In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Penguin Random House is highlighting the stories of our authors as well as voices in the community who authentically represent the Indigenous Experience. Using the #StoriesoftheLand, join us in putting a spotlight on the rich and diverse stories showcasing the important contributions and experiences of Native people, this month and every month!
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Native American Creators:
Woman of Light: A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
A “dazzling, cinematic, intimate, lyrical” (Roxane Gay) epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award finalist Sabrina & Corina
“Sometimes you just step into a book and let it wash over you, like you’re swimming under a big, sparkling night sky.”—Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You
Available in Trade Paperback, Large Print, eBook, and Audio Print.
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Sisters of the Lost Nation: A Novel by Nick Medina
A young Native girl’s hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe’s reservation leads her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut.
“A pulse-pounding horror thriller with a riveting central mystery, Medina’s debut is a masterclass in suspense. It’s also a moving portrayal of the painful rift between past and present, and an urgent reminder of the profound importance of storytelling, of being heard, seen, and remembered.”—Rachel Harrison, author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Berry Pickers: A Novel by Amanda Peters
A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family, and remain unsolved for nearly fifty years.
“A stunning debut about love, race, brutality and the balm of forgiveness.”—People
“A harrowing tale of Indigenous family separation . . . [Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting . . . With The Berry Pickers, Peters takes on the monumental task of giving witness to people who suffered through racist attempts of erasure like her Mi’kmaw ancestors. ‘White folks been trying to take the Indian out of us for centuries,’ a character tells Norma. ‘But now that you know, you gotta let people know.’ Peters is letting people know.”—Eric Nguyen, The New York Times Book Review
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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Blood Sisters: A Novel by Vanessa Lillie
A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women . . . one of them her sister.
“This suspenseful mystery will not only captivate you, but it may just teach you something about Cherokee history, land rights and the plague of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Including queer and Two-Spirit characters, Blood Sisters is a meaningful and compelling thriller.”—Ms. Magazine
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology Edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection that dares to ask the question: “Are you ready to be un-settled?”
“Never failed to surprise, delight, and shock.”—Nick Cutter, author of The Troop and Little Heaven
“Never Whistle at Night is all I’ve ever wanted in an Indigenous horror anthology . . . It’s a joy to see such a diverse representation of experience, background, and style in this carefully-curated and terrifying collection.”—Jessica Johns, author of Bad Cree
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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To Shape a Dragon’s Breath: The First Book of Nampeshiweisit by Moniquill Blackgoose
A young, indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy after bonding with a hatchling—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of a brilliant new fantasy series.
“A very entertaining and fun read, full of loveable characters and intricate, original worldbuilding.”—NPR
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Bad Cree: A Novel by Jessica Johns
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman’s dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home.
“A mystery and a horror story about grief, but one with defiant hope in its beating heart.”—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Watch Our ‘Haunting Tales’ Author Panel Featuring Jessica Johns
And Then She Fell: A Novel by Alicia Elliot
A mind-bending, razor-sharp look at motherhood and mental health that follows a young Indigenous woman who discovers the picture-perfect life she always hoped for may have horrifying consequences.
“Shocking, riveting, uncomfortable, gorgeous and visionary . . . Elliott’s remarkable, genre-blurring, and brilliant writing takes us into a world of metaphor and myth and nature. Her world-building is as menacing and spectacular as that of Jeff VanderMeer and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Elliott’s true gift to the reader is a new perspective on Indigeneity which is both humbling and earth-shattering.”
—Heather O’Neill, author of When We Lost Our Heads
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Sinister Graves: A Novel by Marcie R. Rendon
Set in 1970s Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation, Pinckley Prize–winner Marcie R. Rendon’s gripping new mystery follows Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman, as she attempts to discover the truth about the disappearances of Native girls and their newborns.
“Marcie Rendon is writing an addictive and authentically Native crime series propelled by the irresistible Cash Blackbear—a warm, sad, sharp, funny and intuitive young Ojibwe woman. I want a shelf of Cash Blackbear novels! To my delight I have a feeling that Rendon is only getting started.”—Louise Erdrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Night Watchman
Available in Trade Paperback.
