National Indigenous History Month

A selection of books for National Indigenous History Month. For eBook & eAudiobook versions of the same titles, see the link to our Libby/Overdrive collection at the end of this list, or check the Libby app.

Updated June 18, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
This place : 150 years retold
Paper Book
A great read and teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month! Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous...
A steady brightness of being : truths, wisdom, and love from celebrated Indigenous voices
Paper Book
Drawing on the wisdom and personal experience of its esteemed contributors, this first-of-its-kind anthology tackles complex questions of our times to provide a rich tapestry of Indigenous life, past, present, and future. The letters explore the histories that have brought us to this moment, the...
You Were Made for This World : Celebrated Indigenous Voices Speak to Young People
Sinclair, Stephanie.
Paper Book
Every young person deserves the chance to feel like they belong, that they are recognized, that they matter. In the spirit of A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, You Were Made for This World brings together forty Indigenous writers, artists, activists, athletes, scholars and thinkers...
Theory of water : Nishnaabe maps to the times ahead
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake
Paper Book
Winner of the 2025 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Award for nonfiction A genre-bending exploration of that most elemental force--water--through Indigenous storytelling, personal memory, and the work of influential artists and writers For many years, Leanne...
On Wholeness : Anishinaabe Pathways to Embodiment and Collective Liberation
Paper Book
A brilliant exploration embodied wholeness as a pathway to our collective liberation Through reflections on childbirth, parenting, creative practice, and expansive responsibility, Anishinaabe visual artist Quill Christie-Peters explores how reconnecting with the body can be an act of...
Surviving Canada : Indigenous peoples celebrate 150 years of betrayal
Paper Book
Surviving Canada: Indigenous Peoples Celebrate 150 Years of Betrayal is a collection of elegant, thoughtful, and powerful reflections about Indigenous Peoples' complicated, and often frustrating, relationship with Canada, and how--even 150 years after Confederation--the fight for recognition of...
Unbroken : my fight for survival, hope, and justice for Indigenous women and girls
Sterritt, Angela.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER: A Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller A finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Writers' Trust Hilary Weston Prize for Nonfiction. "A remarkable life story. . . Angela Sterritt is a formidable storyteller...
Stolen : a novel
Laestadius, Ann-Helén
Paper Book
* NOW A NETFLIX FILM * AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A spellbinding Swedish novel that follows a young indigenous woman as she struggles to defend her family's reindeer herd and culture amidst xenophobia, climate change, and a devious hunter whose targeted kills are considered mere...
Intimate integration : a history of the Sixties Scoop and the colonization of Indigenous kinship
Stevenson, Allyson D.
Paper Book
Privileging Indigenous voices and experiences, Intimate Integration documents the rise and fall of North American transracial adoption projects, including the Adopt Indian and Métis Project and the Indian Adoption Project. Allyson D. Stevenson argues that the integration of adopted Indian...
Highway of Tears : a true story of racism, indifference and the pursuit of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls
McDiarmid, Jessica
Paper Book
"These murder cases expose systemic problems... By examining each murder within the context of Indigenous identity and regional hardships, McDiarmid addresses these very issues, finding reasons to look for the deeper roots of each act of violence." --The New York Times Book Review
God is red : a native view of religion
Deloria, Vine
Paper Book
"God is Red should be read and re-read by Americans who want to understand why the United States keeps losing the peace, war after war." - Leslie Marmon Silko First published in 1973, Vine Deloria, Jr.'s God Is Red remains the seminal work on Native American religious views, asking the...
Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall.
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member...
Braiding sweetgrass for young adults : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall.
Paper Book
I could hand you a braid of sweetgrass as thick and shining as the braid that hung down my grandmother's back. But it is not mine to give, nor yours to take. Wiingaashk belongs to herself. I offer, in her place, a braid of stories meant to heal our relationship with the world. As a...
The night watchman
Erdrich, Louise
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2021 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WASHINGTON POST, NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, KIRKUS, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich's...
