Collection: Shop Indigenous

Through the lens of the land that has come to be known as America, award-winning picture book creator Jennifer Thermes captures centuries of history.

A Place Called America takes the long view of the land's history, from its earliest formation and inhabitants up through today, and challenges its readers to think critically about the stories we tend to take for granted about our own history. Meet those indigenous to the deserts, prairies, forests, and shores of the land called Turtle Island and their relatives whose ideas formed the basis of the Constitution and who contributed in unique ways to World War II and more. Meet immigrant communities who came to the land from all around the world--at different times and against all odds, even with staunch United States immigration policies. And meet enslaved ancestors who were brought to the land against their will and whose labor and experience changed the story forever.

Expert picture book maker Jennifer Thermes deftly weaves the threads of these communities' narratives together, giving each the spotlight they deserve and using the land itself as a unifying lens. Illustrated with colorful, dazzling maps, A Place Called America is a visual delight. It is an info-packed read, with sidebars, an author's note, and a timeline supplementing the accessible text.

In November 1519, Hernando Cortés walked along a causeway leading to the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with Moctezuma. That story--and the story of what happened afterwards--has been told many times, but always following the narrative offered by the Spaniards. After all, we have been taught, it was the Europeans who held the pens. But the Native Americans were intrigued by the Roman alphabet and, unbeknownst to the newcomers, they used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Until recently, these sources remained obscure, only partially translated, and rarely consulted by scholars.

For the first time, in Fifth Sun, the history of the Aztecs is offered in all its complexity based solely on the texts written by the indigenous people themselves. Camilla Townsend presents an accessible and humanized depiction of these native Mexicans, rather than seeing them as the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes. The conquest, in this work, is neither an apocalyptic moment, nor an origin story launching Mexicans into existence. The Mexica people had a history of their own long before the Europeans arrived and did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization. Instead, they realigned their political allegiances, accommodated new obligations, adopted new technologies, and endured.

This engaging revisionist history of the Aztecs, told through their own words, explores the experience of a once-powerful people facing the trauma of conquest and finding ways to survive, offering an empathetic interpretation for experts and non-specialists alike.

Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: the "discovery" of America told by Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists. Here's the true story of America from the Indigenous perspective.

When you think about the beginning of the American story, what comes to mind? Three ships in 1492, or perhaps buckled hats and shoes stepping off of the Mayflower, ready to start a new country. But the truth is, Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists didn't arrive to a vast, empty land ready to be developed. They arrived to find people and communities living in harmony with the land they had inhabited for thousands of years, and they quickly disrupted everything they saw.

From its "discovery" by Europeans to the first Thanksgiving, the story of America's earliest days has been carefully misrepresented. Told from the perspective of the New England Indigenous Nations that these outsiders found when they arrived, this is the true story of how America as we know it today began.

American Indian Youth Literature Award: Middle Grade Honor Book! Hello/Boozhoo--meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is.

Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn--about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly.

Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she's worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore...

The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

"You are life and breath adored. You are us and so much more..."

Richard Van Camp, internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author of the hugely successful Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns, has partnered with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender board book for babies and toddlers that celebrates the potential of every child. With its delightful contemporary illustrations, Little You is perfect to be shared, read or sung to all the little people in your life--and the new little ones on the way!

In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, Jen Ferguson writes about the hurt of a life stuck in past tense, the hum of connections that cannot be severed, and one week in a small, snowy town that changes everything.

Overachievement isn't a bad word--for Berlin, it's the goal. She's securing excellent grades, planning her future, and working a part-time job at Pink Mountain Pizza, a legendary local business. Who says she needs a best friend by her side?

Dropping out of high school wasn't smart--but it was necessary for Cameron. Since his cousin Kiki's disappearance, it's hard enough to find the funny side of life, especially when the whole town has forgotten Kiki. To them, she's just another missing Native girl.

People at school label Jessie a tease, a rich girl--and honestly, she's both. But Jessie knows she contains multitudes. Maybe her new job crafting pizzas will give her the high-energy outlet she desperately wants.

When the weekend at Pink Mountain Pizza takes several unexpected turns, all three teens will have to acknowledge the various ways they've been hurt--and how much they need each other to hold it all together.

Jen Ferguson burst onto the YA scene with her first novel, which was a William C. Morris Award Finalist and a Stonewall Award Honor Book, and this second novel fulfills her promise as one of the most thoughtful and exciting YA writers today.

Award-winning author Eddie Chuculate recounts his experience growing up in rural Oklahoma, from boyhood to young manhood, in an evocative and vivid voice.

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future.

"Granny was full-blooded Creek, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs insisted she was fifteen-sixteenths. She showed her card to me. I'd sit at the kitchen table and stare at her when she was eating, wondering how you can be a sixteenth of anything."

