Native American Nonfiction
A staff selection of Native American nonfiction titles for adults. (Updated Nov. 2021)
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Poet Warrior
The first Indigenous US Poet Laureate, Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. In this hybrid memoir, she combines poetry and prose to describe her lifelong love of words and her transformation into a gifted poet.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Bitterroot
In this poignant, soul-searching memoir, Harness (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) describes the struggles and complexities she experienced as an Indigenous child adopted and raised by a white couple in the rural West.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Carry
Métis writer and English professor Jensen investigates the proliferation of violence -- through guns, white supremacy and misogyny -- across the American landscape in this thought-provoking series of personal essays.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Heart Berries
Stó:lō First Nations (Seabird Island Band) author Mailhot has written a searing yet poetic memoir about coming of age as a young woman on a Pacific Northwest reservation, where poverty and intergenerational trauma left deep scars.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Mamaskatch
In this poignant memoir, debut author McLeod recalls his tumultuous childhood in a small Alberta town and how his Cree heritage and culture sustained him through difficult times.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Legacy
"Nehiyaw writer and educator Methot investigates the impact of intergenerational trauma upon Indigenous peoples, and how a reconnection to traditional practices and beliefs can provide a roadmap to healing." -- Library Journal
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's
Midge (Hunkpapa Lakota) brings a healthy dose of humor to her thoughtful explorations of Indigenous identity, contemporary politics and pop culture in this collection of personal reflections on life as a Native woman in 21st-century America.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Native Enough
Cherokee photographer O'Leary interviewed and took portraits of Indigenous students from a variety of tribes and backgrounds at the University of Minnesota Morris and Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Iwígara
Rarámuri (Tarahumara) ethnobotanist Salmón delves into the traditional medicinal and ceremonial uses of North American plants by Indigenous peoples in this beautifully illustrated and philosophically uplifting guide.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Shapes of Native Nonfiction
Edited by Elissa Washuta (Cowlitz) and Theresa Warburton, this groundbreaking anthology collects 22 creative nonfiction works from contemporary Indigenous authors who display a wide range of approaches to the form.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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