Native American/First Nation Fiction

New and recommended fiction by Native American/First Nation authors

Updated September 19, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Native American/First Nation Fiction

New and recommended fiction by Native American/First Nation authors

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The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven
Alexie, Sherman
Paper Book
In this darkly comic short story collection, Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, brilliantly weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. These twenty-two interlinked tales are narrated by...
Swim home to the vanished
Basham, Brendan Shay
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Reading the West Book Award in the Debut Fiction "Swim Home to the Vanished is a lush and fantastic journey through strange lands and minds from an incandescent new voice full of my kind of melancholic brilliance and unromantic magic."--Tommy Orange, author of There,...
Better the blood
Bennett, Michael
Paper Book
An absorbing, clever debut thriller that speaks to the longstanding injustices faced by New Zealand's indigenous peoples, by an acclaimed Māori screenwriter and director A tenacious Māori detective, Hana Westerman juggles single motherhood, endemic prejudice, and the...
To shape a dragon's breath
Blackgoose, Moniquill
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . WINNER OF THE ASTOUNDING, NEBULA, AND LODESTAR AWARDS . FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AND BRITISH FANTASY NEWCOMER AWARDS . "My favorite book of the year . . . a coming-of-age story that is cozy and hair-raising in equal measure."-Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post
A broken blade
Blair, Melissa
Paper Book
The BookTok sensation from debut author Melissa Blair--now with exclusive bonus content!   "Gripping and fierce. This is much-needed fantasy with its fangs honed sharp by the power of resistance. Melissa Blair has built a tremendous world."--Chloe Gong, #1 New...
1666 : a novel
Chilton, Lora
Paper Book
The Survival Story of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia told through the lives of two women  The survival story of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia has been remembered within the tribe for generations, but the massacre of Patawomeck men and the enslavement of women and children...
Even as we breathe : a novel
Clapsaddle, Annette Saunooke
Paper Book
Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville's luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as...
VenCo : a novel
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
"Once I opened VenCo, I was propelled through an entire night of charmed reading. Cherie Dimaline creates a world utterly fantastical, yet real. VenCo is funny, tense, and cracking with a dark, divine energy."  ---Louise Erdrich, New York Times bestselling author of The...
The lost journals of Sacajewea : a novel
Earling, Debra Magpie
Paper Book
Winner of the Montana Book Award From the award-winning author of Perma Red comes a devastatingly beautiful novel that challenges prevailing historical narratives of Sacajewea. "In my seventh winter,...
And then she fell : a novel
Elliott, Alicia
Paper Book
A Globe and Mail "Best Book of 2023"; a Most Anticipated Book Pick by Good Morning America, Bustle, CrimeReads, Electric Literature, Debutiful, Ms. Magazine, The Nerd Daily, and Paste A mind-bending, razor-sharp look at...
Shutter
Emerson, Ramona
Paper Book
Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases - she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward clues other investigators overlook. Rita's...
The mighty red : a novel
Erdrich, Louise
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FOR FICTION A Best Book of the Year: New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, Kirkus, Harper's Bazaar "A novel set in a small prairie community. . . that somehow also captures the...
Woman of light : a novel
Fajardo-Anstine, Kali
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A "dazzling, cinematic, intimate, lyrical" (Roxane Gay) epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award finalist Sabrina & Corina  ...
Crooked hallelujah
Ford, Kelli Jo
Paper Book
"A book that you want to share with everyone you know and one that you are desperate to keep in your own possession. A masterful debut and a new and thrilling voice for readers across the globe." --Sarah Jessica Parker, on Instagram It's 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen...
Five little Indians
Good, Michelle
Paper Book
WINNER: Canada Reads 2022 WINNER: Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction WINNER: Amazon First Novel Award WINNER: Kobo Emerging Author Prize  Finalist: Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist: Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Prize Finalist: BC & Yukon...
A calm & normal heart : stories
Hicks, Chelsea T.
Paper Book
"Chelsea T. Hicks' deadpan dexterous wit can make you laugh and cry in the space of a heartbeat. A Calm and Normal Heart is the book I've been waiting for-- audacious, tender, and fiercely committed." --Louise Erdrich, author of...
The removed : a novel
Hobson, Brandon
Paper Book
"A haunted work, full of voices old and new. It is about a family's reckoning with loss and injustice, and it is about a people trying for the same. The journey of this family's way home is full--in equal measure--of melancholy and love." --Tommy Orange, author of There There ...
Calling for a blanket dance : a novel
Hokeah, Oscar
Paper Book
Winner of the PEN America/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel * Finalist for the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize * Finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize/Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction   "A profound reflection on the intergenerational nature of cultural trauma....
Benevolence : a novel
Janson, Julie
Paper Book
"How good it is to hear a Darug voice speaking of Darug history."--Kate Grenville, author of The Secret River, winner of the Commonwealth Prize Blending the mythical power of Téa Obreht and the epic scope of Min Jin Lee, a searing historical novel that tells a story of colonization,...
Bad Cree : a novel
Johns, Jessica
Paper Book
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...
I was a teenage slasher
Jones, Stephen Graham
Paper Book
*USA TODAY Bestseller * Alex Award Winner * From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a "viciously clever" (The New York Times Book Review) classic slasher story with a twist--perfect for fans of Adam Cesare and Grady...
Every drop is a man's nightmare : stories
Kakimoto, Megan Kamalei
Paper Book
USA Today Bestseller A Debutiful "Best Debuts of the Year" "Rich and wise, humming with confidence." -New York Times Book Review "A knockout. Eleven knockouts. One KO for every story."-Elizabeth McCracken "Every Drop Is a Man...
Redemption
Ledford, Deborah J.
" An acclaimed story collection from the author of the Shirley Jackson Award-winning novel The Hole Six elephants bolt from an amusement park and vanish; where they're found brings back memories of a forgotten dictator. A car ride on a foggy...
Blood sisters
Lillie, Vanessa
Paper Book
A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women...one of them her sister. There are secrets in the land. As an archeologist for the...
