Ethnic Groups Ethnic Groups > Native American
Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, The
When Junior (Arnold) Spirit chooses to go to school off his North Dakota reservation to attend an all white farm school, he encounters a few new friends and loses an old one as he navigates the worlds of whites and Native Americans.
Author: Alexie, Sherman |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Black Pioneers
This well-researched history of African American pioneers, freedom fighters, and participants in the Underground Railroad tells little known stories of brave people who settled the midwest against great odds. The book contains archival photographs, a map
Author: Katz, William Loren |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black Star, Bright Dawn
Bright Dawn, a teenaged Eskimo girl, takes her father's place in the grueling Iditarod, the 1000-mile dogsled race through the cold wilds of Alaska. In the process, she learns about herself, her family, and her culture.
Boy Called Slow, A
This is the story of Sitting Bull and his amazing story of leadership and bravery. Told in a compelling style this celebration of one of America's heroes should be read by readers of all ages.
Author: Bruchac, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Boy Named Reckoning, A: A: The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero
The author has pieced together the writings of Dr. Carlos Montezuma to tell his life story in letter form. He was a Native American boy who was kidnapped, sold into slavery and eventually educated in Chicago. He devoted the rest of his life to lobbying fo
Author: Capaldi, Gina |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Cloud Eyes
A young Indian dreamer named Cloud Eyes uses his understanding of the language of animals to bring honey back to his people.
Code Talkers
After attending a white boarding school where his Navajo language and culture were belittled and punished, Ned Begay served as a code talker with the US Marines during operations in the Pacific during World War II. The narrator tells his story to his gra
Author: Bruchac, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Coyote Makes Man
In this Native American creation myth, when coyote calls all the animals together to create the first human being, each animal models man after himself, causing coyote to resolve the dilemma. The illustrations are beautiful examples of collage.
Encounter
An old Taino man tells a story about his childhood, about the day the invaders came and his people welcomed them. At the end it is clear that he is talking about Columbus. The book ends with an author's note. This is a powerful book with superior illust
Author: Yolen, Jane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story, The
A quarrel between husband and wife is resolved when strawberries begin to grow.
Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad
The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 granted a company in California the right to lay railroad tracks east and another to lay tracks west beginning at the Mississippi River. Payment for the work, in land and money, was based on the number of miles covered. T
Author: Blumberg, Rhoda |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Gold Rush, The
This 118-page pictorial history of the California gold rush includes fascinating photographs and artifacts. It is an engaging prose account that includes the stories of Native Americans, Mexicans, and Chinese miners and families.
Author: Ketchum, Liza |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land
This is a topical history of women in early America (1600s to beginning of American Revolution). Primary source material is used to the extent possible. Lives of White, Black and Native American women are featured. An index, bibliography, and a website b
Author: Miller, Brandon Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
How We Crossed the West
Colorful illustrations, maps, and journal excerpts invite the reader to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the plains and the Pacific Northwest in 1804.
Author: Schanzer, Rosalyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
I Heard the Owl Call my Name
Although this book is not universally appealing, some readers respond emotionally and deeply to this story of a young priest's year with the Native American people of British Columbia, his illness, and his acceptance of his fate. The book does not provid
I'm in Charge of Celebrations
A desert (Native American?) woman is asked if she is lonely and replies by telling about all the natural wonders she witnesses. The title comes from her idea of marking the calendar for the following year to celebrate whatever she saw. The illustrations
Indian School
Subtitled "Teaching the White Man's Way," this book chronicles efforts to "civilize" Native American children and youth in the late 19th and early 20th century. Archival photographs, an index, a reading list, a bibliography, and a list of web sites comple
Author: Cooper, Michael L. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Indian Winter, An
In 1833, a German prince and his servant and a Swiss artist traveled up the Missouri River Valley recording their contacts with the Mandan Sioux in journals and sketches. Russell Freedman stimulates the reader's curiosity through well-researched text and
Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
It Is a Good Day to Die
A brief introduction explains why the account of Custer's battle at Little Bighorn is told through individual recollections long after the encounter. In addition to the personal accounts, the book includes a helpful chronology of events, short biographie
Author: Viola, Herman |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall
Part creation myth, part father/son initiation story, the book beautifully depicts a journey through the woods as the scene changes from fall to winter.
Author: Yerxa, Leo |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Light in the Forest, The
At 15, true son John Butler is returned to his biological white family by his Native American adoptive father. After he escapes with his friend and rescuer Halt Arrow, he is caught between two families and two cultures.
Author: Richter, Conrad |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Looks Like Daylight:Voices of Indigenous Kids
For two years writer and activist Deborah Ellis traveled across the United States and Canada, interviewing Indigenous young people. The result is a collection of frank and often surporising interviews with kids aged 9 to 19, as they talk about their dail
Author: Ellis, Deborah |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - writing | social studies | language arts - reading
|
Musicians of the Sun
This beautifully illustrated book of an Aztec myth of the beginning of the earth celebrates Native American folktales.
