Indigenous Literature

This freewheeling black comedy features a bizarre cast of characters, including a Japanese man with a ball floating six inches in front of his head, an American CEO with three arms, and a Brazilian peasant who discovers the art of healing by tickling one’s earlobe with a feather. By the end of this hilarious tale, they each have risen to the heights of wealth and fame, before arriving at disasters—both personal and ecological— that destroy the rain forest and all birds of Brazil.

Listen to the story of one of the best storytellers of Canada’s Six Nations. Chief Dan George entered the silver screen to represent the indigenous people. He was Tsleil-Waututh actor and poet through and through. He turned down stereotypical roles. Learn about the colorful life of Chief Dan George.

Kateri Tekakwitha lost all reasons to smile when an epidemic of smallpox in her village made her an orphan. But instead of giving up, she persevered to live on. Kateri was a pious girl who defied tradition by choosing to convert to Christianity. She was the first North American aboriginal person to become a saint.

Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples throughout North America have observed, practiced, experimented, and interacted with plants, animals, the sky, and the waters over millennia. Knowledge keepers have shared their wisdom with younger people through oral history, stories, ceremonies, and records that took many forms. In Sky Wolf’s Call, Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger reveal how Indigenous knowledge comes from centuries of practices, experiences, and ideas gathered by people who have a long history with the natural world.

Stories about Hiawatha come in many versions. This educational book tells the tale of Hiawatha as an important precolonial figure who united the Five Nations. Listening to Hiawatha’s tale will open the eyes to the way of living of the early Canadian tribes as well as their customs, beliefs, and traditions. A lot can be learned about early Canada from the life of Hiawatha.

A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence.

How did Tom Longboat use his skills as a distance runner to campaign for the cultural awareness of the indigenous people of Canada? Know the answer by listening to this educational book that has been adapted for kids. Listening about the extraordinary lives of extraordinary people will help improve cultural and historical awareness. Get a copy now.

Growing up in a gang in the city can be dark. Growing up Native American in a gang in Chicago is a whole different story. This book takes a trip through that unexplored part of Indian Country, an intense journey that is full of surprises, shining a light on the interior lives of people whose intellectual and emotional concerns are often overlooked. This dark, compelling, occasionally inappropriate, and often hilarious linked story collection introduces a character who defies all stereotypes about urban life and Indians. He will be in listeners' heads for a long time to come.

The Rainbow, the Midwife & The Birds audiobook contains 7 Dene First Nation stories, as experienced by Raymond Yakeleya.

This carefully researched exploration of Native American culture investigates the complex, often misunderstood histories of hundreds of indigenous peoples. Author James Wilson has drawn from ethnographic and archaeological studies, historical texts, and the rich written and oral traditions of Native Americans to complete this important work.

On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth. Salmon from the stream, herring eggs from the ocean, and in the forest, a world of berries. Through the seasons, they sing to the land as the land sings to them. Brimming with joy and gratitude, in every step of their journey, they forge a deeper kinship with both the earth and the generations that came before, joining in the song that connects us all.

A children's audiobook about an Indigenous girl who discovers the miracles that blossom each spring and learns how Creator's gift of courage can transform the way we see the world and ourselves.

An Indigenous boy invites new friends to share in beloved traditions as he celebrates the joy of summer and his love for Earth and Creator in this audiobook that revels in the warmth, light, and fun of the longest days of the year.

It’s 1880 in the North Island town of Otaki, where Aroha lives contentedly with her mother, Linda - until a fateful tragedy leaves Aroha traumatized and plagued by a cursed guilt. For the long recovery ahead, Aroha is sent to Rata Station, a thriving sheep farm that Aroha’s mother and grandmother once called home. Linda knows it’s the perfect place for her daughter to heal, find hope, and start a life she can call her own.

Originally published in 1891, Wynema is the first novel known to have been written by a woman of American Indian descent. Set against the sweeping and often tragic cultural changes that affected southeastern native peoples during the late 19th century, it tells the story of a lifelong friendship between two women from vastly different backgrounds - Wynema Harjo, a Muscogee Indian, and Genevieve Weir, a Methodist teacher from a genteel Southern family.

Daphne Odjig was a self-taught visual artist who showcased her originality, social awareness, and feminism to create masterpieces that are reflective of he Anishinaabe culture. Daphne gave the indigenous people of Canada a voice to the foreground of contemporary art. See the world through Daphne Odjig’s eyes.

An icy chill foretells a harsh winter for the Navajo people—and for perpetually down on his luck Harley Ponyboy the situation grows increasingly desperate. What evil is this that dogs his every step? When a lucky lottery ticket comes his way, Harley uses the new resources to search for a lost love—only to find she has fallen to appalling depths. His stubborn resolve to help puts him on a collision course with her abusive companion . . . and with his own mortality.

In this enthralling narrative, professor and award-winning author Jeffrey Ostler recounts the Lakota Sioux’s loss of their spiritual homeland and their remarkable legal battle to regain it. Moving easily from battlefields to reservations to Supreme Court chambers, Ostler captures the strength that bore the Lakotas through the worst times and kept alive the dream of reclaiming their cherished lands.

Rosemarie Kuptana is no ordinary woman. She is a Canadian politician and an Inuit rights activist. She is also a broadcaster and a journalist. But did you know that she was born on an igloo while her parents were out hunting? Her birth into the world is the best introduction to her story of great will and greater actions.

Alanis Obomsawin used the art of documentary film making to bring into public consciousness the plight of the indigenous people of Canada. As a member of the Abenaki Nation herself, Alanis encountered bullying and the promotion of European cultural superiority in her community.