Looking for novels about Native Americans..

[Peela]

I am looking for some good novels (one will do but I know there must be many) that teach about the Native American culture in a way that is suitable for teens. Basically I want to introduce my kids to Native American culture in a way that grabs them but is authentic. Can be historical or just fiction. Could be from male or female perspective. Any ideas?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Not a novel, but Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by Jack Weatherford.

 

It is a condensed history of the contribution that Native Americans have made to world civilization.

 

Chapters:

1. Silver and Money Capitalism

2. Piracy, Slavery and the Birth of Corporations

3. The American Indian Path to Industrialization

4. The Food Revolution

5. Indian Agricultural Technology

6. The Culinary Revolution

7. Liberty, Anarchism and the Noble Savage

8. The Founding Indian Fathers

9. Red Sticks and Revolution

10. The Indian Healer

11. The Drug Connection

12. Architechture and Urban Planning

13 The Pathfinders

14. When Will America be Discovered?

 

It is an honest look at the impact of Native American culture on the world and the impact of the rest of the world on Native American culture. I found it to be very readable and have assigned it to my teens.

[PiCO]

I am looking for some good novels (one will do but I know there must be many) that teach about the Native American culture in a way that is suitable for teens. Basically I want to introduce my kids to Native American culture in a way that grabs them but is authentic. Can be historical or just fiction. Could be from male or female perspective. Any ideas?

 

Down from Basswood by Lynn Laitala is a series of short stories about Chippewa and Finns in Northern Minnesota. This book gives a lot of insight to how things were "back in the day," but the stories are about after the Finnish immigrants arrived. The author actually interviewed my grandparents a lot for this book; most of the stories of reservation life are based on my ancestors.

 

Some of the stories are a bit depressing- you would want to pre-read and have your teen read selectively.

[eternalknot]

The Education of Little Tree.

 

In school I was required to read THIS fictional book about later-years Cherokee (1920s/'30s-ish) from the POV of a young child. Read the reviews at Amazon, to get background on the controversial history behind both the novel AND the author - it may influence your decision to use the book. I particularly found the 3-star reviews to be reflective of the book's meat and content. It's a predictable novel, but can be heavy on discussion as there are so many layers to the story (not just Native American issues, but social issues - including government schooling versus homeschooling).

 

Disclaimer: Not everyone will find this book suitable for their home schools, based on both the content and the author's background. Be sure to research the book and author well. All in all, I found it a worthwhile read. I'll most likely have my own kids read it in a few years, to use as a gentle springboard into discussions on literary contributions (as well as the social issues tackled in the novel).

 

It was also made into a (less than stellar, but cutesy enough) movie about 10 years ago, or so. My 8 year old has seen the movie and enjoyed it. It's typical of your book-turned-movie movies, and not entirely representative of the book. Super predictable, but my younger child took some comfort in that due to his age and the nature of the storyline.

 

Not sure if this is what you had in mind, so apologies if I'm off-base.

[TXMomof4]

I loved this book about Crazy Horse. I was something of a nut for Native American stories when I was younger and this one was fabulous.

[Nestof3]

A book I always loved, Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O'Dell, is about Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea, but it does also show Native American culture.

 

Aaron and I spent a year studying the Native American tribes, but I cannot now remember all of the books. I know he read some other Scott O'Dell like Sing Down the Moon and Thunder Rolling in the Mountains. There's also Ishi, The Last of His Tribe.

 

He read Ahyoka and the Talking Leaves as well.

 

We read the books in the series, "If You Lived with the Souix."

 

I'm sorry, it was years ago and my memory fails me.

[pqr]

Not a novel, but Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by Jack Weatherford.

 

It is a condensed history of the contribution that Native Americans have made to world civilization.

