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 1, 2026
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A national crime : the Canadian government and the residential school system, 1879 to 1986
Milloy, John Sheridan.
Paper Book
WINNER Literary Review of Canada's 100 Most Important Canadian Books, 2005 WINNER Margaret McWilliams Award, 1999 "I am going to tell you how we are treated. I am always hungry."--Edward B., a student at Onion Lake School (1923) "[I]f I were appointed by the Dominion Government...
Nitinikiau innusi : I keep the land alive
Penashue, Tshaukuesh Elizabeth
Paper Book
Labrador Innu cultural and environmental activist Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue is well-known both within and far beyond the Innu Nation. The recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award and an honorary doctorate from Memorial University, she has been a subject of documentary films, books...
Unbroken : My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls
Sterritt, Angela.
Ebook
Stolen : a novel
Laestadius, Ann-Helén
Ebook
* 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.
Ebook
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
First published in 1972, Vine Deloria Jr.'s God Is Red remains the seminal work on Native religious views, asking new questions about our species and our ultimate fate. Celebrating three decades in publication with a special 30th-anniversary edition, this classic work reminds us to learn...
The knowing
Talaga, Tanya
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER | SHORTLISTED FOR THE TORONTO BOOK AWARD | FINALIST FOR THE SHAUGHNESSY COHEN PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING | SHORTLISTED FOR THE RODERICK HAIG-BROWN REGIONAL PRIZE | WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' OF CANADA BRASS KNUCKLES AWARD | SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIGENOUS VOICES AWARDS...
Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall.
Ebook
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...
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
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...
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...
Indian in the cabinet : speaking truth to power
Wilson-Raybould, Jody
Paper Book
THE #1 BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY A compelling political memoir of leadership and speaking truth to power by one of the most inspiring women of her generation Jody Wilson-Raybould was raised to be a leader. Inspired by the...
Mamaskatch : a Cree coming of age
McLeod, Darrel J.
Paper Book
Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family's history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school....
Indian Horse : a novel
Wagamese, Richard
Paper Book
Saul Indian Horse has hit bottom. His last binge almost killed him, and now he's a reluctant resident in a treatment centre for alcoholics, surrounded by people he's sure will never understand him. But Saul wants peace, and he grudgingly comes to see that he'll find it only through telling his...
21 things you may not know about the Indian Act
Joseph, Robert P. C.
Paper Book
Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has dictated and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph's book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous...
Unsettling Canada : a national wake-up call
Manuel, Arthur
Ebook
As the son of George Manuel, who served as president of the National Indian Brotherhood and founded the World Council of Indigenous Peoples in the 1970s, Arthur Manuel was born into the struggle. From his unique and personal perspective, as a Secwepemc leader and an Indigenous activist who has...
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...
Canadian Georgraphic Indigenous peoples atlas of Canada = Canadian Geographic Atlas des peuples autochtones du Canada
Bellegarde, Perry
Paper Book
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, in partnership with Canada's national Indigenous organizations, has created a groundbreaking four-volume atlas that shares the experiences, perspectives, and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. It's an ambitious and...
Indigenous ingenuity : a celebration of traditional North American knowledge
Havrelock, Deidre
Ebook
Celebrate Indigenous thinkers and inventions with this beautifully designed, award-winning interactive nonfiction book--perfect for fans of Braiding Sweetgrass.  Corn. Chocolate. Fishing hooks. Boats that float. Insulated double-walled construction. Recorded...
Standoff : why reconciliation fails Indigenous people and how to fix it
McIvor, Bruce.
Ebook
Faced with a constant stream of news reports of standoffs and confrontations, Canada's "reconciliation project" has obviously gone off the rails. In this series of concise and thoughtful essays, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor explains why reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is failing and...
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
Winner of Canada Reads 2025 From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community, Ma-Nee Chacaby's extraordinary story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social and economic legacies of colonialism. As a child, Chacaby learned...
Theory of water : Nishnaabe maps to the times ahead
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE 2025 WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION * A CBC Best Canadian Nonfiction Book of 2025 * The Hill Times' Top 100 Best Books in 2025 Acclaimed Nishnaabeg writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson takes a revolutionary look at that most...
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
Ebook
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...

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!


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