Native American Heritage

Acclaimed historians Robert M. Utley and Wilcomb E. Washburn examine both small battles and major wars - from the Native rebellion of 1492 to Crazy Horse and the Sioux War to the massacre at Wounded Knee.

The compelling account of how two heritages united in their struggle to gain freedom and equality in America. The first paths to freedom taken by runaway slaves led to Native American villages. There, black men and women found acceptance and friendship among our country's original inhabitants. Though they seldom appear in textbooks and movies, the children of Native and African American marriages helped shape the early days of the fur trade, added a new dimension to frontier diplomacy, and made a daring contribution to the fight for American liberty.

As the armed conflicts between the English colonies in North America and the French settlements raged in the 1700s, a young Puritan girl, Eunice Williams, is kidnapped by Mohawk people and taken to Canada. She is adopted into a new family, a new culture, and a new set of traditions that will define her life. As Eunice spends her days learning the Mohawk language and the roles of women and girls in the community, she gains a deeper understanding of her Mohawk family.

Relinquished as an infant, Ruby is placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple who can't afford to complain too loudly about Ruby's Indigenous roots. But when her new parents' marriage falls apart, Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity. Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs, and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her.

Picture a Crow Indian elder, his wizened eyes catching yours in the ancient flicker of firelight. His mesmerizing stories span the ages, from Custer to World War II to the 21st Century. He is the last traditional chief of his people. He is over 90 years old. Now picture that same man lecturing at colleges nationwide and addressing the United Nations on the subject of peace. National Geographic presents the amazing life story of Joseph Medicine Crow, the man who begins life as Winter Man. Trained as a warrior by his grandfather Yellowtail, he bathes in icy rivers and endures the ceremony of "counting coup".

Her name is Omakayas, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop, and she lives on an island in Lake Superior. It is 1850 and the lives of the Ojibwe have returned to a familiar rhythm: they build their birchbark houses in the summer, go to the ricing camps in the fall to harvest and feast, and move to their cozy cedar log cabins near the town of LaPointe before the first snows.

Alexandra Ziolkowska-Boehm's "Open Wounds: A Native American Heritage" was inspired by her great uncle, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski,who in response to the Lakota Sioux Indian Chief Henry Standing Bear's request "tell my story in stone", decided to sculpt Sioux Chief Crazy Horse from a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Ziolkowska-Boehm explores the real story of Crazy Horse, as well as the real story of the American Indians. She discovers the incredible role Indians played in the World Wars, and she also learns that Indians and their languages and customs are unique to each tribe.

Born into the Northern Paiute tribe of Nevada in 1844, Sarah Winnemucca straddled two cultures: the traditional life of her people, and the modern ways of her grandfather's white friends. Sarah was smart and good at languages, so she was able to link the worlds. As she became older, this made her a great leader. Sarah used condemning letters, fiery speeches, and her autobiography, Life Among the Piutes, to provide detailed accounts of her people's turmoil through years of starvation, unjust relocations, and violent attacks. In Paiute Princess, Deborah Kogan Ray offers a remarkable look at an underrepresented historical figure.

Young listeners learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Thanksgiving.

You may know of Pocahontas, but there is more to her story. Learn about life in the time that Pocahontas lived, and how she impacted the First Colonies.

Chief Joseph wanted peace for his people. But the US Army had different ideas. As the headman and spokesperson for the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph tried to do what was best for his people. Join him as he leads his people over vast plains and rugged mountains on the run from the US Army.

Unapologetically punk, the essays in Thunder Song segue from the miraculous to the mundane, from the spiritual to the physical, as they examine the role of art—in particular music—and community in helping a new generation of indigenous people claim the strength of their heritage while defining their own path in the contemporary world.

You may know of many Native American tribes, but there is more to their story. Learn about life in the time that the First Americans lived.

Examining the legacy of racial mixing in Indian Territory through the land and lives of two families, one of Cherokee Freedman descent and one of Muscogee Creek heritage, Darnella Davis' memoir writes a new chapter in the history of racial mixing on the frontier. It is the only book-length account of the intersections between the three races in Indian Territory and Oklahoma written from the perspective of a tribal person and a freedman.

A long time ago, people looked down on the Native Americans because they had a rather peculiar way of living. But did you know that despite the prejudice, there were Native Americans who changed the world? These people did a very important role of educating the world about their existing, particularly their cultures and traditions. Grab a copy today! 

Get to know the Zuni people by listening about them. This book features the Zuni as a Native American tribe. It highlights the unique culture, traditions, and way of life, as well as the region in which they lived. At the end of this book, you are expected to be able to explain the conflicts between the Pueblo and the Spaniards. Have a good listen!

There are several Native American tribes, each having their own beliefs and customs. You can tell them apart based on their similarities and differences. In this book, you will learn about the Cherokee Indians. How did you live before and after colonization? Which battles did they fight and did they win? Start listening today.

Growing up impoverished and shuttled between different households, it seemed life was bound to take a certain path for Eddie Chuculate. Despite the challenges he faced, his upbringing was rich with love and bountiful lessons from his Creek and Cherokee heritage, deep-rooted traditions he embraced even as he learned to live within the culture of white, small-town America that dominated his migratory childhood.

"The Legend of Tsali" is an inspiring story of one man's sacrifice for the Cherokee people and homeland he loved. Tsali was working his homestead as history unfolded around him. Seven thousand troops were drafted in to place the local Cherokees in stockades, before a forced march to the West, which became known as the Trail of Tears. Discover how one man's resistance became a legend that is still told today!

When North and South met in 1865 at Appomattox Court House to end the Civil War, the official terms of surrender weren’t written in the hand of Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, or any white soldier. Instead, this momentous event was recorded by General Ely S. Parker, a member of the Seneca (Iroquois) tribe. At that time, Parker was not only the highest-ranking Native American in the Union Army but also the Grand Sachem, or chief representative, of the Haudenosaunee—the powerful Iroquois Confederacy.