Celebrate Native American Heritage!

Public libraries cater to people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures. That is the reason they are "public" libraries and not exclusive to any particular group. There has been much controversy about what should be read and what should not be available but I would like to look at it from a different perspective.

I would like to focus on how amazing it is to be able to read a book and feel an instant connection to a story, situation, or character. Reading a fiction tale or a nonfiction piece and being able to identify with a character or situation creates a feeling of familiarity and kinship. You may have never met the author but it feels as if the author knows your background, your struggles, your thoughts, and even elements of your life. These feelings of recognition, connection, and validation are so meaningful and make our story - and our lives - understandable and relatable.

This feeling of connection is imperative for people from all walks of life. That is why it is so important for libraries to be all-inclusive and provide stories from different perspectives and points of view. If a character in a book looks like you, talks like you, eats the things you eat, and goes through situations that you are familiar with, it validates your own lived experiences. Having books and literature of all types available opens up conversations about different beliefs and cultures. Children, as well as adults, begin to feel comfortable and are permitted to exist in their realities without any apology. Similarly, when we read about people and cultures that are different, we can begin to understand the struggles that they have faced and have empathy for those groups instead of thinking of them as the "other."

Because November is Native American Heritage Month, I wanted to recognize the month by celebrating Indigenous stories and storytellers. Reading pieces written by Native American authors is one way to understand their experiences and rich history. Books and stories written by Native American writers provide insight into their many accomplishments and give an accurate representation of their culture and roles they have played throughout history - and continue to play in the community today. Pieces that are written and read by the author are also available on Playaway devices and as audiobooks. Here are some books for all ages that I found powerful and interesting and that opened my eyes to the Native American experience.

Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud

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.

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell 

Because she has been very ill and weak, River cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, she can only watch from the sidelines as her sisters and cousins dance the celebration--but as the drum beats she finds the faith to believe that she will recover and dance again.

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

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.

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.

Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer

Novelist David Treuer examines Native American reservation life--past and present--illuminating misunderstood contemporary issues of sovereignty, treaty rights, and natural-resource conservation while also exploring crime and poverty, casinos and wealth, and the preservation of native language and culture.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

1932, Minnesota. The Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O'Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent's wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.

- By Kaneeze at Hightstown