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Check Out More Books in A Cash Blackbear Mystery Series
Probably Ruby: A Novel by Lisa Bird-Wilson
An Indigenous woman adopted by white parents goes in search of her identity in this unforgettable debut novel about family, race, and history.
“Engaging . . . Ruby never disappoints with her big heart and outrageous sense of humor—and her resilient search for her own history.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved.”—Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers
Availbale in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Shutter: A Novel by Ramona Emerson
This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation.
“This paranormal police procedural is unusual and multilayered, but what stands out is the gorgeously expressive and propulsive first-person storytelling, which is split between Rita’s present and her past. A former forensic photographer herself, the pictures Emerson paints with words are as vivid as they are brutal.”—Oprah Daily
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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Watch Our ‘The Horror’ Author Panel Featuring Ramona Emerson.
There There: A Novel by Tommy Orange
A wondrous and shattering novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.
“Powerful . . . There There has so much jangling energy and brings so much news from a distinct corner of American life that it’s a revelation.”—The New York Times
“With a literary authority rare in a debut novel, it places Native American voices front and center before readers’ eyes.”—NPR/Fresh Air
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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Spirit Talker: Indigenous Stories and Teachings from a Mi’kmaq Psychic Medium by Shawn Leonard
This teaching memoir by an Indigenous spirit talker includes stories about the author’s reconnection with his Mi’kmaq heritage along with techniques for connecting to Spirit and developing your own intuition and psychic abilities.
Here, Shawn Leonard shares his personal story of developing his abilities as a spirit talker, revealing incredible stories from his childhood to the present. Along the way, he shares experiences he has had with elders from his aboriginal tribe, the Mi’kmaq, and his journey learning more about his heritage.
Available in Trade Paperback and eBook Editions.
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The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
A sweeping history—and counter-narrative—of Native American life from the Wounded Knee massacre to the present.
“Chapter after chapter, it’s like one shattered myth after another.”—NPR
“An informed, moving and kaleidoscopic portrait . . . Treuer’s powerful book suggests the need for soul-searching about the meanings of American history and the stories we tell ourselves about this nation’s past.”—The New York Times Book Review
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe
An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary journey to reclaim her heritage and unleash her power and voice while searching for a permanent home.
“An engaging, poetic, educative examination of the search for home and personal and cultural identity.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Available in Trade Paperback and eBook Editions.
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Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene; Illustrated by Ciara Sana
An accessible and educational illustrated book profiling 50 notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, from NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Standing Rock Lakota to Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL’s First Treaty Indigenous Player by Fred Sasakamoose; Foreword by Bryan Trottier
Trailblazer. Residential school Survivor. First Treaty Indigenous player in the NHL. All of these descriptions are true–but none of them tell the whole story.
“Fred Sasakamoose played in the NHL before First Nations people had the right to vote in Canada. This page turner will have you cheering for ‘Fast Freddy’ as he faces off against huge challenges both on and off the ice.”—Wab Kinew, Leader of the Manitoba NDP and author of The Reason You Walk
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and eBook Editions.
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Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen
A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence.
“Essential . . . We need more voices like Toni Jensen’s, more books like Carry.”—Tommy Orange, New York Times bestselling author of There There
“The value of Carry lies in its unique structure, its sparse, powerful prose, and in the stinging perspective it provides on events that are numbingly common. Until we see it as clearly as Jensen does, the lens she offers on gun violence in America will be relevant again and again and again.”—Chicago Review of Books
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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A Mind Spread Out on the Ground: A Memoir by Alicia Elliot
A bold and profound meditation on trauma, legacy, oppression and racism in North America from an award-winning Haudenosaunee writer.
“In her raw, unflinching memoir . . . she tells the impassioned, wrenching story of the mental health crisis within her own family and community . . . A searing cry.”—The New York Times Book Review
“An instant must-read . . . Elliott’s prose is beautiful, and her insight into the deeply personal and its interconnectedness with the wider world makes this book readable, infuriating, and essential.”—LitHub
Available in Trade Paperback and eBook Editions.
