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Product Description: Based on the memories of Martin, this story introduces us to Joey, a happy Nuu-chah-nulth boy, eager to help and see the bright side of things. When he loses his beloved grandmother, though, the sun goes out in his world. Slowly, he realizes she has left something of herself behind in an important song, and he chooses to remember her with joy. Teachers Guide available.

Which Way Should I Go?

Sylvia Olsen, Ron Martin

Illustrator:

Kasia Charko

Age Level:

9-12

This beautiful photo-essay focuses on a community of beluga-whale hunting Inuvialuit in Tuk (short for Tuktoyaktuk) on the Arctic coast of the Northwest Territories of Canada. In addition to details about a modern whale-hunting expedition, there are stories and definitions of Inuvialuit words and other bits and pieces of lore. — Midwest Book Review (The Land Is Our Storybook)

Proud to be Inuvialuit

Mindy Willett, James Pokiak

Illustrator:

Tessa Macintosh

Age Level:

9-12

When the Grand Coulee Dam was built, the lives of the Arrow Lakes Tribe were changed forever. Sinee mat and her great-grandmother Toopa tell the story of life on the Columbia River before and after the dam. This important piece of Pacific Northwest history is beautifully illustrated by Virgil Smoker Marchand, a member of the Arrow Lakes Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes.

A River Lost

L. E. Bragg

Illustrator:

Virgil Marchand

Age Level:

9-12

Bruchac frames 11 legends of Native American sacred places with a conversation between Little Turtle and his uncle, Old Bear, who says, “There are sacred places all around us…They are found in the East and in the North, in the South and in the West, as well as Above, Below, and the place Within.”…The text is printed in stanzas, enhancing the image of prose poems.

Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places

Joseph Bruchac

Illustrator:

Thomas Locker

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Myths and Legends

Based on the author’s life, this simple yet profound book is about the pair of moccasins that a child receives from his foster mother. Through the moccasins, the child’s mother encourages him to take pride in his Ktunaxa (First Nations) heritage. Earl Einarson dedicates this book to “all foster parents who give of themselves and provide love when it is most needed.”

The Moccasins

Earl Einarson

Illustrator:

Julie Flett

Age Level:

3-6

In this traditional Crow story, a great big monster climbs out of the lake and up the cliff to steal the mother Thunderbird’s young chicks each spring. This year she is determined to save them, but she needs human help. So she snatches up Brave Wolf while he is out hunting and carries him to her nest, where he comes up with a plan. (Tales of the People)

Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird

Joseph Medicine Crow

Illustrator:

Linda R. Martin

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fairytales, Folk Tales, and Tall Tales, Myths and Legends

The oldest fair in the Navajo Nation is held annually in Shiprock, NM. This story follows young Nezbah through the event, from the excitement of waking on the first morning to the last moment of the festivities when her father carries her, tired and happy, into the house. The illustrations are done in a lively folk-art style in vibrant colors evocative of the Southwest. — School Library Journal

Songs of Shiprock Fair

Luci Tapahonso

Illustrator:

Anthony Chee Emerson

Age Level:

6-9

A young boy wishes that Winter’s cold, snow, and ice could be relieved by Spring and the warmth of New Sun. Then, he wishes that Spring be changed to Summer. Each time Boy complains, Wish Wind reluctantly grants him his wish. The Wish Wind points out our longing for change, with an unspoken reminder that enjoying each moment for what it offers now is a precious part of life. — Oyate

Wish Wind

Peter Eyvindson

Illustrator:

Wendy Wolsak

Age Level:

6-9

Where Only the Elders Go: Moon Lake Loon Lake

Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Illustrator:

Halina Below

Age Level:

6-9

In this heartwarming Christmas story from Saskatchewan writer and storyteller Peter Eyvindson, a young boy who has been afraid of his elderly neighbor, Red Parka Mary, soon comes to realize that she is both friendly and generous. As he gets to know Mary better, he begins appreciate her wisdom and warmth while discovering all that she has to teach him.

Red Parka Mary

Peter Eyvindson

Illustrator:

Rhian Brynjolson

Age Level:

6-9

Things have been hard for Ray, a young, green-eyed Ojibwe girl, since her father’s accidental death. But when she spends the summer with grandmother, who is an elder and a healer, she finds her voice and begins her own process of healing. Set in northern Ontario in the late 1970s, this story from Ojibwe author Ruby Slipperjack speaks to a young girl’s coming of age in a thoughtful, quiet way.

Little Voice

Ruby Slipperjack

Age Level:

9-12

When an out-of-control fire threatens to burn their whole world, a Cherokee elder advises two young men to go to the top of the world and seek the aid of Ice Man. Because they give him an offering, he puts the great fire out — and creates a lake in its place. To this day, it is said, you can hear the embers beneath the lake, crackling and hissing, reminding everyone of the great fire. — Oyate

Ice Man

Marijo Moore

Illustrator:

Yoshe Miyake

Age Level:

6-9

When Nonie and Billy go to visit their grandparents, Mishomis tells them a story about how Nanabosho, the son of West Wind and grandson of Nokomis, is born into this world, and how he grows and learns of the world around him. There is much cultural information here, and this is an excellent starting place for understanding the great and beloved hero and trickster. — Oyate

The Birth of Nanabosho

Joseph McLellan

Illustrator:

Jim Kirby

Age Level:

6-9

Yerxa, a Canadian of Ojibwe ancestry, celebrates the relationship between horses and the native people of the Great Plains in a series of three-mystically themed montages. At the center of each picture is a paper fringed shirt, crafted from handmade paper and modeled on those worn by the First Peoples; the shirt serves as both backdrop and landscape for Yerxa’s lean, schematic portraits of horses, usually depicted in groups at full gallop. — Publishers Weekly

