November is Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, and to celebrate I wanted to share my favorite MG and YA books by Indigenous authors. Enjoy!

The Brave by James Bird

Collin counts letters. For every sentence spoken to him, he has to count the individual letters and spit the number out. He can’t help it, but it still causes adults and kids alike to avoid or torment him.

When Collin gets expelled from school again, his father decides to send him and his loyal dog, Seven, to live on a Minnesota Ojibwe reservation with Collin’s estranged mother. Collin’s new home comes with a kind, accepting mother and peculiar grandmother, and a next door neighbor: Orenda, a girl who believes she’s transforming into a butterfly. In Orenda, Collin finds his first friend besides Seven. On the reservation Collin learns to grieve, fall in love, and trust himself.

CW: anxiety, death

Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith

It’s been six months since Rain’s best friend, Galen, died. Since then, Rain has done her best to shut the real world out, and right now that means trying to get out of her Aunt Georgia’s Indian Camp. But when the camp comes under fire–from no less than her best friend’s grieving mother–Rain agrees to photograph Indian Camp for her brother’s fiancée, who’s the news editor of the local paper. As her new job becomes more complex, Rain has to grapple with grief, family changes, and new friends.

CW: death

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina is a Lipan girl growing up above her dad’s bookstore in Texas. She’s fascinated by the stories about the Joined Era, a time when humans and animal spirits lived together on earth. When Nina’s great-great-grandmother died, she left behind a story…and Nina is determined to unravel it. 

Oli is a cottonmouth spirit from the Reflecting World of animal spirits and monsters. He’s found a home on the banks of the bottomless lake, sunbathing and meeting new friends among the animal spirits that live there. 

Though the time when the human world and the Reflecting World were connected is over, earth still has affects on Oli’s home. A climate disaster on earth leaves one of Oli’s best friends dying, and sends Oli, along with two coyote girls and a hawk, on a journey to earth to find a cure. 

The way Nina and Oli’s stories connect will change both of their lives forever…but though Oli has left the land of monsters, that doesn’t mean that he or Nina is safe from them. 

Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Lily (Muscogee Creek) and Wendy (English) love being stepsisters. But as their parents’ relationship starts to crumble, and the two halves of the family contemplate spending a summer apart, the two girls wonder what their friendship and sisterhood can look like after this. Little do they know that their life is about to change in a very different way. For outside their window, a strange boy perches in the oak tree, plotting to steal the girls away to the land of pirates, fairies, merpeople, and lost children. To Neverland.

The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson

When Norvia’s family moves to the city from Beaver Island, Norvia has to adjust not only to ninth grade, motion pictures, and automobiles, but also to hiding her identity. Her mother has instructed Norvia and her siblings to keep her Ojibwe heritage a secret; even to Ma’s new husband, Mr. Ward. Despite this, optimistic Norvia is determined that 1914 will be the best year she’s had yet. And with crushes, a new family, and the threat of a world war, it will certainly be an interesting one.

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

Edie is curious about her heritage, but she knows that it’s unlikely that
she’ll ever learn anything important. Her Native American mother was
adopted by a white couple as a baby, and no one seems to know anything
about Edie’s grandparents. But one day, Edie and her friends are in her
attic when they discover an old box full of letters and photographs of a
woman who looks just like Edie. 

Who is this mysterious woman, who signs her letters “Edith”? Could she be a link to Edie’s heritage? And if so, why was she kept a secret until now?

We Still Belong by Christine Day

Wesley Wilder wakes up early on Indigenous People’s Day. She’s looking forward to the intertribal powwow later in the evening, but first she has to get through an important day at school. Her first publication–a poem about Indigenous People’s Day–is being released in the school newspaper today, and she’s anxious to see how her teachers and classmates will react to it. She’s also steeling her courage to ask Ryan, her crush and a fellow gamer, to the school dance. 

But as one thing leads to another, nothing that day goes as planned. By the time she gets home from school, Wesley is discouraged and unsure. But the powwow has more surprises in store, and Wesley finally finds her place to shine in her community and find her own bravery. 

Rabbit Chase by Elizabeth LaPensée

When the Indigenous students at Aimée’s school go on a field trip to learn about Paayehnsag, the local water spirits, Aimée would rather focus on their video game, trying to drown out the memories of classmates who tease them after coming out as non-binary. With their head buried in their game, they accidentally separate from the rest of the group…and end up in an Alice in Wonderland-esque dimension, populated by Anishinaabe spirits and figures. To return home, Aimée must help Trickster track down some evil water spirits, while also trying to get past the land-thieving Queen of Hearts and her robot army.

Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell

It’s 1957, and Regina’s Umpqua tribe has been terminated. For Regina’s family, this means that they must leave Oregon and start a new life in Los Angeles. In the big city, Regina meets kids of other races, and experiences the discomfort of being the only Native kid around for the first time in her life. Regina’s father believes that his family can be treated like white Americans if he works hard enough. But alone and separated from their tribal community, Regina’s family struggles to find a foothold. Will they ever feel whole again?

CW: racism

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Elatsoe can bring back ghosts. Her power isn’t completely unheard of, though–she lives in an America that is full of magic tracing back to Indigenous and immigrant roots. The main thing Elatsoe has done with her power was to bring back her dog, Kirby. But when her cousin mysteriously dies, and everyone says that it was just a car accident, Elatsoe calls up his ghost to get the real story.

While her family is caught up in mourning, Elatsoe is on a mission: find her cousin’s murderer, with the help of Kirby and her best friend Jay. Her search leads her to a perfect little town–perhaps too perfect–and a sinister Doctor who seems to be hiding something.

CW: racism