Native American Heritage Month & Thanksgiving

by Jula

November is the month most of us begin our holiday prep and family gatherings. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. School is closed for the long weekend, family members travel to spend the day feasting and sharing. Christmas and Hanukkah (and Kwanzaa) are right around the corner, so the holiday season is officially on. As a nation, Thanksgiving is probably our most beloved holiday. We are taught from an early age about thankfulness and sharing, about the struggles of our earliest settlers and the aid given to them by the Native Americans. But the story we are told isn’t the whole story, more like the dreamy vignette of our history.

November is also Native American Heritage Month. It was declared such by President George H. W. Bush on 1990. “This commemorative month aims to provide a platform for Native people in the United States of America to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways and concepts of life.” It also is a good time for non-native people to recognize the different tellings of our shared histories. Our country’s history is not just the history we read in school, but there are many stories, and they are not all as glorious as we are often led to believe. Here I have created a list of books by Native American / Indigenous American authors that are excellent reads.

So, while gathering and enjoying our time with friends & family, yes, be thankful for the people in our lives & the many things we enjoy. But also, keep in mind the less than rosy history of our country and the holiday we celebrate.

Click on a title below to find out more about each book.

PS:
While not a book by an indigenous author, this brand new history on the troubled origins of Thanksgiving is worth considering on the topic:
This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman

Here's the List:

Teen and Children's books are included as well, noted on each title toward the bottom of the list.