Indigenous Peoples Titles for Juvenile and Middle Grade

Updated October 23, 2025
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Algonquin
Bird, F. A.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Algonquin people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
Ancestor approved : intertribal stories for kids
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Native families from Nations across the...
Apache
Bird, F. a.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Apache people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
The birchbark house
Erdrich, Louise.
Paper Book
"[In this] story of a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, living on an island in Lake Superior around 1847, Louise Erdrich is reversing the narrative perspective used in most children's stories about nineteenth-century Native Americans. Instead of looking out at 'them' as dangers or curiosities, Erdrich,...
Borders
King, Thomas
Paper Book
A People Magazine Best Book ★ "The thematic and literary richness of this story is exhilarating."-- Horn Book, starred review ★ "An important and accessible modern tale."-- School Library Journal,<...
Cheyenne
Bird, F. a.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Cheyenne people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
Child of the flower-song people : Luz Jim?ez, daughter of the Nahua
Amescua, Gloria
Paper Book
She was Luz Jiménez, child of the flower-song people, the powerful Aztec, who called themselves Nahua- who lost their land but who did not disappear. As a young Nahua girl in Mexico during the early 1900s, Luz learned how to...
Classified : the secret career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee aerospace engineer
Sorell, Traci
Paper Book
An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Picture Book Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her...
Comanche
Bird, F. A.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Comanche people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
The Flicker
Edgmon, H. E.
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of The Marrow Thieves, Hatchet and The City of Ember, H.E. Edgmon's middle grade debut offers a bittersweet tale of hope and survival, a modern classic for the climate change generation. One year ago, a solar flare scorched the Earth and...
Indian no more
McManis, Charlene Willing
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner - American Indian Library Association When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.<...
Indigenous America
McDonald, Liam
Paper Book
"A comprehensive and accessible history of the Indigenous peoples of North America." - STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal Introducing a new nonfiction series that uncovers hidden histories of the United States. The true story of the United States' Indigenous...
Indigenous ingenuity : a celebration of traditional North American knowledge
Havrelock, Deidre
Paper Book
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...
Indigenous Peoples' Day
Bode, Heather L.
Paper Book
Throughout US history, Indigenous people have lost their lives and land because of colonization. But today, people across the country celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day. They honor the cultures and contributions of Indigenous nations while raising awareness about current issues that American Indians...
Iroquois
Bird, F. a.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Iroquois people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
Lei and the fire goddess
Maunakea, Malia
Paper Book
"Lei and the Fire Goddess blends preteen angst and beloved Hawaiian moʻolelo in a way that hasn't been done before." -Auliʻi Cravalho, actress and voice of Disney's Princess Moana Curses aren't real. At least, that's what twelve-year-old, part...
Lei and the fire goddess
Maunakea, Malia
Paper Book
"Lei and the Fire Goddess blends preteen angst and beloved Hawaiian moʻolelo in a way that hasn't been done before." -Auliʻi Cravalho, actress and voice of Disney's Princess Moana Curses aren't real. At least, that's what twelve-year-old, part...
Native American stories for kids : 12 traditional stories from Indigenous tribes across North America
Weso, T. F. Pecore
Paper Book
Explore Native American narratives--for kids ages 6 to 9. Native Americans have a long tradition of storytelling. Now, you can easily introduce your children to these rich cultures with a compilation of powerful tales from multiple tribes like the Cheyenne and the Lenape. What sets...
Powwow : a celebration through song and dance
Pheasant-Neganigwane, Karen
Paper Book
★ "Clearly organized and educational--an incredibly useful tool for both school and public libraries." --School Library Journal, starred review Powwowis a celebration of Indigenous song and dance. Journey through the history of powwow culture in North America, from its origins to the...
Race to the sun
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
Lately Nizhoni has been able to detect monsters, like Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company. He's also alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her....
Race to the sun
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
Lately Nizhoni has been able to detect monsters, like Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company. He's also alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her....
Seminole
Bird, F. A.
Paper Book
This title introduces readers to the Seminole people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more. Also discussed is contact with Europeans, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and...
The Seminoles
Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk
Paper Book
In this new and updated edition, award-winning author Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve introduces young readers to the Seminoles people. The Seminoles are known as  "the people who never surrendered." As White settlers continued to encroach on their land, the Seminoles moved...
The Sioux
Sneve, Virginia Driving Haw
Paper Book
In this new and updated edition, award-winning author Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve introduces young readers to the Sioux peoples. The buffalo was the center of Sioux life. After hunting buffalo on horseback, the Sioux people would use every piece of the animal, making food, beds,...
Thunderous
Smoker, M. L.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 HIGH PLAINS BOOK AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S MIDDLE GRADE!
Together we march : 25 protest movements that marched into history
Henderson, Leah
Paper Book
March through history and discover twenty-five groundbreaking protest movements that have shaped the way we fight for equality and justice today in this stunningly illustrated and sweeping book! For generations, marches have been an invaluable tool for bringing about social...
The used-to-be best friend
Quigley, Dawn
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award: Middle Grade Honor Book! Hello/Boozhoo--meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is. Jo Jo...
The used-to-be best friend
Quigley, Dawn
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award: Middle Grade Honor Book! Hello/Boozhoo--meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is. Jo Jo...
We still belong
Day, Christine
Paper Book
A thoughtful and heartfelt middle grade novel by American Indian Youth Literature Honor-winning author Christine Day (Upper Skagit), about a girl whose hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and plans to ask her crush to the school dance) go all wrong--until she finds herself...
Who is Maria Tallchief?
Gourley, Catherine
Paper Book
Born in 1925, Maria Tallchief spent part of her childhood on an Osage reservation in Oklahoma. With the support of her family and world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine, she rose to the top of her art form to become America's first prima ballerina. Black-and-white illustrations provide...
Wilma Mankiller
Sorell, Traci
Paper Book
Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds--including Wilma Mankiller! A 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Honor Book!

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