 

Chapters:

1. Silver and Money Capitalism

2. Piracy, Slavery and the Birth of Corporations

3. The American Indian Path to Industrialization

4. The Food Revolution

5. Indian Agricultural Technology

6. The Culinary Revolution

7. Liberty, Anarchism and the Noble Savage

8. The Founding Indian Fathers

9. Red Sticks and Revolution

10. The Indian Healer

11. The Drug Connection

12. Architecture and Urban Planning

13 The Pathfinders

14. When Will America be Discovered?

 

It is an honest look at the impact of Native American culture on the world and the impact of the rest of the world on Native American culture. I found it to be very readable and have assigned it to my teens.

 

I have flipped through this book, but not spent the money to purchase it nor taken the time to read it.

 

It seemed to me that that the author had gone much too far in attributing accidents of geography to American Indian culture. I do not see how the fact that the American continents are wealthy in ores and foodstuffs to be a reason to grant Indians a great contribution to world culture.

 

Yes there was and is gold and silver in the Americas but this is hardly a contribution of the Indians, rather an accident of geography. To claim otherwise is absurd.

 

The argument that he seemed to make about the Industrial Revolution being a result of Indian Culture?????? I think that is why I decided the book was not worth my effort.

 

In a similar manner I had issues with his chapters on architecture and urban planning.

 

 

If I was wrong please enlighten me. As I said I have not read the book, but it seemed to me to be on par with Black Athena and Stolen Legacy, both of which have been discredited and shown to be junk historical revisionism at best.

 

Is this book simply PC revisionism or does it make credible arguments?

Edited March 14, 2009 by pqr

[kalanamak]

Indian Paint by Balch is a novel, and is something like Island of the Blue Dolphins but instead of a girl left on a California island, it is a boy separated from his tribe in the upper midwest. He tames a horse and gets on on his own. Neither are maudlin. I read both at age 10. Neither have a lot about the religion, history, folktales, but do use the crafts and skills plus what they were up against living where they did.

[CactusPair]

I love the book The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich.

[Frontier Mom]

"Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" is a mature account of the plight of many tribes. Great book without the fluff and the HBO movie by the same name is great. Rather blunt - not history light!

 

We spent three years as missionaries on the Cherokee Indian Reservation and the native americans are near and dear to our heart. Enjoy your studies and it might be also interesting to discover their medicinal herbs. They figured this out years before I did.

[Parrothead]

The only book that popped into my head was The Last of the Mohicans. I don't know if that is what you are looking for though.

[BabyBre]

We just finished Sign of the Beaver as a read aloud with dc 6 and 8. It's a great look at the life of a colonial boy alone on the frontier. His father leaves him to fetch his mother and siblings, and he tries to survive on his own. He eventually runs into natives, and the relationship between him and an Indian boy of the same age is what the story centers around.

 

It's a very telling clash of cultures and the kids loved it.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

 

I have flipped through this book, but not spent the money to purchase it nor taken the time to read it.

 

It seemed to me that that the author had gone much too far in attributing accidents of geography to American Indian culture. I do not see how the fact that the American continents are wealthy in ores and foodstuffs to be a reason to grant Indians a great contribution to world culture.

 

Yes there was and is gold and silver in the Americas but this is hardly a contribution of the Indians, rather an accident of geography. To claim otherwise is absurd.

 

 

The argument that he seemed to make about the Industrial Revolution being a result of Indian Culture?????? I think that is why I decided the book was not worth my effort.

 

In a similar manner I had issues with his chapters on architecture and urban planning.

 

 

If I was wrong please enlighten me. As I said I have not read the book, but it seemed to me to be on par with Black Athena and Stolen Legacy, both of which have been discredited and shown to be junk historical revisionism at best.

 

Is this book simply PC revisionism or does it make credible arguments?

 

I really don't know how you can judge a book so thoroughly, not having read it at all. I have read it through a few times and have found it interesting, well written, and not "junk historical revisionism." And I have an aversion to "PC" history.

 

Personally, I believe that if the Americas had been discovered unpopulated, history certainly would have taken a far different turn. I also believe the author's thesis: "that we have underrated and ignored the contributions of American Indians to the world's economy and culture."

 

As for the the gold and silver, it can not be denied American Indians were the ones that mined that gold and silver, and were subjected to a life of slavery for European's greed. That same gold and silver drastically changed the economy of Europe and eventually the world.

