Native American/First Nations Reading List - General Authors

 

Sherman Alexie – best the best known author on the list, but be advised there have been sexual harassment allegations level at him.  Read here

Mary Brave Bird (Mary Brave Woman Olguin) – Member of AIM, memoirist.

Natalie Diaz – Highly acclaimed poet.

Cherie Dimaline – Perhaps best known for The Marrow Thieves, her Empire of the Wild is also very good.

Richard Van Camp – His The Lesser Blessed  was turned into a move in 2013.

Louise Erdrich – fiction author and owner of an independent bookshop.

Naomi Fontaine -  Her Kuessipan is a wonderful book.

Stephen Graham Jones – This author is known for horror and dark fantasy.

Joy Harjo – The current Poet Laureate of the United States, Harjo also has published a memoir and is also known for her music.  She plays the sax.  She also edited When The Light of the World was Subdued, Our Songs Came Though a collection of Native Nations Poetry.

Thomas King – know for both fiction and non-fiction.  His Inconvenient Indian  was chosen as a Canada Reads selection and is about Native American/white relationships.  His The Truth About Stories will expand your TBR pile.

Mitarjuk Nappaaluk  - Her Sanaaq is the first Inuktitut language novel, and the first Canadian Inuit novel to be written (the second to be published)

Tommy Orange – His There There is critically acclaimed and won the American Book Award.   He also writes short fiction and essays.

N. Scott Momaday – writer of fiction, short stories, and essays.

Markoosie Patsauq – His Harpoon of the Hunter was the first Inuit novel to be published. 

Rachel Qitsualik- Tinsley  - She has published a collection of Inuit folklore. 

Waubgeshig Rice – writer of fiction.

Rebecca Roanhorse – Roanhorse is known for her sci-fi and fantasy work.

Eden Robinson – Best known for her Trickster series, Robinson writes YA that seems to only get called YA because of the age of the protagonists.  Her The Sasquatch at Home, part of Cic Kreisel Lecture series, is about oral storytelling.

Tanya Talaga – A reporter in Canada, Talaga’s first book Seven Fallen Feathers, is about the deaths of young First Nations teens.  Her second was a CBC Massey Lecture – All Our Relations.

Tanya Tagaq – Best known for her music, Tagaq has also written Split Tooth.  Tagaq’s music combines Inuit Throat singing with punk music. 

Ray Young Bear – Several works of poetry.  Manifestation Wolverine  is the collected works.

Velma Wallis – Two of her books retell Native Alaskan stories.  She also has a memoir.