Halfbreed
Campbell, Maria
Paper Book
"I write this for all of you, to tell you what it is like to be a Halfbreed woman in our country. I want to tell you about the joys and sorrows, the oppressing poverty, the frustration and the dreams. . . . I am not bitter. I have passed that stage. I only want to say: this is what it was like,...
Call me Indian : from the trauma of residential school to becoming the NHL's first treaty Indigenous player
Sasakamoose, Fred
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Fred Sasakamoose played in the NHL before First Nations people had the right to vote in Canada. This page turner will have you cheering for 'Fast Freddy' as he faces off against huge challenges both on and off the ice--a great gift to every proud hockey fan,...
Indian in the cabinet : speaking truth to power
Wilson-Raybould, Jody
Paper Book
THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A compelling political memoir of leadership and speaking truth to power by one of the most inspiring women of her generation--now in paperback Jody Wilson-Raybould was raised to be a leader. She was inspired by the example of her grandmother, who...
Indian horse : a novel
Wagamese, Richard
Paper Book
Named a "Best Novel of the Decade" by Literary Hub Saul Indian Horse is a child when his family retreats into the woods. Among the lakes and the cedars, they attempt to reconnect with half-forgotten traditions and hide from the authorities who have been kidnapping Ojibway youth. But when...
Unreconciled : family, truth, and Indigenous resistance
Wente, Jesse.
Paper Book
As the child of an American father and an Anishinaabe mother, Jesse Wente grew up in Toronto with frequent visits to the reserve where his maternal relations lived. By exploring his family's history, including his grandmother's experience in residential school, and citing his own frequent incidents...
Indigenous ingenuity : a celebration of traditional North American knowledge
Havrelock, Deidre
Paper Book
"An astonishing, exuberant treasure trove of history, science and hands-on activities that repeatedly begs the question: "Why didn't I know this?" Essential for kids and adults. We need this book." -Candace Fleming, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of Charles...
Ally is a verb : a guide to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
LeMay, Rose.
Paper Book
INSTANT GLOBE & MAIL BESTSELLER TORONTO STAR BESTSELLER BOOKMANAGER INDIE BESTSELLER Your next step on the journey of reconciliation starts here. What can you do to be a better ally for your Indigenous colleagues, community...
A two-spirit journey : the autobiography of a lesbian Ojibwa-Cree elder
Chacaby, Ma-Nee
Paper Book
A Two-Spirit Journey is Ma-Nee Chacaby's extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby's story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the...
Soft as bones : a memoir
Sage, Chyana Marie.
Paper Book
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER A CBC Best Book of 2025 Finalist, Foreword INDIES 2025 Book of the Year A poetic memoir as intricately woven as a dreamcatcher about overcoming the pain of generational trauma with the power of traditional healing In candid...
REDress : art, action, and the power of presence
Paper Book
A powerful anthology uniting the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people from across Turtle Island. In 2010, Métis artist Jaime...
Real ones
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book
June and her sister, lyn, are NDNs - real ones. Lyn has her pottery artwork, her precocious kid, Willow, and the uncertain terrain of her midlife to keep her mind, heart and hands busy. June, a Metis Studies professor, yearns to uproot from Vancouver and move. With her loving partner, Sigh, June...
Who we are : four questions for a life and a nation
Sinclair, Murray
Paper Book
For decades, Senator Sinclair has fearlessly educated Canadians about the painful truths of our history. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, and only the second Indigenous judge in Canadian history. He was the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remains one of the...
The song of the stars : starry skies, Anishinaabe stories, scientific insights, and more!
Horton, Robert Animikii.
Paper Book
Since the earliest days of human memory, countless generations have turned their eyes to the skies in wonder, drawing patterns, understanding the stars' connection to cycles and events, and carrying their stories and teachings forward to subsequent generations. The Song of the Stars...

eBook and Audiobook editions of the National Indigenous History Month titles in this list, available at this link online, or check the lists in the Libby app!

A girl called Echo
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book
★ Among CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens list, a starred selection of exceptional caliber! Métis teenager Echo Desjardins is struggling to adjust to a new school and a new home. When an ordinary history class turns extraordinary, Echo is pulled into a time-travelling...
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...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.