Growing up impoverished and shuttled between different households, it seemed life was bound to take a certain path for Eddie Chuculate. Despite the challenges he faced, his upbringing was rich with love and bountiful lessons from his Creek and Cherokee heritage, deep-rooted traditions he embraced even as he learned to live within the culture of white, small-town America that dominated his migratory childhood.

Award-winning author Eddie Chuculate brings his childhood to life with spare, unflinching prose. This book is at once a love letter to his Native American roots and an inspiring and essential message for young readers everywhere, who are coming of age in an era when conversations about acceptance and empathy, love and perspective are more necessary than ever before.

En Los cuatro acuerdos, don Miguel Ruiz revela la fuente de todas las creencias que nos ponen límites y nos privan de alegría, creando sufrimiento inútil. Basados en la antigua sabiduría tolteca, Los cuatro acuerdos nos ofrecen un poderoso código de conducta que puede transformar inmediatamente nuestra vida en una nueva experiencia de libertad, dicha absoluta, y amor.

- Más de una década en la lista de bestseller del New York Times
- Traducido a 52 idiomas en todo el mundo
____________________

"Este libro de don Miguel Ruiz, simple pero tan poderoso, ha marcado una gran diferencia en cómo pienso y actúo en cada encuentro." -- Oprah Winfrey

"El libro de don Miguel Ruiz es un mapa hacia la iluminación y la libertad." -- Deepak Chopra, autor de Las siete leyes espirituales del éxito

"Un libro que inspira con sus muchas lecciones importantes." -- Wayne Dyer, autor de Verdadera magia

"Siguiendo la tradición de Carlos Castaneda, Ruiz destila la esencia de la sabiduría tolteca. En un estilo claro e impecable explica la paradoja de que los hombres y las mujeres tienen que vivir como guerreros pacíficos en el mundo moderno." -- Dan Millman, autor de El camino del guerrero pacific

This beautiful, informative, Indigenous picture book offers both an homage to Secretary Deb Haaland's achievements, and a celebration of urban Indigenous community through the eyes of a little girl.

Pia rushes over to the Indigenous community center after school. It's where she goes every day to play outside with friends and work on her homework. But today--March 18, 2021--is special: Auntie Autumn gathers all the children around their television to witness Secretary Deb Haaland in her ribbon skirt at the White House as she becomes the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. Pia and the other kids behold her Native pride on an international stage. Together with their parents and Elders, the children explore the values woven into their own regalia, land, community, and traditions, making precious memories on this day they won't soon forget.

A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of 2023
A Rise: A Feminist Book Project List Selection

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about Christopher Columbus, and learn all about the Taino people. Perfect for fans of the I Survived books and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean and discovered America. Right? WRONG! Columbus never actually set foot in what is now the United States. His voyages took him to islands in the Caribbean and along the coast of South America.

The truth is, when Columbus first arrived, Indigenous peoples, including the Taino, had been living there for thousands of years, raising their families, running their societies, and trading with their neighbors. He didn't "discover" the lands at all! And his name? Not even really Christopher Columbus! Cowritten by bestselling author Kate Messner and our country's premier Taino scholar, this fascinating addition to the series is the one that teachers have been asking for and that kids need to read.

Discover the nonfiction series that demolishes everything you thought you knew about history. Don't miss History Smashers: The Mayflower, Women's Right to Vote, and Pearl Harbor.

Longlisted for the National Book Award

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.

"A haunting thriller, written with exquisite suspense . . . This is a story that won't let you go long after you finish, and you won't want it to end even as you can't stop reading to find out how it does."
--Tommy Orange, author of There There

Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases--she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook.

As a lone portal back to the living for traumatized spirits, Rita is terrorized by nagging ghosts who won't let her sleep and who sabotage her personal life. Her taboo and psychologically harrowing ability was what drove her away from the Navajo reservation, where she was raised by her grandmother. It has isolated her from friends and gotten her in trouble with the law.

And now it might be what gets her killed.

When Rita is sent to photograph the scene of a supposed suicide on a highway overpass, the furious, discombobulated ghost of the victim--who insists she was murdered--latches onto Rita, forcing her on a quest for revenge against her killers, and Rita finds herself in the crosshairs of one of Albuquerque's most dangerous cartels. Written in sparkling, gruesome prose, Shutter is an explosive debut from one of crime fiction's most powerful new voices.

This enriching cookbook celebrates eight important plants Native Americans introduced to the rest of the world: corn, beans, squash, chile, tomato, potato, vanilla, and cacao--with more than 100 recipes.

