Native Talk

Native Talk

Resources

Native American Reading List:

This list includes information at a variety of levels. Teachers may use these resources as needed for independent reading, read alouds, lesson supplements, unit previews or follow-ups , or for research paper sources.

The suggested books are listed in the following categories: picture books, chapter books-middle grades, chapter books-high school-adult, story collections-all grade levels, resource books-elementary/middle school, resource books-high school-adult, crafts/games/art-all levels.

For more information and book reviews:

American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL)  www.americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com. This resource provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books.

California Indian History Curriculum Coalition (CIHCC) www.csus.edu/coe/cic. This group compiles California Indian vetted lesson plans and reading lists (links on website) to augment California State Standards.

Native American Literature in Your Classroom, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/native-american-literature-in-your-classroom. See: Worksheet for Selecting Native American Children’s Literature.

Oyate (Dakota word for “People”) www.oyate.org. This native organization reviews books and curricula with native themes.  Also available from Oyate:  How to Tell the Difference:  A Guide for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias.

PICTURE BOOKS

These picture books are beautifully illustrated and rich in historical information. They can be used at primary or upper grade levels.

  • THE DESERT IS THEIRS, Byrd Baylor, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1975
  • THE EARTH UNDER SKYBEAR’S FEET—Native American Poems of the Land, Joseph Bruchac, The Putnam and Grosset Group, 1995
  • THE FIRST STRAWBERRIES—A Cherokee Story, retold by Joseph Bruchac, Puffin Books, 1998
  • GLUSKABE AND THE FOUR WISHES—retold by Joseph Bruchac, Penguin FullSizeRender(6)Books, 1995
  • RACCOON’S LAST RACE—A Traditional Abenaki Story, Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac, Dial Books, 2004
  • COYOTE AND THE GRASSHOPPERS—retold by Gloria Dominic, Troll Communications, 1996
  • FULL MOON STORIES, Eagle Walking Turtle, Hyperion Books, 1997
  • THE LONG MARCH—Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Tricycle Press, 1998
  • GRANDFATHER’S STORY OF NAVAJO MONSTERS—Richard Red Hawk, Sierra Oaks Publishing Company, 1988
  • SOFT CHILD—How Rattlesnake Got Its Fangs, Joe Hayes, Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1993
  • ISHI’S TALE OF LIZARD—translated by Leanne Hinton, Harper Collins, 1992
  • MY ANCESTOR’S VILLAGE, Roberta Labastida, Sunbelt Publications, Inc., 2004
  • BROTHER EAGLE, SISTER SKY—A Message from Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers, Puffin Books, 1991
  • FIRE RACE—A Karuk Coyote Tale, retold by Jonathan London, Scholastic, 1993
  • COYOTE GOES WALKING, retold by Tom Pohrt, Harper Collins, 1995
  • THE DRAGON FLY’S TALE, Kristina Rodanas, Clarion 1992
  • THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL, Rafe Martin, Puffin Books, 1992
  • A STORY OF SEVEN SISTERS, A Tongva Pleides Legend, Pamela Marx, Malki-Ballena Press, 2010
  • WHEN THE SHADBUSH BLOOMS, Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, Tricycle Press, 2007
  • BLUE JAY GIRL, Sylvia Ross, Heyday Books, 2010
  • WHEN THE ANIMALS WERE PEOPLE, Kay Sanger, Malki Museum Press, 1983
  • TWO BEAR CUBS—A Miwok Legend from California’s Yosemite Valley, retold by Robert D. San Souci, Yosemite Association, 1997
  • THE BEGINNING OF THE CHUMASH—retold by Monique Sonoquie, Indigenous Youth Foundation, Inc., 1999
  • COYOTE PLACES THE STARS, Harriet Peck Taylor, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1997
  • RAINBOW CROW, retold by Nancy Van Laan, Dragonfly Books, 1989
  • THE GIFT BASKET, Cathleen Chilcote Wallace, www.lulu.com, 2013 (This book is designed for the reader to illustrate.)
  • THE RAINBOW BRIDGE, Audrey Wood, Voyager Books, 1995
  • THE SUGAR BEAR STORY—A Barbareno Chumash Tale, Mary J. Yee, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2005

BOOKS ABOUT PRESENT DAY NATIVE PEOPLE

  • DEAR MISS KARANA, Eric Elliot, Heyday, 2015
  • THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DELFINA CUERO as told to Florence Shipek, Malki Museum Press, 1970
  • JINGLE DANCER, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Morrow Junior Books, 2000
  • WE ARE GRATEFUL, Traci Sorell, Charlesbridge, 2018
  • YOUNG WATER PROTECTORS…A STORY ABOUT STANDING ROCK, Aslan Tudor and Kelly Tudor, Eaglespeaker Publishing, 2019
  • WEAVING A CALIFORNIA TRADITION, A NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETMAKER, Linda Yamane, Lerner Publications, 1997

CHAPTER BOOKS—MIDDLE GRADES

  • THE ARROW OVER THE DOOR, Joseph Bruchac, Dial Books, 1998
  • WHEN THE CHEENO HOWLS—Native American Tales of Terror, Joseph an1401776089707d James Bruchac, Walker and Company, 1998
  • DEAR MISS KARANA, Eric Elliot, Heyday, 2015
  • INDIANS OF THE OAKS, Melicent Lee, San Diego Museum of Man, 1989
  • ADOPTED BY THE INDIANS—A True Story, Thomas Jefferson Mayfield, Heyday Books, 1997
  • LANDS OF OUR ANCESTORS Series, Gary Robinson, Tribal Eye Productions, 2016

