Task #24: Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author

[Judith]

I happened to read several indigenous books last year for the ReadingWomen challenge as well as last year's Read Harder.

Heart Berries was quite a tough read and I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala was too.

However, any in the Materena Mahi trilogy by Célestine Hitiura Vaite are gentler reads - I particularly enjoyed the second, Frangipani. I think I recommended these last year for the Oceania prompt.

I also enjoyed Where We Once Belonged (read this a few years ago for the Olympic Challenge), but I know my friend didn't like it at all and found it hard work. But hey, this is called Read Harder, not Read Easier!

[Elizabeth]

Bonnie G. wrote: "Becky wrote: "I read NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes from the Field"

How was this book? It looked interesting. I have a bunch of books already for this prompt, but there is always tim..."

I also read this one for this task, and I loved it, as well as Billy-Ray Belcourt's previous book This Wound is a World. He's an incredibly talented poet, and I love his style--easily a favourite poet of mine for contemporary poetry (and I read a lot of it).

If you aren't up for poetry for this task, Billy-Ray Belcourt is releasing a memoir in a couple months.

[Bonnie G.]

I am on my second book for this challenge, in the past couple years I have really enjoyed reading more indigenous authors. For people looking for non-fiction I am really enjoying The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living which is a beautiful collection of folktales that underlie Lakota culture. Three books I read last year that I also recommend are The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present, Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life, and Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia.

[Bonnie G.]

Elizabeth wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Becky wrote: "I read NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes from the Field"

How was this book? It looked interesting. I have a bunch of books already for this prompt, but t..."

Thanks for these recommendations! I clearly have a lot of great reading to do.

[Tracy]

Theresa wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "If anyone is interested in an Australian YA fiction option, I just adored Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina."

Such a good book!!! Published in the US as The Things She's Seen which has messed me up I can't tell you how many times!...

This is what I read as well for this prompt. It was a quick read, but I felt like it should have been longer because I think they could have developed the characters so much more. I felt like it was rushing through and I was missing something until the very last chapter, which I loved. Also. I dont think they should have changed the title on the US version because Catching Teller Crow fits SO much better. I also really found the authors note at the end very interesting. It explained the aboriginal meanings behind the plot, and I thought it was the best part of the book LOL.

[Jessica]

I'm also reading through Rebecca Roanhorse's series and second/third/fourth? how good Moon of the Crusted Snow is.

I think I may also read Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home by a local (to me) musician who was adopted and didn't discover he was Mohawk until many years later.

Someone mentioned another Thomas King book, but I would also recommend his: The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

[Dana]

I also read Heart Berries last year and it was very good. I just finshed Crazy Brave by Jo Harjo. It has some beautiful language and also some of her poetry. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the prose was beautiful.

[Kari]

Have to agree with others that Rebecca Roanhorse's urban fantasy is a great ride, if you'd like to fill this prompt with genre fic. Fast-paced and imaginative, unique world-building that works in the history of Native American populations in the southwest US. I read Trail of Lightning last year so I'll be filling this prompt by reading the second in that series, Storm of Locusts.

[Deb]

I definitely agree with the recommendation of The Things She's Seen (or in Australia, Catching Teller Crow). I read it for last year's challenge and loved it. Also nearly anything by Louise Erdrich.

[Teresa]

I also read Trail Of Lightning last year and will read the second in the series this year.

[Tan]

I read Dakwakada Warriors by Cole Pauls, an entertaining graphic novel that will also teach you words in Southern Tutchone.

[Sherri]

I just read Cherokee America by Margaret Verble. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I really liked the book. This book also works for a historical fiction not set in WWII. I read mostly historical fiction so I am saving this prompt for a book that doesn’t fit in any other prompts.

[M.A.]

Anything by Sherman Alexie. I listened to his memoir "You don't have to say you love me), which he read. Highly recommend that you listen, as his poetry is better appreciated. Also his Native American accent brings so much.

[Chris]

Read Reservation Blues for this. Would recommendCeremony also.

[Wendy]

Amy J. wrote: "I'm planning on reading The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich"

Future Home of the Living God, also my Lousie Erdich

[Judy]

Indian Horse is a powerful book by a Canadian.Indian Horse byRichard Wagamese

[Andy]

Local WA author middle grade book, I Can Make this Promise by Christina Day. My kids library book club featured this book. It's a great read together and discussion with tweens.

[Mandie]

Audra (Unabridged Chick) wrote: "I think I'm going to read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, which also works for challenge 15 (climate change)."

Thank you for the reminder about this book! I'll be listening via audio.

[Shelley]

I read Future Home of the Living God for my book club and it was bad but made for great discussions over just why it was bad.

[Bonnie G.]

