Special Collections

Estamos agradecidos: Otsaliheliga

¡Ahora en español! La comunidad cheroqui está agradecida por los logros y desafíos que experimentan en cada estación. En este libro se cuenta la vida moderna de los nativos americanos, narrada por una ciudadana de la Nación Cheroqui.Now in Spanish! The Cherokee community is grateful for blessings and challenges that each season brings. This is modern Native American life as told by an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.Los ciudadanos de la Nación Cheroqui emplean la palabra otsaliheliga (o-ya-LI-ge-li-ga) para expresar gratitud. A partir del año nuevo cheroqui, que ocurre en otoño, hasta el verano, el año cheroqui está lleno de celebraciones y experiencias. Este libro, escrito por una ciudadana de la Nación Cheroqui, describe a un grupo de nativos americanos y finaliza con un glosario y un silabario cheroqui completo, creado por Sequoyah.The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. The complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah, is included.

Date Added: 10/22/2023

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask

From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike. Ranging from "Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?" to "Why is it called a 'traditional Indian fry bread taco'?" to "What's it like for natives who don’t look native?" to "Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?", and beyond, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) does exactly what its title says for young readers, in a style consistently thoughtful, personal, and engaging.Updated and expanded to include:• Dozens of New Questions and New Sections—including a social activism section that explores the Dakota Access Pipeline, racism, identity, politics, and more!• Over 50 new Photos• Adapted text for broad appeal

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Fatty Legs

Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential schools.

At school Margaret soon encounters the Raven, a black-cloaked nun with a hooked nose and bony fingers that resemble claws. She immediately dislikes the strong-willed young Margaret. Intending to humiliate her, the heartless Raven gives gray stockings to all the girls -- all except Margaret, who gets red ones. In an instant Margaret is the laughingstock of the entire school.

In the face of such cruelty, Margaret refuses to be intimidated and bravely gets rid of the stockings. Although a sympathetic nun stands up for Margaret, in the end it is this brave young girl who gives the Raven a lesson in the power of human dignity.

Complemented by archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's collection and striking artwork from Liz Amini-Holmes, this inspiring first-person account of a plucky girl's determination to confront her tormentor will linger with young readers.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The firekeeper's daughter

Eighteen-year-old Daunis has always felt like an outsider with her mixed heritage, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths. But secretly she pursues her own investigation, tracking down the culprits with her knowledge of traditional medicine.But the deceptions - and deaths - keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever known.

Date Added: 10/22/2023

Firekeeper's Daughter

Keep the Secret. Live the Lie. Earn your Truth.

For fans of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange comes a ground-breaking YA thriller about a Native American teen who must root out the corruption in her community

Eighteen-year-old Daunis’s mixed heritage has always made her feel like an outsider, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths. But the deceptions – and deaths – keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

A New York Times Best Seller

Date Added: 10/22/2023

The First Blade of Sweetgrass

Selected for the Notable Social Studies 2022 List Named to ALA Notable Children's Books 2022 In this Own Voices Native American picture book story, a modern Wabanaki girl is excited to accompany her grandmother for the first time to harvest sweetgrass for basket making. Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as her ancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees to grow for future generations. This sweet, authentic story from a Maliseet mother and her Passamaquoddy husband includes backmatter about traditional basket making and a Wabanaki glossary.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

First Laugh--Welcome, Baby!

In Navajo families, the first person to make a new baby laugh hosts the child's First Laugh Ceremony. Who will earn the honor in this story?The First Laugh Ceremony is a celebration held to welcome a new member of the community. As everyone--from Baby's nima (mom) to nadi (big sister) to cheii (grandfather)--tries to elicit the joyous sound from Baby, readers are introduced to details about Navajo life and the Navajo names for family members. Back matter includes information about other cultural ceremonies that welcome new babies and children, including man yue celebration (China), sanskaras (Hindu) and aquiqa (Muslim).

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The First Strawberries

A quarrel between the first man and the first woman is reconciled when the Sun causes strawberries to grow out of the earth. Image descriptions present.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Forever Cousins

In this Native American story, Kara and Amanda are best-friend cousins. Then Kara leaves the city to move back to the Rez. Will their friendship stay the same?Kara and Amanda hate not being together. Then it's time for the family reunion on the Rez. Each girl worries that the other hasn't missed her. But once they reconnect, they realize that they are still forever cousins. This story highlights the ongoing impact of the 1950s Indian Relocation Act on Native families, even today. This tender story about navigating change reminds readers that the power of friendship and family can bridge any distance. 

Date Added: 10/22/2023

From Tadpole to Frog

How DOES a tadpole become a frog?Watch a tiny tadpole grow into an adult frog in this book full of facts and photographs. Learn what tadpoles eat, how they survive, and how they transform into frogs.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

From Tadpole to Frog

This book explains the life cycle of a frog right from eggs to tadpoles to frogs.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Fry Bread

Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book MedalA 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner“A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff.” —The New York Times Book Review Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal. Fry bread is food.It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.Fry bread is time.It brings families together for meals and new memories.Fry bread is nation.It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.Fry bread is us.It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.A 2020 Charlotte Huck Recommended BookA Publishers Weekly Best Picture Book of 2019A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2019A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of 2019A Booklist 2019 Editor's ChoiceA Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of 2019A Goodreads Choice Award 2019 SemifinalistA Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2019A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019An NCTE Notable Poetry BookA 2020 NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young PeopleA 2020 ALA Notable Children's BookA 2020 ILA Notable Book for a Global Society 2020 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year ListOne of NPR's 100 Favorite Books for Young ReadersNominee, Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award 2022-2022Nominee, Illinois Monarch Award 2022

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The Goat In The Rug

Geraldine is a goat, and Glenmae, a Navajo weaver. One day, Glenmae decides to weave Geraldine into a rug. First Geraldine is clipped. Then her wool is spun into fine, strong yarn. Finally, Glenmae weaves the wool on her loom. They reader learns, along with Geraldine, about the care and pride involved in the weaving of a Navajo rug -- and about cooperation between friends.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Good Luck Cat

Some cats are good luck. You pet them and good things happen. Woogie is one of those cats. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat's good luck run out?