Too much lip : a novel
Lucashenko, Melissa
Paper Book
A gritty and darkly hilarious novel quaking with life--winner of Australia's Miles Franklin Award--that follows a queer, First Nations Australian woman as she returns home to face her family and protect the land of their ancestors. Wise-cracking Kerry Salter has spent her adulthood...
On the savage side : a novel
McDaniel, Tiffany
Paper Book
Six women--mothers, daughters, sisters--gone missing. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this harrowing novel tells the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims, from the internationally best-selling author of Betty. ...
Indian burial ground
Medina, Nick
Paper Book
All Noemi Broussard wanted was a fresh start. With a new boyfriend who actually treats her right and a plan to move from the reservation she grew up on - just like her beloved Uncle Louie before her - things are finally looking up for Noemi. Until the news of her boyfriend's apparent suicide brings...
House made of dawn
Momaday, N. Scott
Paper Book
"Both a masterpiece about the universal human condition and a masterpiece of Native American literature. . . . A book everyone should read for the joy and emotion of the language it contains." -- The Paris Review A special 50th anniversary edition of...
The truth according to Ember
Nava, Danica
Paper Book
Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar - well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resume is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets 'creative' listing her qualifications and answers the...
Wandering stars
Orange, Tommy
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There ("Pure soaring beauty."The New York Times Book Review) delivers a masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel. Extending his constellation of narratives into...
The berry pickers : a novel
Peters, Amanda
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize Winner Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family,...
A grandmother begins the story
Porter, Michelle
Paper Book
From award-winning Métis author Michelle Porter, a powerfully funning and moving story told not just by five generations of Métis women, but also by the land, the bison that surround them, and two utterly captivating dogs. Carter is a young mother on a quest to...
A council of dolls : a novel
Power, Mona Susan
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award-winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day. From the...
Greta & Valdin
Reilly, Rebecca K.
Paper Book
A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR "A heartfelt portrait of a complex family." --People * "Laugh-out-loud-funny." --Harper's Bazaar *...
Where they last saw her : a novel
Rendon, Marcie R.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the award-winning author of the Cash Blackbear series comes a compelling mystery of a Native American woman who learns of the disappearance of one of her own and decides enough is enough. "Rendon shows how harm done to a marginalized community can...
Moon of the crusted snow : a novel
Rice, Waubgeshig
Paper Book
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the council and community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south...
Tread of angels
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
Celeste, a card sharp with a need for justice, takes on the role of advocatus diaboli, to defend her sister Mariel, accused of murdering a Virtue, a member of the ruling class of this mining town, in a new world of dark fantasy from the New York Times bestselling...
Ceremony
Silko, Leslie Marmon
Paper Book
The great Native American Novel of a battered veteran returning home to heal his mind and spirit One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years More than thirty-five years since its original publication, Ceremony remains...
Noopiming : the cure for white ladies
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake
Paper Book
The new novel from the author of As We Have Always Done, a poetic world-building journey into the power of Anishinaabe life and traditions amid colonialism   In fierce prose and poetic fragments, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's Noopiming braids together...
This town sleeps : a novel
Staples, Dennis E.
Paper Book
A "tender, suspenseful, irresistible first novel" that explores Indigenous legend, queer relationship, and the power of landscape and lineage to shape our lives (Louise Erdrich, author of The Round House). An unsolved murder becomes the fixation of an Indigenous...
Fire exit : a novel
Talty, Morgan
Paper Book
From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine's Penobscot Reservation. He caught brief moments of his neighbor Elizabeth's life--from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there's something deeper and...
Stealing : a novel
Verble, Margaret
Paper Book
"This powerful novel should join classics like Ernest J. Gaines's The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Helena Maria Viramontes's Under the Feet of Jesus, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird."--New York Times Book Review A gripping, gut-punch of a novel about a Cherokee...
Ragged company
Wagamese, Richard.
Paper Book
Four chronically homeless people-Amelia One Sky, Timber, Double Dick and Digger-seek refuge in a warm movie theatre when a severe Arctic Front descends on the city. During what is supposed to be a one-time event, this temporary refuge transfixes them. They fall in love with this new world, and once...
Winter counts : a novel
Weiden, David Heska Wanbli
Paper Book
ANTHONY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL THRILLER AWARD WINNER FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL "Winter Counts is a marvel. It's a thriller with a beating heart and jagged teeth."  --Tommy Orange, author of There There ...
Guardian angels & other monsters : stories
Wilson, Daniel H.
Paper Book
From theNew York Timesbestselling author ofRobopocalypsecomes a fascinating and fantastic collection that explores complex emotional and intellectual landscapes at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human life. A VINTAGE BOOKS ORIGINAL. In "All Kinds of...
The seed keeper : a novel
Wilson, Diane
Paper Book
A 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Big Reads Selection Winner of the Minnesota Book Award A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family's struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters...
Praiseworthy
Wright, Alexis
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2024 MILES FRANKLIN AWARD WINNER OF THE 2024 STELLA PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2024 JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2023 QUEENSLAND AWARD FOR LITERARY FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD In a small town in the north of Australia, a...
White horse
Wurth, Erika T.
Paper Book
"This ghost story is a perfect example of new wave horror that will also satisfy fans of classic Stephen King." --Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic Erika T. Wurth's White Horse is a gritty, vibrant novel about an...
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/1850.3640/list/2913

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