November is Native American Heritage Month, a month-long observation designated originally by a White House proclamation in 1990. However, states have recognized individual days set apart for celebrating and honoring Native Americans’ contributions throughout the history of this country since as early as 1916.
According to the National Council for American Indians (NCAI), “The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and how tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.”
North Central alumni, including Jacob Valtierra and T.J. Valtierra, are among the Native Americans who have contributed to our culture, country, and the Kingdom of Christ. You can read their stories here:
Learning about the obstacles and opportunities Native Americans have experienced throughout the history of the United States is an opportunity we can all take advantage of. To coincide with this month of commemoration, we enlisted the help of the research staff in T. J. Jones Library to create a list of books and resources telling the stories and experiences of this nation’s indigenous people. This list, while not exhaustive, includes fiction and non-fiction literature that details the Native American experience in the United States.
- Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science
- Notable native people : 50 indigenous leaders, dreamers, and changemakers from past and present
- Indigenous peoples’ history of the United States
- Indigenous theology and the western worldview : a decolonized approach to Christian doctrine
- #NotYourPrincess : voices of Native American women
- First Nations version : an indigenous translation of the New Testament
- We are water protectors
- Braiding sweetgrass
- Fry bread : a Native American family story
- The heartbeat of Wounded Knee: native America from 1890 to the present
- The firekeeper’s daughter
- There there
- The sentence : a novel
- Power
- Pushing the bear
- Crazy brave : a memoir
- An American sunrise : poems
