#native books

Do I ever!

Never Whistle At Night is a collection of short stories that will chill you to the bone. A wonderful collection that includes several Indigenous women authors.

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline was definitely a fun choice to bring on a camping trip last year. The ending had me feeling all kinds of conflicting emotions.

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott is a WILD ride. More Thriller than Horror and I feel that Native readers and Non-Native/White readers will have very different experiences reading it. I don't want to give too much away because figuring out what's going on as you're reading it is definitely part of the appeal.

Mexican Gothic is exactly what it sounds like. A scary remote village in Mexico? A big scary mansion run by a rich colonizer family? A badass Meso-Indigenous main character trying to figure out a mystery? It's all here. The build up is slow but as soon as shit starts getting WEIRD it's nothing but thrills and fun.

Anoka by Shane Hawk is another collection of short stories. It's a short read but each story is as fun and creepy as the next. Read at night <3

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth is for all the urban NDNs out there. The main character is a certified badass. I love the NDN/Punk rock feel of it combined with the horror of the supernatural.

Studying others history is not at all cultural appropriation and not learning can actually perpetuate ignorance and stereotypes believed about a group. And if someone is stopping you from learning history I’d say that’s an underlining way of them trying to get you not educated. I mean there is overstepping when trying to learn our ceremonies and religious practices without permission and I even say it’s odd to do so in another land that doesn’t know those practices.

When reading literature about native history I’d try to stay with books with native authors or help from tribal members and the tribe it’s self whether than one individual member. Many anthropologist would only interview one person and take their beliefs has everyone’s and cause false information. I’d even limit the publishing dates to the later 2000s, so you can find more nuanced literature. (Some of these book below are fiction but show the Native American condition)

I’d think you find a great overview with "indigenous history of the United States", it’s a great introduction to the head space of ethnology of native people has been and recorrecting it.

I would also say to not limit yourself to your idea of "Native Americans" you’ll find most literature follows plains tribes, and instead I’d recommend you research all indigenous peoples spanning north to South America.

Much of the literature you may run into are written from out of context accounts from expeditionists, or missionaries/priests and it’s important not to take everything at face value. I’d just suggest reading accounts from native people before try to describe biased and mistranslated literature.

Hello! My name is Cholena, and I'm hoping to start a Tumblr where I recommend diverse books. Being Native myself, I want to focus on indigenous books -- but I haven't been too successful at finding a lot yet.

So I plan to start by recommending books with other kind of diversity -- books centering, for example, queer characters, or books written by Black authors, etc. And eventually, I'll start recommending more and more books with an indigenous focus.

Book of the Day

I will post this publicly so if anybody has any recommendations they can shoot them your way.

For those who are unaware of the rules of the Ali Nahdee Test, here they are:

As for my recommendations for books:

You can't go wrong with Rebecca Roanhorse's Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts. Her main character is a Navajo monster hunter and kicks so much ass.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger is excellent. Urban fantasy, very cute.

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline has one character who passes The Ali Nahdee Test. The rest of the female characters sadly do not. The book is still excellent.

For those who are unaware, Angeline Boulley is the author of The Firekeeper's Daughter which did not pass The Ali Nahdee Test but was still an excellent read, especially as an Anishinaabekwe reader <3