1 year ago
94 It was an grant and a situation to enactment unneurotic this list. My speechmaking beingness has been immeasurably improved by the galore superb Indigenous authors I’ve read, and it’s hard to distill specified a immense and analyzable lit into 1 abbreviated list. This 1 is meant lone to beryllium a jumping disconnected point.
In grant of Native American Heritage Month, which takes spot successful November, I’ve focused exclusively connected Indigenous authors from the U.S. and Canada. I’ve besides constricted the database to authors with astatine slightest 2 published works, though galore of these writers person written dozens of books. I’ve tried to prime a radical of authors that reflects the unthinkable diverseness of First Nations and Indigenous literature, but this is by nary means a broad list. Here you’ll find poets and novelists; writers of memoir, history, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy; authors of YA, MG, and big books. These artists hail from each implicit the North American continent and correspond dozens of antithetic nations.
I didn’t cipher the nonstop fig of books that, combined, these 22 authors person published. It’s determination successful the hundreds. What a acquisition for each of us! I’ve work astatine slightest 1 publication by each writer here, and I cannot hold to work the rest. If immoderate of these authors are caller to you, each I tin accidental is: you’re successful for a existent treat.
Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead burst onto the country successful 2018 with his superb debut novel, Jonny Appleseed. It’s a funny, moving, archetypal communicative astir a 20-something Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer idiosyncratic surviving and loving and moving and remembering successful the week starring up to his stepdad’s funeral. It won the 2021 Canada Reads Award. Whitehead is simply a subordinate of the Peguis First Nation and a student and prof astatine the University of Calgary. His newest book, Making Love with the Land, is simply a genre-defying postulation of essays astir nature, kinship, queerness, and language.
Louise Erdrich
There’s nary uncertainty Louise Erdrich is 1 of the champion and astir prolific authors penning today. She’s won galore prizes for her galore books, including the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for The Night Watchman and the 2012 National Book Award for The Round House. She’s written children’s books (The Birchbark House), poesy (Jacklight) and implicit a twelve novels. Her latest book, The Sentence, features a fictionalized mentation of the existent bookstore she owns successful Minneapolis, Birchbark Books!
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Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
If you’re looking for an writer who writes crossed galore genres, and who has an extended backlist to excavation into, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson should beryllium astatine the apical of your to-read list! She is simply a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, scholar, musician, and creator who has recorded respective albums successful summation to her galore books. Her fabrication includes novels, specified arsenic the beautifully unsocial Noopiming, and abbreviated fabrication (Islands of Decolonial Love). She’s besides written and edited an an array of nonfiction, overmuch of which deals with Indigenous culture, history, and activism, including Rehearsals for Living and A Short History of the Blockade.
Billy-Ray Belcourt
Billy-Ray Belcourt is simply a queer writer and student from the Driftpile Cree Nation. His enactment is simply a dazzling blend of the idiosyncratic and the academic. In his 4 books of poetry, essays, and fiction, helium explores the limits of world thought, the possibilities of queer and Indigenous world-building, the body, desire, the legacies of assemblage violence, and a full batch more. His newest book, A Minor Chorus, is my idiosyncratic favorite, but you should truly conscionable work everything he’s written, starting with his debut, This Wound is simply a World.
Ernestine Hayes
Ernestine Hayes is simply a Tlingit writer and prof emeritus from Juneau, Alaska. She was the State Writer Laureate of Alaska from 2016 to 2018, and successful summation to galore shorter workers, has published 2 memoirs, Blonde Indian and The Tao of Raven. Lovers of genre-defying, non-linear nonfiction, instrumentality note: Hayes’s enactment is layered and intricate, grounded successful Tlingit storytelling traditions.
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo is simply a writer and performer from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She served arsenic the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2019-2022. Her enactment includes galore books of poesy and 2 memoirs, arsenic good arsenic respective children’s books and plays. Much of her enactment concerns the past of the onshore and Indigenous radical connected the land. Her poems bring past to beingness and link it to the present, but they’re besides afloat of intimate item astir mean life. If you’re caller to her work, effort starting with An American Sunrise oregon Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, and the prime up her newest memoir, Catching the Light.
Cherie Dimaline
I fell successful emotion with Dimaline’s enactment aft speechmaking her superb YA post-apocalyptic duology, starting with The Marrow Thieves. It’s a chilling but yet hopefully publication acceptable successful a near-future satellite successful which Indigenous radical are hunted for the healing powerfulness of their dreams. Dimaline is besides the writer of the big caller Empire of Wild, a phantasy inspired by the Métis communicative of the Rogarou, a werewolf-like creature.
Darcie Little Badger
Darcie Little Badger is different must-read writer for fans of YA fiction! Her debut novel, Elatsoe, follows the adventures of a Lipan Apache teen trying to lick the enigma of her cousin’s murder. Her sophomore novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, is simply a beauteous communicative astir the relationship betwixt a Lipan Apache miss and a young antheral from the tone realm. Her enactment is hopeful and warm, afloat of the quality of quality and rooted successful Lipan Apache civilization and tradition.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer (who conscionable won a MacArthur genius grant!) is simply a scientist, writer, and gardener from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her enactment explores the relationships betwixt humans and the earthy world, and is rooted successful accepted Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. If you person yet to work Braiding Sweetgrass for the archetypal time, you are successful for a world-opening treat. And I tin safely accidental I volition ne'er deliberation astir moss the aforesaid mode again since speechmaking her gorgeous meditation and survey connected the subject, Gathering Moss.