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Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller
A daughter returns home to the Navajo reservation to retrace her mother’s life in a memoir that is both a narrative and an archive of one family’s troubled history.
“Trained as a librarian and archivist, Geller has created a type of archive, a living collection of memories and documents that speak to a life that is at once precisely individualistic while also being universally resonant. Read this book.”—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina
“ . . . Geller’s mix of archival research and personal memoir allows readers to see a refreshing variety of perspectives and layers, resulting in an eye-opening, moving narrative. A deftly rendered, powerful story of family, grief, and the search for self.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Winter in the Blood: A Novel by James Welch; Foreword by Joy Harjo; Introduction by Louise Erdrich
A contemporary classic from a major writer of the Native American renaissance.
“Brilliant, brutal and, in my opinion, Welch’s best work.”—Tommy Orange, The Washington Post
During his life, James Welch came to be regarded as a master of American prose, and his first novel, Winter in the Blood, is one of his most enduring works. The narrator of this beautiful, often disquieting novel is a young Native American man living on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana. Sensitive and self-destructive, he searches for something that will bind him to the lands of his ancestors but is haunted by personal tragedy, the dissolution of his once proud heritage, and Montana’s vast emptiness. Winter in the Blood is an evocative and unforgettable work of literature that will continue to move and inspire anyone who encounters it.
Available in Hardcover and Audio Editions.
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Ceremony: A Novel by Leslie Marmon Silko; Introduction by Larry McMurtry
The great Native American Novel of a battered veteran returning home to heal his mind and spirit.
“An exceptional novel—a cause for celebration.”—The Washington Post Book World
“The novel is very deliberately a ceremony in itself—demanding but confident and beautifully written.”—The Boston Globe
“Without question Leslie Marmon Silko is the most accomplished Native American writer of her generation.”—The New York Times Book Review
Available in Trade Paperback and eBook Editions.
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Little Big Bully: Poetry by Heid E. Erdrich
In a new collection that is “a force of nature” (Amy Gerstler), renowned Native poet Heid E. Erdrich applies her rich inventive voice and fierce wit to the deforming effects of harassment and oppression.
Little Big Bully begins with a question asked of a collective and troubled we—how did we come to this? In answer, this book offers personal myth, American and Native American contexts, and allegories driven by women’s resistance to narcissists, stalkers, and harassers. These poems are immediate, personal, political, cultural, even futuristic object lessons. What is truth now? Who are we now? How do we find answers through the smoke of human destructiveness? The past for Indigenous people, ecosystem collapse from near-extinction of bison, and the present epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women underlie these poems. Here, survivors shout back at useless cautionary tales with their own courage and visions of future worlds made well.
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Notable Works of Native American History & Culture from Non-Native Voices:
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Lost City of Z.
“Disturbing and riveting . . . Grann has proved himself a master of spinning delicious, many-layered mysteries that also happen to be true . . . It will sear your soul.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A shocking whodunit . . . What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today
“A master of the detective form . . . Killers is something rather deep and not easily forgotten.”—The Wall Street Journal
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South by Peter Cozzens
The story of the pivotal struggle between the Creek Indians and an insatiable, young United States for control over the Deep South—from the acclaimed historian and prize-winning author of The Earth is Weeping.
“As has come to be expected from Cozzens’s work, A Brutal Reckoning masterfully blends important cultural and biographical details with expressive and engaging military history.”—Daniel N. Gullotta, The Washington Post
Available in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation by Peter Stark
A vivid account of the rivalry between future president William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh—and of the Native American alliance that fought westward expansion—from the New York Times bestselling author of Astoria.
“Taut, multi-layered . . . a much-needed reevaluation of this crucial period of our nation’s history.”—Laurence Bergreen, author of Over the Edge of the World
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers
A sweeping history of Indigenous traditions of gender, sexuality, and resistance that reveals how, despite centuries of colonialism, Two-Spirit people are reclaiming their place in Native nations.
