5 Recommended Reads for Native American Heritage Month 

Library Picks

“Legendary Frybread Drive-In” edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

A collection of intertribal stories and poems by indigenous authors.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

A National Book Award Winner based on the author’s own experiences. Alexie chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. “El diario completamente verídico de un indio a tiempo parcial” está disponible en español.

“Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley

18-year-old Daunis Fontaine goes undercover to investigate a lethal drug for the FBI. She must draw on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source, even as she grows concerned by how the investigation seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

“Walking in Two Worlds” by Wab Kinew, narrated by Joelle Peters

Indigenous teen Bugz is shy and self-conscious in the real world, struggling with the stresses of life on the Rez. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massively multiplayer video game universe. She and her new friend Feng, who has been sent to his aunt on the Rez from China, connect in both the real and virtual worlds, and must grapple with the impacts of family challenges and community trauma.

“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. Now she’s navigating growing tensions in her high school as she covers the controversial inclusive theater production for her school newspaper, faces prejudices, and maybe sparks a new romance.