I heard it was bad. Every once in a while Erdrich tanks, but she is usually great

[Stina]

I still have several mentioned here I hope to get to this year, but the first book I read that fit the prompt was Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. It has lovely illustrations and extensive author's notes, so it's good for a wide age range.

[Katie]

I read Original Fire, by Louise Erdrich, a collection of poetry with some flash thrown in. It was good. I've read love medicine, but not much else of hers. Going to try to read something else by her this year.

[Shelley]

Bonnie G. wrote: "I heard it was bad. Every once in a while Erdrich tanks, but she is usually great"

Apparently she had to cut 200 pages out at the last minute with little editing. The consensus amoung my friends was that we need to stage a protest to get a hold of those 200 pages just to see if it would make the book actually make sense. Or it would make us more angry.

[Bonnie G.]

Shelley wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "I heard it was bad. Every once in a while Erdrich tanks, but she is usually great"

Apparently she had to cut 200 pages out at the last minute with little editing. The consensus a..."

LOL, if you get the 200 pages, let me know!

[Jane]

Is it her latest one that you are talking about?

[Gail]

I just found out Natalie Diaz has a new book out, Postcolonial Love Poem and her first one was so awesome that it moved to the top of my list (first book is When My Brother Was an Aztec)

[Shelley]

Jane wrote: "Is it her latest one that you are talking about?"

If you're taking about Erdrich, it's the one that came out 3 years ago. Apparently she had a newer one come out last month.

[Bonnie G.]

Shelley wrote: "Jane wrote: "Is it her latest one that you are talking about?"

If you're taking about Erdrich, it's the one that came out 3 years ago. Apparently she had a newer one come out last month."

I have heard good things about The Night Watchman!

[Sheri]

I read There There, was supposed to be my april book club read but not everyone was able to grab it before the libraries closed. So we're doing a virtual meet to discuss the future of the book club and briefly touching on it.

I liked it ok, the ending didn't really come together for me.

[Jacob]

For this challenge, I read Jonny Appleseed, which I highly recommend. It is funny, depressing, heartwarming, and transcendent in certain places while containing a strong voice that ties the whole work together. You could also use it to double dip into the "Debut novel by a queer author" challenge.

[Jane]

Why is it called Jonny Appleseed?

[Sabrina]

Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age was a great book I read last year. Kind of read that sticks with you.

[Jacob]

Jane wrote: "Why is it called Jonny Appleseed?"

So, the main character's name is Jonny, and early on, he talks about how he was forced to learn about Jonny Appleseed, a myth that specifically notes overlooks the displacement of Native people, instead of actual Native people. The whole novel focuses on him coming to terms with his in-between status between the reservation life of his youth, where he was stigmatized for being a queer man, and the big city he currently lives in, where he tries to make it as a sex worker while dealing with the fact that he is ostracized there for being a NDN.

[Jane]

thank you. That is very helpful.

[Tammy]

I just found this list: https://bookshop.org/lists/books-by-n... and thought I would share it here. From that page there is also a link to 2020 books.

[Virginia]

I read an Advanced Reader Copy of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones for this prompt.


If you like horror, his short story, The Night Cyclist, is available free online: https://www.tor.com/2016/09/21/the-ni....

[Octavia]

I read Baby No-Eyes for this, by Patricia Grace. She's one of New Zealand's best known Maori authors, and I'd never read anything by her before so thought I would now. It was excellent. I want to read it again!

[Yonit]

Benevolence by Julie Janson. A brilliant Australian historical novel from the perspective of an indigenous woman and the impact that white colonization had on her life.

[Rebecka]

Sanaaq: An Inuit Novel by Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk is on my to read list. It's described as "an intimate story of an Inuit family negotiating the changes brought into their community by the coming of the qallunaat, the white people, in the mid-nineteenth century. "

[[deleted user]]

I read For Joshua by Richard Wagamese of the Ojibwe tribe. He reviews his life and his decisions as an alcoholic and a father while exploring his place in his culture.

[Anne]

I enjoyed Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse for this task.

[Megan]

I read Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden for this prompt.

[Karen]

There, There was one of the best books I read in the last two years- touched on the occupation of Alcatraz in the 70’s, and centered on Native Americans navigating life in the Bay Area.

Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven was another great read - full of pathos, navigating the mundane, and trying to make sense of life’s adventures, when they seem like a dream.

[Lauraellen]

I just finished The Yield by Tara June Winch, which recently won the Miles Franklin here in Australia, and is very beautifully written. Last year's winner would be a great pick too - Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

[Judith]

Thank you to Octavia for the tip - I just read a short story collection by Patricia Grace which I enjoyed enough to try some more.

[Westiegirl]

I read Moon of the Crusted Snow. It was really creative. I recommend this book.

[Tamsin]

I listened to Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, which is an anthology, and was a double pleasure hearing indigenous voices narrating their own stories. Really enjoyed this.