Native American Nonfiction
National Native American Heritage Month, observed in November, honors the histories, cultures, and contributions – historical and ongoing – of American Indians and Alaska Natives. List created by a librarian at The Seattle Public Library; annotations by staff, or as cited. (Created October 2023)
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Knowledge Within
Seventeen institutions in the Pacific Northwest with significant collections of Indigenous materials and art write profiles of their organizations and the work they do.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Becoming Kin
"The fierce debut by Medicine for the Resistance podcaster Krawec critiques the harmful impact of European Christian settler colonialism on Indigenous Americans. The author, who is of Anishinaabe and Ukrainian heritage, details Indigenous American history from the first humans to populate the Americas through the present and outlines ways in which descendants of European colonizers and Indigenous people can become “good relatives.â€" (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Red Paint
Coast Salish poet and artist LaPointe recounts her nomadic life and examines her ancestral heritage, her romantic relationships, and her connection to the Pacific Northwest punk scene, in a search for healing and home.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Living Nations, Living Words
"A powerful, moving anthology that celebrates the breadth of Native poets writing today." (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States
"Mays fills a much-needed void in the interpretation of U.S. history. The author's background intersects both Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) and African American experiences. While Indigenous and Black histories are often understood as existing in different spheres, Mays challenges this assertion, contending that these two worlds share common—and often intersecting—relationships." (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Dream Drawings
In 100 prose poems Momaday (Kiowa) draws inspiration from dreams, memories, and spirituality in work that he connects back to a larger, universal story.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Thinning Blood
As the last person in her family who qualifies as a member of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Myers weaves the stories of four generations of women in her family with folklore and history.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Doom Guy
(Pascua Yaqui) "Video game designer Romero, best known as the creator of Doom , catalogs his personal and professional challenges in this surprisingly moving autobiography." (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Becoming Story
"A Coast Miwok leader narrates his life through essays focusing on his connection to the natural world and his ancestors. ... A fascinating and evocative memoir in essays." (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Unpapered
"Unpapered brings together personal narratives of Indigenous writers to explore the meaning and limits of Native American identity beyond its legal margins." (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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