 

As for the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps it would have happened any way, but would it have happened in quite the same way if American Indians had not cultivated a certain type of cotton that revolutionized the European textile industry?

 

Anyway, as I said, I'm having trouble understanding such vehemence against something that you haven't even read.

[Demal]

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven

 

http://www.amazon.com/Heard-Owl-Call-My-Name/dp/1550413392

[pqr]

I really don't know how you can judge a book so thoroughly, not having read it at all. I have read it through a few times and have found it interesting, well written, and not "junk historical revisionism." And I have an aversion to "PC" history.

 

Personally, I believe that if the Americas had been discovered unpopulated, history certainly would have taken a far different turn. I also believe the author's thesis: "that we have underrated and ignored the contributions of American Indians to the world's economy and culture."

 

As for the the gold and silver, it can not be denied American Indians were the ones that mined that gold and silver, and were subjected to a life of slavery for European's greed. That same gold and silver drastically changed the economy of Europe and eventually the world.

 

As for the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps it would have happened any way, but would it have happened in quite the same way if American Indians had not cultivated a certain type of cotton that revolutionized the European textile industry?

 

Anyway, as I said, I'm having trouble understanding such vehemence against something that you haven't even read.

 

 

There was little vehemence and I quite clearly stated that I had not read the book.

 

I asked for clarification and you have given it.

 

I must, however, say that your defense is interesting to say the least.

 

If you reference the fact that Indians were slaves in mines and claim that this is their contribution. I would accept the premise, we owe them a lot, but would add that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with their culture rather it has to do with the culture of those who enslaved them.

 

If you argue that it was the cotton that was cultivated in the Americas that impacted the Industrial Revolution, I might accept the impact of the cotton, but certainly not the culture that cultivated it. I would opine that were the Americas found uninhabited someone would have cultivated the cotton and it would have been utilized anyway. The knowledge of how to cultivate cotton was not unique to the Americas. Indeed, I believe that the earliest cultivation was in Asia.

 

I suppose what I am looking for is something that derives from culture and not geography and something that had a great impact without which civilization, as we know it, would have been markedly different. This contribution must also have been something that was actually used, not simply could have been used, and further came from that culture not from another imposing their will on the first. For example I would look for something such as mathematical theory, the written language, the wheel, the steam engine, gunpowder, chemistry, cartography, the aircraft, the concept of zero, the plow, the use of the horse, concrete, building, astronomy (yes I know they were extremely adept in astronomy, but I do not see this knowledge ever being incorporated into world culture).

 

I accept that some of the above concepts were in use in pre-Columbian America, but (to repeat) do not see how they were either unique or, most importantly, were incorporated into world civilization. (Oh that we had taken advantage of some of the knowledge that was carelessly burned or ignored).

 

You posted that the book is “an honest look at the impact of Native American culture on the world and the impact of the rest of the world on Native American culture”. Your defense was interesting, you referenced accidents of geography, fairly common agricultural capabilities and the impact of the imposition of European culture on the Americas.

 

I would ask “What contribution to world civilization came uniquely from pre-Columbian N. or S. American culture.” I am sure there are things, but if you care to make your case you must reference them.

 

I am not assaulting cultures in the Americas, I am assaulting Western culture that ignored or destroyed what was on offer. But that does not change the fact that as it was ignored, it is difficult to make a case for its being an influence.

 

Sincerely -pqr

Edited March 14, 2009 by pqr

[KS_]

You might check out:

http://www.oyate.org/catalog/index.html

[Demal]

Books about Mary Jemison.