CHAPTER BOOKS—HIGH SCHOOL-ADULT

  • LIFE IN A CALIFORNIA MISSION—The Journals of Jean Francois de la Pérouse, Heyday Books, 1989
  • BAD INDIANS: A Tribal Memoir, Deborah A. Miranda, Heyday Books, 2012
  • THERE THERE, Tommy Orange, Alfred A. Knopf, 2018
  • THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DELFINA CUERO, as told to Florence Shipek, Malki Museum Press, 1970
  • TWO OLD WOMEN—An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival, Velma Wallis, Harper Perennial, 1993
  • BIRD GIRL AND THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED THE SUN—An Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska, Velma Wallis, Harper Perennial, 1996
  • MISSION—THE BIRTH OF CALIFORNIA, THE DEATH OF A NATION, Margaret Wyman, Idyllwild Publishing Company, 2002

STORY COLLECTIONS—ALL GRADE LEVELS

  • NATIVE AMERICAN STORIES, Joseph Bruchac, Fulcrum Publishing, 1991
  • NATIVE AMERICAN ANIMAL STORIES, Joseph Bruchac, Fulcrum Publishing, 1992
  • BACK IN THE BEFORETIME—Tales of the California Indians, retold by Jane Louise Curry, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987
  • DOWN FROM THE LONELY MOUNTAIN—California Indian Tales, retold by Jane Louise Curry, iUniverse.com Inc., 2000
  • STORIES CALIFORNIA INDIANS TOLD, Anne B. Fisher, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1957
  • WHEN THE ANIMALS WERE PEOPLE, Kay Sanger, Malki Museum Press, 1983

RESOURCE BOOKS–ELEMENTARY–MIDDLE GRADES

  • CALIFORNIA INDIANS, Mir Tamin Ansary, Heinemann Library, 2001
  • AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese, Beacon Press, 2019
  • CALIFORNIA NATIVE PEOPLES, Stephen Feinstein, Heinemann Library, 2003
  • CELEBRATING THE POWWOW, Bobbie Kalman, Crabtree Publishing Company, 1997
  • NATIVE AMERICANS—An Inside Look At The Tribes And Traditions, Laura Buller, Dorling Kindersley, 2001
  • NATIVE WAYS—California Indian Stories and Memories, edited by Malcolm Margolin and Yolanda Montijo, Heyday Books, 1995
  • MAAY UUYOW, Kumeyaay Cosmology, Michael Connolly Miskwish, Shuluk, 2016
  • DO ALL INDIANS LIVE IN TIPIS?—Questions and Answers from the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Harper Collins, 2007
  • ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, Cynthia O’Brien, National Geographic Partners LLC, 2019
  • THE CALIFORNIA PEOPLE, Linda Thompson, Rourke Publishing, 2004
  • CALIFORNIA INDIANS AND THE GOLD RUSH, Clifford E. Trafzer, Sierra Oaks Publishing Co., 1989
  • WEAVING A CALIFORNIA TRADITION—A Native American Basketmaker, Linda Yamane, Lerner Publications Company, 1997

RESOURCE BOOKS—HIGH SCHOOL-ADULT

  • WE ARE THE LAND, A History of Native California, Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr., University of California Press, 2021
  • CALIFORNIA THROUGH NATIVE EYES; RECLAIMING HISTORY, William J. Bauer Jr., University of Washington Press, 2016
  • NATIVE AMERICANS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY—Images of America Series, Donna Bradley, Arcadia Publishing, 2009
  • SURVIVAL SKILLS OF NATIVE CALIFORNIA, Paul D. Campbell, Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1999
  • THE HEART IS FIRE—The World of the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, Deborah Dozier, Heyday Books, 1998
  • AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese, Beacon Press, 2019
  • AMERICAN INDIAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS, Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, Pantheon Books, 1984
  • NATIVE AMERICANS OF CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA, Jack Forbes, Naturegraph Publishers Inc., 1982
  • CALIFORNIA INDIAN NIGHTS, compiled by Edward W. Gifford and Gwendoline Harris Block, University of Nebraska Press, 1930
  • HANDBOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS Vol. 8, Robert F. Heizer, editor, Smithsonian Institution, 1978 *(Emphasis on California tribes in this volume.)
  • THE NATURAL WORLD OF THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS, Robert F. Heizer and Albert B. Elsasser, University of California Press, 1980
  • HANDBOOK OF THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA, A. L. Kroeber, Dover Publications, 1976
  • SURVIVING THROUGH THE DAYS—A California Indian Reader, edited by Herbert W. Luthin, University of California Press, 2002
  • KUMEYAAY—A History Textbook, Vol. 1 Precontact to 1893, Michael Connolly Miskwish, Sycuan Press, 2007
  • IT WILL LIVE FOREVER, Beverly R. Ortiz as told by Julia F. Parker, Heyday Books, 1991
  • GROWING UP NATIVE AMERICAN, Patricia Riley, Quill, 1993
  • KUMEYAAY ETHNOBOTANY; SHARED HERITAGE OF THE CALIFORNIAS, Michael Wilken-Robertson, Sunbelt Publications, 2018

CRAFTS / GAMES / ART / MUSIC—ALL AGES

  • MORE THAN MOCCASINS, Laurie Carlson, Chicago Review Press, 1994
  • GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS Vol.1 and Vol.2, Stewart Culin, University of Nebraska Press, 1992, reprinted from original 1907 edition
  • GRASS GAMES AND MOON RACES—California Indian Games and Toys, Jeannine Gendar, Heyday Books, 1995
  • VOICES OF THE FLUTE—Songs of Three Southern California Indian Nations, Ernest H. Siva, Uskana Press, 2004