree-Métis words that appear in the text is provided.
At the Mountain's Base by Traci Sorell
"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.
All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez
Finding circles everywhere, a grandfather and his granddaughter meditate on the cycles of life and nature.
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
Otsaliheliga is a Cherokee word that is used to express gratitude. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. A look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis
When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.
I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
"When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"-- Provided by publisher.
How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story by Tim Tingle
A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe's removal from the only land its people had ever known, and how their journey to Oklahoma led him to become a ghost--one with the ability to help those he left behind.
Adult Nonfiction
Bossy, Denise I., ed. The Yamasee Indians: From Florida to South Carolina. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018.
Calmes, Alan. “Indian Cultural Traditions and European Conquest of the Georgia-South Carolina Coastal Plain, 3000 B.C.–1733 A.D.: A Combined archaeological and Historical Investigation.” Ph.D. diss., University of South Carolina, 1967.
Chavis, Claude W. Jr. Hiding in Plain Sight: The Pee Dee Indians After Contact. Monroe, N.C.: PDIN Press, 2012.
Chicora Foundation. Curricula Materials for the First South Carolinians: The Life and Times of Native Peoples in the Palmetto State. Columbia, S.C.: Chicora Foundation, 2000.
Eliades, David Klearchos. “The Indian Policy of Colonial South Carolina, 1670–1763.” Ph.D. diss., University of South Carolina, 1981.
Friedlander, Ellen. “Indian Slavery in Proprietary South Carolina.” M.A. thesis, Emory University, 1975.
Gregorie, Anne King. “Indian Trade of Carolina in the Seventeenth Century.” M.A. thesis, University of South Carolina, 1926.
Hill, S. Pony. Strangers in their Own Land: South Carolina’s State Indian Tribes. Palm Coast, Fla.: Backintyme, 2010.
Lawson, John. A New Voyage to Carolina. Edited with an introduction and notes by Hugh Talmage Lefler. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967.
LeMaster, Michelle and Bradford J. Wood, eds. Creating and Contesting Carolina: Proprietary Era Histories. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2013.
McDowell, W. L., ed. Journals of the Commissioners of the Indian Trade, September 20, 1710–August 29, 1718. Columbia: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1955.
Miles, Susannah Smith. The Sewee: The Island People of the Carolina Coast. Mt. Pleasant, S.C.: King’s Highway Publications, 2001.
Milling, Chapman J. Red Carolinians. 2nd edition. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1969.
Moore, Alexander. Lowcountry South Carolina Ethnohistory: A Guide to Indian and Afro-American Sources. Columbia, S.C.: Institute for Southern Studies, University of South Carolina, 1980.
Nairne, Thomas. Nairne’s Muskhogean Journals: The 1708 Expedition to the Mississippi River. Edited, with an introduction, by Alexander Moore. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988.
Palmer, Kate Salley. First South Carolinians. Central, S.C.: Warbranch Press, 2013.
Quattlebaum, Paul. The Land Called Chicora: The Carolinas under Spanish Rule with French Intrusions 1520–1670. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1956.
Rowland, Lawrence S., et al. The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514–1861. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996.
Trinkley, Michael. An Archaeological Context for the South Carolina Woodland Period. Columbia, S.C.: Chicora Foundation, 1990.
Trinkley, Michael. Archaeological Testing of Six Sites on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: Chicora Foundation, 1988.
Trinkley, Michael. The History and Archaeology of Kiawah Island, Charleston County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: Chicora Foundation, 1993.
Waddell, Gene. Indians of the South Carolina Lowcountry, 1562–1751. Spartanburg, S.C: Reprint Company, 1980.