 

1824 first person account:

 

A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison by James Seaver

 

http://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Life-Mrs-Mary-Jemison/dp/1599866706

 

Available online: http://womenshistory.about.com/library/etext/bl_nlmj00.htm

 

YA novels based on the narrative:

 

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski

 

http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Captive-Story-Mary-Jemison/dp/0064461629

 

The White by Deborah Larsen

 

http://www.amazon.com/White-Deborah-Larsen/dp/0375712895

Edited March 14, 2009 by Demal
added link

[FloridaLisa]

Hi Peela,

 

I don't have time to read through the replies, but would recommend two of my all-time favorites:

 

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown

 

I Will Fight No More Forever, Merrille Beal re: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce who were only a few miles from the Canadian border and freedom when their tribe was overtaken by American troops and sent to a reservation. Lewis and Clark spoke highly of the care and concern they were given by the Nez Perce people.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Kathy in MD]

I can't help you with any novels about Native Americans, but I'd like to give you a heads up about trying to learn about Native American culture.

 

The problem with one book to teach about Native American culture is that there were several, VERY different cultures. The major cultures include the Eastern Woodland Indians, the Plains Indians, the Pueblo Indians (desert southwest) and the Pacific Northwest Indians. Plus the plains Indians culture was very different pre and post horses. For example, the Pacific Northwest Indians were the one group of Indians where obesity was rather common, as was destroying one's own property to show off one's wealth. The Pueblo Indians were agriculturists, but the Eastern Woodland Indians were hunters/agriculturists and the Plains Indians were primarily hunter/gatherers.

 

This is a common problem even in the US where the post-horse Plains Indians' culture is often considered "the" Native American culture. A Smithsonian docent in the Native American section (herself a Native American) told me that this was a common misconception even among Native American youths.

[Janie]

Great Speeches by Native Americans

 

Geronimo (Wyatt) OOP

Cochise (Wyatt) OOP

 

For the following, check here.

Soun Tetoken: Nez Perce Boy (Thomasma)

Moho Wat (Thomasma)

Naya Nuki (Thomasma)

Om-kas-toe (Thomasma)

 

These two have some more adult content:

Panther in the Sky (Thom) about Tecumseh -- coming-of-age dance description

Follow the River (Thom) about Mary Draper Ingles escape from the Shawnee-- childbirth description

[Shelly in IL]

Moho Wat - Sheepeater Boy Attempts a Rescue;

Nana Nuki: Shashoni Girl Who Ran

Om-kas-toe, Blackfeet Twin Captures and Elkdog;

Soun Tetoken: Nez Perce Boy Tames a Stallion;

Kunu: Winnebago Boy Escapes;

Pathki Nana: Kootenai Girl Solves a Mystery; and

Amee-nah: Zuni Boy Runs the Race of his Life

 

All by Kenneth Thomasma - probably about 6th. grade reading level - but entertaining even to me

[Peela]

I can't help you with any novels about Native Americans, but I'd like to give you a heads up about trying to learn about Native American culture.

 

The problem with one book to teach about Native American culture is that there were several, VERY different cultures. The major cultures include the Eastern Woodland Indians, the Plains Indians, the Pueblo Indians (desert southwest) and the Pacific Northwest Indians. Plus the plains Indians culture was very different pre and post horses. For example, the Pacific Northwest Indians were the one group of Indians where obesity was rather common, as was destroying one's own property to show off one's wealth. The Pueblo Indians were agriculturists, but the Eastern Woodland Indians were hunters/agriculturists and the Plains Indians were primarily hunter/gatherers.

 

This is a common problem even in the US where the post-horse Plains Indians' culture is often considered "the" Native American culture. A Smithsonian docent in the Native American section (herself a Native American) told me that this was a common misconception even among Native American youths.

 

Thanks kathy, I get your point....we have the same issue with the Australian aborigines.

[Peela]

Thanks everyone, my library has quite a few of these and that should get us started.

 

I am not actually doing a "study" of Native Americans at the moment, historically speaking, so much as trying to share the views and beliefs of native cultures with my kids, including their spirituality and connection to the earth.

[momzilla333]

 

Waterlily. And so did I :001_smile:

[mcconnellboys]

Hmmm, I'll chime in for Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, Ishi in Two Worlds, and I guess I'd add Hanta Yo, by Ruth Beebe Hill and Cheyenne Autumn, Sandoz.