Tommy Pico
Tommy Pico is simply a poet, performer, and screenwriter. Together, his 4 books of poesy (IRL, Nature Poem, Junk, and Feed) delve into the clashes and contradictions of modern queer life, from online dating to the quandary of penning astir quality arsenic an municipality NDN. His benignant is precise but besides a spot dizzying; his book-length poems are wholly immersive. In summation to poetry, helium co-hosts the queer civilization podcast Food 4 Thot and is simply a writer connected the TV bid Reservation Dogs.
Tomson Highway
Tomson Highway is chiefly a playwright, having implicit a twelve plays, including The Rez Sisters. But he’s besides the writer of a coming-of-age novel, Kiss of the Fur Queen, several children’s books, and a memoir, Permanent Astonishment. He often incorporates his archetypal language, Cree, into his enactment — helium wrote the libretto for a Cree connection opera, and successful 2022, helium released an medium of Cree state songs, Cree Country.
Diane Wilson
Dakota writer and pedagogue Diane Wilson published her debut novel, The Seed Keeper, successful 2021. If you’re looking for an exquisite blend of modern and humanities fabrication astir family, community, and the earthy world, you’re going to privation to tally to this book. Wilson has besides written respective works of nonfiction and memoir that research Dakota history, culture, and tradition. Her archetypal representation book, Where We Come From, conscionable came retired successful October.
Cynthia Leitich Smith
In summation to being a writer, Cynthia Leitich Smith is simply a dedicated advocator of Indigenous lit for kids and teens. She is the author-curator of Harper’s Heartdrum imprint, wherever she helps to bring Native-centered children’s stories into the world. Her ain enactment includes respective YA and mediate people books, including Hearts Unbroken, Sisters of the Neversea, and the fantastic anthology of stories centered astir 1 eventful powwow, Ancestor Approved.
Eden Robinson
Eden Robinson is simply a subordinate of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations and an writer with unthinkable range. She’s astir well-known for her Trickster trilogy, a coming-of-age saga astir an Indigenous teen dealing with each the challenges of modern life, and a fewer magical ones, arsenic well. My idiosyncratic favourite is Monkey Beach, which is acceptable successful the Kitamaat, British Columbia, wherever Robinson grew up. But whether she’s penning astir monsters, berry picking, oregon analyzable household dynamics, Robinson’s penning is ever vivid, alive, and afloat of emotion.
David Treuer
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is an implicit must-read for anyone who wants to recognize American history. Treuer delves into Indigenous past successful the 20th and 21st centuries, examining however Indigenous radical person shaped truthful galore aspects of American beingness and culture. He’s besides the writer of respective novels, and different enactment of nonfiction, Rez Life, which looks astatine preservation beingness successful the past and present.
N. Scott Momaday
N. Scott Momaday is simply a Kiowa writer who’s dabbled successful conscionable astir each form, including novels, poetry, memoir, abbreviated stories, and essays. His caller House Made of Dawn won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. His 2 latest collections of poetry, The Death of Sitting Bear and Earth Keeper are some acrophobic with spirituality, taste traditions, and the earthy world.
Richard Wagamese
Like truthful galore of the superb writers connected this list, Richard Wagamese’s extended catalog includes enactment successful galore genres. His best-known novel, Indian Horse, deals with the trauma of residential schools. He besides wrote memoir (One Native Life), arsenic good arsenic genre-defying nonfiction that blends essay, songs, ceremony, and letters (One Drum and For Joshua). Wagamese passed successful 2017 but leaves down an awesome assemblage of work.
Marcie R. Rendon
Marcie R. Rendon is simply a subordinate of the White Earth Nation and the writer of the Cash Blackbear enigma series. Set successful Minnesota successful the 1970s, the novels travel 19-year-old Cash Blackbear, an Ojibwe teen who uses her visions to assistance her lick crimes. Mystery fans looking for a smart, thoughtful, and action-packed bid to autumn successful emotion with volition not beryllium disappointed.
Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is simply a Blackfeet Native American writer of horror, sci-fi, and speculative fabrication of conscionable astir each flavor. He’s written implicit 20 books, and he’s lone 50, truthful I’m not definite however helium finds clip to bash things similar sleep. Though astir of his enactment falls determination connected the horror/speculative spectrum, helium seems to delight successful penning everything from slashers to literate thrillers and everything successful between. If you’re not definite wherever to start, effort Mongrels, Night of the Mannequins, oregon The Only Good Indians.
Natalie Diaz
Natalie Diaz is the writer of 2 poesy collections, Postcolonial Love Poem and When My Brother Was an Aztec. But don’t beryllium fooled into reasoning that means it won’t instrumentality that agelong to work her full catalog (so far), due to the fact that her enactment is the benignant of slippery, layered, dazzling poesy that is meant to beryllium work and reread. She writes astir the Southwestern landscape, rivers and water, queerness, family, love, language, and truthful overmuch more.
Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac is an Abenaki writer and storyteller who has written implicit 100 books for some children and adults. His astir caller book, Rez Dogs, is simply a mediate people caller successful verse astir a Wabanaki girl quarantining astatine her grandparents’ preservation during the aboriginal days of the pandemic. He’s besides published poetry, nonfiction, and assorted versions of accepted Abenaki stories.
Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Kali Fajardo-Anstine is simply a mixed-race writer from Denver, Colorado. Both her communicative postulation Sabrina & Corina and her novel, Woman of Light, halfway Indigenous Chicano and Latine characters successful the American West. Sabrina & Corina, acceptable successful Denver, is astir mothers, daughters, pistillate friendship, and ancestral power, portion Woman of Light is a sweeping humanities household saga.
Looking for more? Check retired these great Indigenous memoirs and this list of queer and Two-Spirit Indigenous fiction. You’ll find adjacent much fantastic books connected this database of popular Indigenous books from 2020. And you tin ever browse our Indigenous authors archive for adjacent much superb books!