“An original contribution to Indigenous cultural and intellectual histories, an understanding of the links between language and power, and Indigenous futures, this book will not only educate your mind, but will also touch your spirit.”—Kyle T. Mays (Black/Saginaw Chippewa), author of An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States
Available in Trade Paperback.
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We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gayle
A landmark work of untold American history that reshapes our understanding of identity, race, and belonging.
“An important part of American history told with a clear-eyed and forceful brilliance.”—National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson
“We Refuse to Forget reminds readers, on damn near every page, that we are collectively experiencing a brilliance we’ve seldom seen or imagined . . . a new standard in book-making.”—Kiese Laymon, author of the bestselling Heavy: An American Memoir
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Kyle T. Mays
The first intersectional history of the Black and Native American struggle for freedom in our country that also reframes our understanding of who was Indigenous in early America.
“Required reading to comprehend the deep historical relationship between the Indigenous peoples who were transported from Africa into chattel slavery and the Indigenous peoples who were displaced by European settler colonialism to profit from the land and resources, two parallel realities in search of self-determination and justice.”—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
“This book reveals uncomfortable truths about the dehumanizing legacies of both capitalism and colonialism while forging a path of reconciliation between the Black and Native communities. Mays offers a solid entry point for further study. An enlightening reexamination of American history.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and eBook Editions.
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An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The first history of the United States told from the perspective of indigenous peoples.
“Meticulously documented, this thought-provoking treatise is sure to generate discussion.”—Booklist
“[An] impassioned history . . . Belongs on the shelf next to Dee Brown’s classic, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and eBook Editions.
Also Available for Young Readers: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People.
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Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael Powell
The moving story of a Navajo high school basketball team, its members struggling with the everyday challenges of high school, adolescence, and family, and the great and unique obstacles facing Native Americans living on reservations.
“Unmistakably beautiful. Powell is a gifted and giving writer, and his book is at once a reflection on youth and ambition and a fascinating chronicle of a town’s struggle to survive in a world that’s often cruel and hostile.”—NPR
“(An) engrossing, more expansive book . . . [Canyon Dreams] becomes a gripping, propulsive story about a playoff run.”—The Washington Post
“Delivering a deeply felt portrait of life . . . As exciting as a full-court press and a thoughtful study of young athletes in a world little known to outsiders.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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A Native American Story in Fiction from a Non-Native Voice:
The Cherokee Rose: A Novel by Tiya Miles
Three women uncover the secrets of a Georgia plantation that embodies the intertwined histories of Indigenous and enslaved Black communities—the fascinating debut novel, inspired by a true story, of the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of All That She Carried, now featuring a new introduction and discussion guide.
“The Cherokee Rose is a mic drop—an instant classic. An invitation to listen to the urgent, sweet choruses of past and present.”—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Celebrate Native American Life in Photographs:
Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur
A photographic and narrative celebration of contemporary Native American life and cultures, alongside an in-depth examination of issues that Native people face, by celebrated photographer and storyteller Matika Wilbur of the Swinomish and Tulalip Tribes.
“This book is too important to miss. It is a vast, sprawling look at who we are as Indigenous people in these United States.”—Tommy Orange (Cheyenne and Arapaho), author of There There
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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A Middle Grade Read:
Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac
From the U.S.’s foremost Indigenous children’s author comes a middle grade verse novel set during the COVID-19 pandemic, about a Wabanaki girl’s quarantine on her grandparents’ reservation and the local dog that becomes her best friend.
“Hidden throughout this moving novel in verse, old stories are discovered like buried treasures.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Bruchac intricately interweaves past and present stories . . . in this rewarding intergenerational narrative.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Children’s Audiobooks to Hear this Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage Month, and our ears are tuned to audiobooks for kids that are written and read by Indigenous authors and narrators. From picture book adaptations to stories for middle schoolers and teens, listen to clips below and fill your family playlist with histories, biographies, and more.
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