Author: McDermott, Gerald |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
My Heroes, My People
Portraits of native American, Africans, and people of mixed race--both images and brief biographies--present a less well-known history of the American West. A Note on Sources and Further Reading and an index promote classroom use. The unusual illustratio
Author: Monceaux, Morgan & Katcher, Ruth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Native Americans
Rather than focus on individual tribes, the editors chose to organize the text and illustrations by cultural topics such as dress, transportation, rituals, and livelihood. Information boxes augment the brief text, giving the appearance of an intermediate
Author: Thomas, David & Pendleton, Lorann (Eds.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa
Shonto Begay's artwork has been celebrated throughout the southwestern U.S. for decades. Twenty of his paintings are the illustrations for this book. Each painting is accompanied by a poem.
Nickommoh! A Thanksgiving Celebration
The Native American harvest celebration, Nickommah, is described in simple text accompanied by interesting illustrations. Other information about Native American culture is also shared; a glossary of Native American terms concludes the book.
Author: Koller, Jackie French |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Rio Grande Stories
In Albuquerque, 7th grade students decide to write a book on their diverse heritage to raise money for the school. As they research traditions and family stories, they learn unexpected things about themselves. Chapters alternate between stories about th
Roanoke
Based on extensive research, this book explores the political intrigue surrounding the disappearance of the first American colony at Roanoke, in what is now North Carolina. The suspenseful text is supplemented with archival photographs and paintings, a t
Author: Miller, Lee |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Salt: A Story of Friendship in Time of War
Set in the Indiana Territory, this story of two friends - Anikwa, a Miami Indian and James, the son of a white trader become friends despite the conflict of their heritage. This book is uniquely crafted in two style of poetic verse. Salt plays a symbolic
Author: Frost, Helen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Sees Behind Trees
A blind Native American boy learns to "see behind trees", guided by his mother, to use his other senses. He uses his gift to help an old warrior find a land of mystery and beauty that he'd discovered years ago, and could not find again himself.
Author: Dorris, Michael |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Shin-chi's Canoe
Shin-chi's toy canoe, given to him by his father, sustains him during his first year at an Indian residential school. This story occurs when Native Americans were forced to attend Indian residential schools where they were made to learn the white man's w
Author: Campbell, Nicola I. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Sioux, The
This book is part of the "Lifeway Series," which also includes titles called The Cherokee, The Iroquois, and The Navajo. This title examines the origins, history, culture, beliefs, and language of the Native American tribe the S
Author: Bial, Raymond |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Song of Hiawatha, The
Excerpts from the long poem have been selected to tell the story of Hiawatha. Detailed illustrations accompany each excerpt.
Author: Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Spirit Walker
This stunningly illustrated book of poetry celebrates a physical relationship with the earth and the philosophies, vision, and perspectives of Native Americans, especially the women.
Author: Wood, Nancy |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Streams to the River, River to the Sea
This is a fictional recounting of Sacagawea's association with Lewis and Clark. Although some Reading Group members were concerned about the accuracy of the portrayal, in the introduction, the author cites several references used in crafting the story.
Author: O'Dell, Scott |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
This Land is My Land
By telling his own story in words and in art, Littlefield describes what it is to be Native-American in the United States. He pays tribute to his ancestors and to the Native-American culture and history.
Author: Littlechild, George |
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This Vast Land
A fictional account of a young man on the real Lewis and Clark Expedition emphasizes and personalizes the confrontation of races and the conflict between civilization and the wilderness. There are allusions to sex, though minimal.
Author: Ambrose, Stephen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Touching Spirit Bear
Cole, a juvenile "delinquent," is offered jail or "circle justice," a system based on Native American traditions that attempts to provide healing for the criminal, his victim, and the community. Cole's time at a remote Alaskan island and his interactions
Unbreakable Code, The
A young Navajo boy, who must leave his Southwest home, draws courage from his grandfather's story about being a "Code Talker" during WWII.
Author: Hunter, Sara |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Walking the Choctaw Road
A collection of twelve stories from the Mississippi and Oklahoma branches of the Choctaw People, including traditional lore arising from beliefs and myths, historical tales pased down through generations, and personal stories of contemporary life.
Author: Tingle, Tim |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Winter People, The
Historical Fiction: As the French and Indian War rages in October of 1759, Saxso, a 14 year old boy, pursues the English rangers who have attacked his village and taken his mother and sisters hostage.
Author: Bruchac, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > Native American > well-known people
Boy Called Slow, A
This is the story of Sitting Bull and his amazing story of leadership and bravery. Told in a compelling style this celebration of one of America's heroes should be read by readers of all ages.
Author: Bruchac, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > Native American > well-known people > Begay, Shonto
|