When these eight Native American plants crossed the ocean after 1492, the world's cuisines were changed forever. In Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky, James Beard Award-winning author and chef Lois Ellen Frank introduces the splendor and importance of this Native culinary history and pairs it with delicious, modern, plant-based recipes using Native American ingredients. Along with Native American culinary advisor Walter Whitewater, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky shares more than 100 nutritious, plant-based recipes organized by each of the foundational ingredients in Native American cuisine as well as a necessary discussion of food sovereignty and sustainability.

A delicious, enlightening celebration of Indigenous foods and Southwestern flavors, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky shares recipes for dishes such as Blue Corn Hotcakes with Prickly Pear Syrup, Three Sisters Stew, and Green Chile Enchilada Lasagna, as well as essential basics like Corn Masa, Red and Green Chile Sauces, and Cacao Spice Rub. The "Magic 8" ingredients share the page--and plate--to create recipes that will transform your world.

Oh, snow day, snow day, what a very fun no-school day! Jo Jo Makoons is back in the third book in this favorite chapter book series, and she's planning the very best version of the winter Olympics that her Ojibwe community has ever seen...

Jo Jo Makoons has noticed that the family members she loves most--Mama, Kokum, and even her cat, Mimi--all have their own ways of being healthy. So when Teacher says that their class will be learning about healthy habits, Jo Jo is ready to be neighborly by helping everyone around her be healthy too.

After a snowstorm shuts down her Ojibwe reservation, Jo Jo uses her big imagination and big personality to help both Elders and classmates alike. Because after all, being healthy means being together!

With her signature heart and hilarity, in this third book in her chapter book series, Jo Jo Makoons shows care for her community as only this vibrant young girl can.

The first book in this acclaimed chapter book series was an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book; a best book of the year from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, American Indians in Children's Literature, and the Chicago Public Library; a Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book; and a Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Choices selection.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2023

"Sharply insightful . . . A monumental piece of work."--The Boston Globe

An award-winning author investigates the entangled history of her Jewish ancestors' land in South Dakota and the Lakota, who were forced off that land by the United States government

Growing up, Rebecca Clarren only knew the major plot points of her tenacious immigrant family's origins. Her great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, and their six children fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, ultimately settling on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota. Over the next few decades, despite tough years on a merciless prairie and multiple setbacks, the Sinykins became an American immigrant success story.

What none of Clarren's ancestors ever mentioned was that their land, the foundation for much of their wealth, had been cruelly taken from the Lakota by the United States government. By the time the Sinykins moved to South Dakota, America had broken hundreds of treaties with hundreds of Indigenous nations across the continent, and the land that had once been reserved for the seven bands of the Lakota had been diminished, splintered, and handed for free, or practically free, to white settlers. In The Cost of Free Land, Clarren melds investigative reporting with personal family history to reveal the intertwined stories of her family and the Lakota, and the devastating cycle of loss of Indigenous land, culture, and resources that continues today.

With deep empathy and clarity of purpose, Clarren grapples with the personal and national consequences of this legacy of violence and dispossession. What does it mean to survive oppression only to perpetuate and benefit from the oppression of others? By shining a light on the people and families tangled up in this country's difficult history, The Cost of Free Land invites readers to consider their own culpability and what, now, can be done.

A biography of America's greatest all-around athlete that "goes beyond the myth and into the guts of Thorpe's life, using extensive research, historical nuance, and bittersweet honesty" (Los Angeles Times), by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered.

Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. Most famously, he won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for John McGraw's New York Giants. Even in a golden age of sports celebrities, he was one of a kind.

But despite his awesome talent, Thorpe's life was a struggle against the odds. At Carlisle, he faced the racist assimilationist philosophy "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball, and his supposed allies turned away from him when their own reputations were at risk. His later life was troubled by alcohol, broken marriages, and financial distress. He roamed from state to state and took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. But for all his travails, Thorpe survived, determined to shape his own destiny, his perseverance becoming another mark of his mythic stature.

Path Lit by Lightning "[reveals] Thorpe as a man in full, whose life was characterized by both soaring triumph and grievous loss" (The Wall Street Journal).

In this Newbery Honor Book, a thirteen-year-old boy struggles to survive on his own in the wilderness of eighteenth-century Maine.

When Matt's father leaves him on his own to guard their new cabin in the wilderness, Matt is scared but determined to be brave and prove that he can take care of himself. And things are going fine until a white stranger steals his gun, leaving Matt defenseless and unable to hunt for his food.

Then Matt meets Attean, a Native boy from the Beaver tribe, and soon learns that people called the land around him home long before the white settlers ever arrived. As Attean teaches him more about his own culture, Matt must come to terms with what the changing frontier really means.

Now with an introduction by critically acclaimed writer Joseph Bruchac about the historical context and the relationships between Native peoples and white settlers in the eighteenth century.