Ancient Thunder

Leo Yerxa

Age Level:

6-9

These seven beautifully illustrated bilingual board books for the very youngest picture-readers show Baby learning — by watching and helping — the things Diné babies learn. In Baby Learns About Seasons, Baby watches the changing seasons and learns about bottle-feeding the lambs and preparing the field for planting in the spring, gathering corn pollen and picking peaches in the summer, catching falling leaves and harvesting piñon nuts in the fall, and chopping wood and listening to stories in the winter. — Oyate

Baby Learns About Seasons

Jessie Eve Ruffenach

Age Level:

0-3

The struggle to survive provides the exciting action in this sequel to The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence, which takes place in 1852Omakayas, now 12, feels the anguish of displacement as her family, driven from its beloved Madeline Island by white settlers, endures violent raids in the freezing winter and comes close to starvation in its search for a home. — Booklist

The Porcupine Year

Louise Erdrich

Age Level:

9-12

In this coming-of-age story, the children of the longhouse are 11-year-old Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia. Twin brother and sister, they live in a Mohawk town in the traditional homelands of what is now eastern New York State in 1491. Reflecting the balance between male and female roles in Iroquois society, the book’s chapters alternate between the events and perspectives of Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia, who very definitely see things differently. Bruchac seamlessly incorporates an impressive amount of information about pre-contact Mohawk culture, society, and beliefs, and tells a good story as well. — Oyate

Children of the Longhouse

Joseph Bruchac

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Fiction, Historical Fiction

In Native cultures, the night is a crucial part of the Great Circle and balance in the universe. In the tradition of the best-selling Keepers of the Earth and Keepers of the Animals, this collection offers unique ideas about understanding the natural world by looking at it through a nocturnal lens. Resources and activities include legends and myths, puppet shows, stargazing guides, campfire topics, and traditional dances.

Keepers of the Night: Native American Stories and Nocturnal Activities for Children

Joseph Bruchac, Michael J. Caduto

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Nonfiction, Fairytales, Folk Tales, and Tall Tales, Myths and Legends

Neekna and Chemai

Jeannette Armstrong

Illustrator:

Barb Marchand

Age Level:

6-9

It’s circle time, and in answer to his classmates’ questions about his moccasins, a child describes in detail how his grandmother made them: “By washing and scraping and pulling and smoking a deer hide, my Kookum made the leather. And from the leather she made my moccasins for me.” A related lesson plan is featured on the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog . — Oyate

Where Did You Get Your Moccasins?

Bernelda Wheeler

Illustrator:

Herman Bekkering

Age Level:

3-6

Dzanibaa’ is alone when U.S. troops swoop down on her family’s hogan. Before she can run to safety, a soldier grabs her and puts her on his horse. She is taken to Fort Canby, and from there is forced to walk to Bosque Redondo. For four long years, Dzanibaa’ and her family endure incredible hardship and sacrifice. Nevertheless, this time of trial gives Dzanibaa’ a profound sense of herself as a Navajo and of the importance of her culture. Bilingual Navajo/English.

Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home: A Story of the Navajo Long Walk

Evangeline Parsons-Yazzie

Age Level:

9-12

A long time ago, fire belonged only to the animals in the land above, not to those on the earth below. Curlew, keeper of the sky world, guarded fire and kept it from the earth. Coyote, however, devised a clever plan to steal fire, aided by Grizzly Bear, Wren, Snake, Frog, Eagle, and Beaver. Beaver Steals Fire is an ancient and powerful tale springing from the hearts and experiences of the Salish people of Montana.

Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Age Level:

3-6

Genre:

Fairytales, Folk Tales, and Tall Tales, Myths and Legends

Here are traditional Salish Indian coyote stories, recorded by Salish elders and illustrated by Indian artists from the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. Written at a fourth grade level, these legends are meant to be enjoyed by people of all ages — from three to eighty-three — just as they have been for generations among the Salish, who often gathered together to listen to these stories during the cold, dark Montana winters.

Coyote Stories of the Montana Salish Indians

Montana Historical Society Press

Age Level:

9-12

With the direction of and encouragement from Mohawk elder and tribal scholar Tehanetorens, the students of the Onkwehonwe Neha/Indian Way School at Akwesasne Mohawk Nation made authentic, exact copies of the sacred Haudenosaunee wampum belts and strings. Here, Tehanetorens and his students interpret the belts and set them in the context of the history of the Haudenosaunee people. This important book is a must in any classroom in which the U.S. Constitution is taught. — Oyate

Waumpum Belts of the Iroquois

Ray Fadden Tehanetorens

Age Level:

9-12

Reading 101

In the Classroom

Helping All Readers

Books & Authors

Literacy at Home

Book Finder

Which Way Should I Go?

Proud to be Inuvialuit

A River Lost

Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places

The Moccasins

Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird

Songs of Shiprock Fair

Wish Wind

Where Only the Elders Go: Moon Lake Loon Lake

Red Parka Mary

Little Voice

Ice Man

The Birth of Nanabosho

Ancient Thunder

Baby Learns About Seasons

The Porcupine Year

Children of the Longhouse

Keepers of the Night: Native American Stories and Nocturnal Activities for Children

Neekna and Chemai

Where Did You Get Your Moccasins?

Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home: A Story of the Navajo Long Walk

Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story

Coyote Stories of the Montana Salish Indians

Waumpum Belts of the Iroquois

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