Indigenous Authors - Recommended reading for adults

Updated April 8, 2024
W
Winnipeg Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.

1

VenCo
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...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and CD formats.

Canadian author.

2

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...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

Canadian author.

3

Buffalo is the new Buffalo : stories
Vowel, Chelsea
Paper Book
'Education is the new buffalo' is a metaphor widely used among Indigenous peoples in Canada to signify the importance of education to their survival, as once Plains nations supported themselves as buffalo peoples. Chelsea Vowel asks, 'Instead of accepting that the buffalo, and our ancestral ways,...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

4

Midnight storm moonless sky : Indigenous horror stories
Soop, Alex
Paper Book
Blackfoot storyteller Alex Soop plunges us into a shocking well of imagination in his debut collection of short stories, Midnight Storm Moonless Sky. From hauntings on the Highway of Tears to fearful gatherings of ghosts and the sorrows of racism, Soop combines the social anxieties of...

Also available in eAudiobook format.

Canadian author.

5

A Minor Chorus: A Novel
Belcourt, Billy-Ray
Paper Book
In the stark expanse of Northern Alberta, a queer Indigenous doctoral student steps away from his dissertation to write a novel, informed by a series of poignant encounters: a heart-to-heart with fellow doctoral student River over the mounting pressure placed on marginalized scholars; a meeting...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

6

The Sentence
Erdrich, Louise
Paper Book
"Dazzling. . . . A hard-won love letter to readers and to booksellers, as well as a compelling story about how we cope with pain and fear, injustice and illness. One good way is to press a beloved book into another's hands. Read The Sentence and then do just that."--USA Today, Four Stars ...

Also available in CD, eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

7

Probably Ruby
Bird-Wilson, Lisa
Paper Book
An Indigenous woman adopted by white parents goes in search of her identity in this unforgettable debut novel about family, race, and history. Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award * "Engaging . . . Ruby never disappoints with her big heart and outrageous sense of...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

8

The strangers : a novel
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 MANITOBA BOOK AWARDS' CAROL SHIELDS WINNIPEG BOOK AWARD, MARGARET LAURENCE AWARD FOR FICTION, AND MCNALLY ROBINSON BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Manitoban author.

9

Cinq petits indiens : roman
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...

Canada, fin des annees 1960. Des milliers de jeunes autochtones, liberes des pensionnats, essaient de survivre dans le quartier d'East Vancouver, entre prostitution, drogue et petits boulots.. Il y a Maisie, qui semble si forte ; la discrete Lucy, epanouie dans la maternite ; Clara, la rebelle, engagee dans l'American Indian Movement ; Kenny, qui ne sait plus comment s'arreter de fuir, et, enfin, Howie, condamne pour avoir rosse son ancien tortionnaire.. D'une plume puissante, Michelle Good raconte les destins entremeles de ces survivants.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteure canadienne.

10

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...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and DAISY formats, and as a Book Club Kit.

Canadian author.

11

There There
Tommy Orange
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A wondrous and shattering award-winning novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. A contemporary classic, this...

A Oakland, dans la baie de San Francisco, les Indiens ne vivent pas sur une reserve mais dans un univers, faconne par la rue et par la pauvret, ou chacun porte les traces d'une histoire douloureuse. Pourtant, les membres de cette communaute disparate tiennent a celebrer la beaute d'une culture que l'Amerique a bien failli engloutir. A l'occasion d'un grand pow-wow, douze personnages, hommes et femmes, jeunes et moins jeunes, voient leurs destins se lier. Ensemble, ils vont faire l'experience de la violence et de la destruction, comme leurs ancetres tant de fois avant eux.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

12

Birdie : a novel
Lindberg, Tracey
Paper Book
Bernice Meetoos will not be broken. A big, beautiful Cree woman with a dark secret in her past, Bernice ("Birdie") has left her home in northern Alberta to travel to Gibsons, B.C. She is on something of a vision quest, looking for family, for home, for understanding. She is also driven by...

Also available in CD, eBook, eAudiobook and DAISY formats, and as a Book Club Kit.

Canadian author.

13

Birdie
Lindberg, Tracey
Paper Book
Bernice Meetoos will not be broken. A big, beautiful Cree woman with a dark secret in her past, Bernice ("Birdie") has left her home in northern Alberta to travel to Gibsons, B.C. She is on something of a vision quest, looking for family, for home, for understanding. She is also driven by...

Quand Bernice Meetoos, alias Birdie, quitte sa reserve et son Alberta natales pour venir s'installer dans un petit logement au-dessus d'une boulangerie a Gibsons, en Colombie-Britannique, des forces mysterieuses semblent trouver un malin plaisir a lui faire perdre pied. Souvent, inopinement, elle entre dans un etat de transe sur le vieux matelas de sa chambre. Tandis que sa tante Val et sa cousine Freda font la route pour venir a son chevet, Bernice reste prostree pendant des semaines, oscillant entre le souvenir, le reve et la realite.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

14

L'amant du Lac
Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Virginia
Paper Book
A spellbinding novel celebrating Indigenous sensuality; the first erotic novel written by an Indigenous woman in French. Shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Translation. When it was first published in Quebec, The Lover, The Lake was heralded as the first...

Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau nous offre une histoire d'amour torride, sauvage et puissante entre Wabougouni, une Algonquine et Gabriel, un metis. Violence, colere et extase rythment cette relation tumultueuse avec pour toile de fond la nature evoutante du lac Abitibi.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteure canadienne.

15

The Lover, the Lake
Pesemapeo Bordeleau, Virginia
Paper Book
A spellbinding novel celebrating Indigenous sensuality; the first erotic novel written by an Indigenous woman in French. Shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Translation. When it was first published in Quebec, The Lover, The Lake was heralded as the first...

Canadian author.

16

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...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

17

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...

Also available in Book Club Kit, eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

Canadian author.

18

Half-Bads in White Regalia: A Memoir
Caetano, Cody
Paper Book
*WINNER OF THE 2023 INDIGENOUS VOICES AWARD FOR PUBLISHED PROSE IN ENGLISH* *FINALIST FOR THE 2023 EDNA STAEBLER AWARD FOR CREATIVE NON-FICTION* *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 LEACOCK MEDAL FOR HUMOUR* *LONGLISTED FOR CANADA READS 2023* *LONGLISTED...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.


19

Indian Horse
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...

Also available in Book Club Kit, eBook and DAISY formats.

Canadian author.

20

Namwayut : we are all one : a pathway to reconciliation
Joseph, Robert
Paper Book
BC and Yukon Book Prizes, Winner of the Bill Duthie Booksellers? Choice Award, 2023 We all share a common humanity. No matter how long or difficult the path ahead, we are all one. Reconciliation belongs to everyone. In this profound book, Chief Robert Joseph,...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

21

Cheval Indian
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...

Aussi dispoinible en format numerique.

Auteur canadien.

22

Jonny Appleseed : a novel
Whitehead, Joshua (Writer)
Paper Book
'You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine' is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

23

Jonny Appleseed
Whitehead, Joshua (Writer)
Paper Book
'You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine' is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who...

Travailleur du cybersexe, Jonny doit rentrer a la reserve dans une semaine pour assister aux funerailles de son beau-pere. Pendant ces sept jours, Jonny se raconte : enfance, amitie, amour, sexe, alcool, maquillage, musique, fantomes, espoirs. Le fil des liens familiaux se retisse avec sa mere, sa kokum, ses tantes et oncles. Surgit tout un monde de tendresse.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteur canadien.

24

The 500 years of Indigenous resistance comic book
Hill, Gord
Ebook
A powerful and historically accurate graphic portrayal of Indigenous peoples' resistance to the European colonization of the Americas, beginning with the Spanish invasion under Christopher Columbus and ending with the Six Nations land reclamation in Ontario in 2006. Gord Hill spent two...

Canadian author.

25

Permanent astonishment : a memoir
Highway, Tomson
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER   Capricious, big-hearted, joyful: an epic memoir from one of Canada's most acclaimed Indigenous writers and performers Tomson Highway was born in a snowbank on an island in the sub-Arctic, the eleventh of twelve children in a nomadic,...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

26

Halfbreed
Campbell, Maria
Paper Book
A new, fully restored edition of the essential Canadian classic. An unflinchingly honest memoir of her experience as a Métis woman in Canada, Maria Campbell's Halfbreed depicts the realities that she endured and, above all, overcame. Maria was born in Northern Saskatchewan...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

27

There there
Orange, Tommy
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A wondrous and shattering award-winning novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. A contemporary classic, this...

Also available in CD, Book Club Kit, eBook and eAudiobook formats.

28

Halfbreed : récit
Campbell, Maria
Paper Book
A new, fully restored edition of the essential Canadian classic. An unflinchingly honest memoir of her experience as a Métis woman in Canada, Maria Campbell's Halfbreed depicts the realities that she endured and, above all, overcame. Maria was born in Northern Saskatchewan...

Elevee sur une reserve routiere de la Couronne dans le nord de la Saskatchewan, Maria Campbell est une enfant sensible et determinee qui, malgre la precarite ambiante, s'emerveille devant le quotidien anime de sa communaute. Apres le deces de sa mere, elle se marie a un Blanc afin d'offrir une vie meilleure a ses freres et soeurs, mais echoue plutot dans les bas-fonds de Vancouver, ou elle connait la prostitution, la dependance et la depression. Inspiree par sa Cheechum, elle s'engage alors sur la voie de la guerison.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteure canadienne.

29

From the ashes : my story of being Métis, homeless, and finding my way
Thistle, Jesse
Paper Book
*#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Winner, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Nonfiction *Winner, Indigenous Voices Awards *Winner, High Plains Book Awards *Finalist, CBC Canada Reads *A Globe and Mail Book of the Year *An Indigo Book of the...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.


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