Date Added: 10/22/2023

The Good Rainbow Road

An account of two boys who are sent by their people to the west to visit the Shiwana, the spirits of rain and snow, and bring back rain to relieve a drought.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Go Show the World

"We are a people who matter." Inspired by President Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing, Go Show the World is a tribute to historic and modern-day Indigenous heroes, featuring important figures such as Tecumseh, Sacagawea and former NASA astronaut John Herrington.Celebrating the stories of Indigenous people throughout time, Wab Kinew has created a powerful rap song, the lyrics of which are the basis for the text in this beautiful picture book, illustrated by the acclaimed Joe Morse. Including figures such as Crazy Horse, Net-no-kwa, former NASA astronaut John Herrington and Canadian NHL goalie Carey Price, Go Show the World showcases a diverse group of Indigenous people in the US and Canada, both the more well known and the not- so-widely recognized. Individually, their stories, though briefly touched on, are inspiring; collectively, they empower the reader with this message: "We are people who matter, yes, it's true; now let's show the world what people who matter can do."

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Grandmother's Dreamcatcher

While Kimmy's parents look for a house close to Daddy's job, Kimmy stays with her grandmother and learns how to make a dreamcatcher.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The Great Ball Game

NIMAC-sourced textbook

Bat, who has both wings and teeth, plays an important part in a game between the Birds and the Animals to decide which group is better.

Lexile Measure: 520L

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The Great Ball Game

A classic folktale with roots in the traditional stories of many Indigenous peoples in North America, The Great Ball Game is adapted for today's kids by Rebecca Sheir, host of the award-winning Circle Round podcast. The stunning art of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, an Ojibwe woodland artist, along with creative activities, make this an engaging picture book that also fosters storytelling and promotes the values of diversity, acceptance, and understanding of others.  

Date Added: 05/16/2023

The great Race of the Birds and Animals

A retelling of the Cheyenne and Sioux myth about the Great Race, a contest called by the Creator to settle the question of whether man or buffalo should have supremacy and thus become the guardians of Creation.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Gregory, The Terrible Eater

A very picky eater, Gregory the goat refuses the usual goat diet staples of shoes and tin cans in favor of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and orange juice. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Date Added: 05/16/2023

Healer of the Water Monster

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.

One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help.

Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.

The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

Date Added: 10/22/2023

Hearts Unbroken

When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?

Date Added: 10/22/2023

Heroes of the Water Monster

An unmissable companion to Healer of the Water Monster, which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, this novel by Navajo author Brian Young tells the story of two contemporary young Navajo heroes—and one water monster—who must learn to work together to save their present world from the lasting hurts of their people’s past. Edward feels ready to move in with his dad’s girlfriend and her son, Nathan. He might miss having his dad all to himself, but even if things in their new home are a little awkward, living with Nathan isn’t so bad. And Nathan is glad to have found a new guardian for Dew, the young water monster who has been Nathan's responsibility for two years. Now that Nathan is starting to lose his childhood connection to the Holy Beings, Edward will be the one to take over as Dew’s next guardian.But Edward has a lot to learn about taking care of a water monster. And fast. Because Dew’s big sister, the powerful Yitoo Bii’aanii, is coming up to Fourth World to instruct Dew after recovering in the Third World for one hundred and sixty years. She suspects a monstrous and enormous Enemy from the Hero Twins stories has returned and is stealing water from all of the Navajo Nation.In their search for the Modern Enemy, Nathan, Edward, Dew, and Yitoo must confront their past and their inner selves if they are to save the Fourth World from a devastating disaster.A riveting, emotionally affecting adventure!

Date Added: 10/22/2023

Hija del guardián del fuego

Una premiada y aclamada novela sobre el racismo que pronto llegará a Netflix.Uno de los mejores libros juveniles de todos los tiempos según el New York Times. Como miembro extraoficial de su tribu nativa americana, chica birracial y producto de un escándalo, Daunis Fontaine nunca encajó del todo. Sueña con dejar su pasado atrás, empezar de cero y estudiar medicina, pero una tragedia la fuerza a cuidar de su frágil madre en la reserva ojibwe y poner su futuro en espera. Lo único positivo es conocer a Jamie, pero siente que es un chico que oculta algo... Un día presencia un asesinato que la sitúa en el centro de una investigación criminal. Una droga letal amenaza su comunidad y Daunis confía en que sus conocimientos de química y medicina tradicional le ayuden a dar con el responsable. Pero la búsqueda de la verdad es cruel: Daunis deberá aprender qué significa ser una mujer ojibwe fuerte y hasta dónde es capaz de arriesgar para proteger a su gente. Best seller #1 del New York Times Mejor libro YA de Amazon en 2021 Premios Printz y Morris 2021 de la American Library Association Angeline Boulley, miembro de la tribu Sault Ste. Marie de indios chippewa, es una narradora que escribe sobre su comunidad ojibwe en Míchigan. Ha trabajado como directora de la Oficina de Educación India, en el Departamento de Educación de Estados Unidos, para mejorar la escolarización de los niños indígenas.

Date Added: 10/22/2023