Middle Grade Books Celebrating Native American HeritageLike this list

30 items

• Sacagawea

  Courageous Trailblazer!

  Buckley, James, Jr., 1963-

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  What did 33 men in the 1800s need to find their way through the wilderness on a trip across America? They needed a woman--and they found one in Sacagawea, the Native American teenage mother who helped the Lewis and Clark expedition survive. She and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Encyclopedia of American Indian History & Culture

  Stories, Time Lines, Maps, and More

  O'Brien, Cynthia (Cynthia J.)

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  American Indian customs, stories, and history come to life in this important and authoritative reference, artfully designed and packaged for kids and students. More than 160 tribes are featured in this fantastic new encyclopaedia, which presents a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters

  Chilling American Indian Stories

  Jones, Dan SaSuWeh, 1951-

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  Thirty-two short stories chosen from the tradition of ghost stories from American Indian cultures across North America, featuring witches, walking dolls, hungry skeletons, skinwalkers, and other supernatural beings.

• Ancestor Approved

  Intertribal Stories for Kids

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  Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

• Deb Haaland

  First Native American Cabinet Secretary

  Doerfler, Jill,

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  In 2021, Deb Haaland made history as the first Indigenous cabinet secretary. Serving as Secretary of the Interior, Haaland has championed climate and the rights of Native peoples. Discover Haaland's early life, her political career, and more.

• Weird Rules to Follow

  Spencer, Kim,

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  It's the 1980's. Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. But even thought they both live in the same cul-de-sac in the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert, Mia's life is very different from her non-Indigenous,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sacagawea

  Crossing the Continent With Lewis & Clark

  Berne, Emma Carlson, 1979-

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  Sacagawea (sometimes spelled Sacajawea), a Shoshone woman who traveled with the famed Lewis and Clark expedition, is one of the most well-known figures of Native American history. This biography does a good job discussing both the known facts and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain

  the Story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce

  Biskup, Agnieszka

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  A graphic novel biography of the Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph, which details the events that led to the loss of Nez Perce ancestral land and the hardships faced by the displaced as they were forced to leave their homes behind.

• Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code

  a Navajo Code Talker's Story

  Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-

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  A powerful biography of Chester Nez (born Betoli), one of the famous Navajo Code Talkers who used their ancestral language to stump enemy forces during World War II. This book highlights the bittersweet irony that surrounds the code talkers--like…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Journal of Jesse Smoke

  a Cherokee Boy

  Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-

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  16-year-old Jesse Smoke chronicles the hardships of the Trail of Tears, the forced march of Cherokee Indians from their homelands west to Oklahoma. The march caused the deaths of at least 4,000 Cherokee people.

• Talking Leaves

  Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-

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  Abenaki author Bruchac weaves a fictional son, Uwohali, into the story of the real-life Cherokee man Sequoyah, who invented a syllabary for writing the Cherokee language, helping to preserve their history and culture. Uwohali's desire to understand…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Boy Named Beckoning

  the True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero

  Capaldi, Gina

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  A biography of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, or Wassaja (meaning "signaling" or "beckoning"), a Yavapai-Apache Indian who was an activist and founding member of the Society of American Indians. The book focuses on Montezuma's childhood. As a boy, he was…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Red Bird Sings

  the Story of Zitkala-S̈a, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist

  Capaldi, Gina

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  A biography of Gertrude Simmons, better known by her pen name, Zitkala-Sa (meaning Red Bird). A member of the Sioux Nation, Zitkala-Sa was sent from her birthplace in South Dakota to a boarding school in Indiana. She experienced both a loss of her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Can Make This Promise

  Day, Christine, 1993-

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  When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity.

• The Sea in Winter

  Day, Christine, 1993-

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  After an injury sidelines her dreams of becoming a ballet star, Maisie is not excited for her blended family's annual midwinter road trip along the Pacific Northwest coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.

• Morning Girl

  Dorris, Michael

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  This speculative novella imagines Taino life in Hispaniola before Christopher Columbus's arrival. The book switches between the perspectives of two siblings, Morning Girl and Star Boy. The story does more to explore sibling relationships than offer…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Makoons

  Erdrich, Louise

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  This novel is the latest volume of Erdrich's "Birchbark House" series, which follows a spirited and resilient Ojibwe girl named Omakayas and her family through triumph and tragedy. You don't have to read the entire series to follow the story of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Flying Lessons & Other Stories

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  This collection of short stories about growing up shows both how unique every kid's experiences are and the universality of struggles they face. Read Tim Tingle's story, "Choctaw Bigfoot, Midnight in the Mountains."

• Speaking Our Truth

  a Journey of Reconciliation

  Gray Smith, Monique, 1968-

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  Written for Native American youth by a Native American, this book is also valuable for outsiders who want to better understand past history, contemporary issues, and philosophy that shapes modern life.

• The Case of Windy Lake

  Hutchinson, Michael, 1971-

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  First in a series. Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new…Read moreRead more of this annotation