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Tag Archives: Native American Literature
Book Club Spotlight – Native American Heritage Month
For November, we are spotlighting titles in our Book Club Collection written by Indigenous authors for Native American Heritage Month. In 1976 Cherokee-Osage Native American Jerry C. Elliott-High Eagle authored the Congressional legislation for Native American Awareness week, which grew into what we now celebrate as Native American Heritage Month in 1990 with a declaration from then-President George H.W. Bush. This month is a great opportunity to read and learn about whose ancestral land you live on, their history, colonization, and all the incredible works of Indigenous art and literature.
Past Book Club Spotlights featuring Native American Authors:
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
18-year-old Daunis Fontaine is the product of a scandal between a white woman and an Ojibwe man. Even though her mother’s family is well-respected, and her father’s side are revered Firekeepers, Daunis is an outsider. She is not welcome in her predominantly white town or at the reservation, where tribal leaders deny her parentage and membership. But when murders and overdoses related to drug trafficking slowly spread around Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Daunis is witness to it all. Now she must team up with the new (and mysterious) star hockey player to use her knowledge of science, Ojibwe medicine, and these tight-knit communities to uncover long-held secrets.
____
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Excitable and brave spirited, Omakayas, or Little Frog, is a young Ojibwe girl who lives with her family near present-day Lake Superior. As white people begin to take over the land, Omakays and her siblings continue their way of life while the adults fear that they must move soon. We follow the local community as they survive, learn important lessons and skills, and enjoy a peaceful life together. But when a sickly visitor crashes a powwow one night, he brings deadly smallpox to the area; and the course of the community and Omakayas’ life are changed forever.
_____
You can find a list of both our fiction and non-fiction titles on our Book Club Kit page under the Native American Voices keyword.
“And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.”
– Black elk
Black Elk Speaks (One book One Nebraska 2017)
And if like me, you’re excited about the food-heavy holidays, we have a few foody titles in our collection that your club might be interested in as well:
Jasmine Toguchi: Mochi Queen by Debbie Michiko Florence
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
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Tagged book club spotlight, books, Native American Literature
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Book Club Spotlight – The Birchbark House
November is Native American Heritage Month, and I’m excited to spotlight books written by Indigenous authors in our collection. As we go into the month of Thanksgiving, it’s important to remember the people who were here first and the sacred land we are on. Today, we will focus on a story of a young girl in the Northern Midwest on traditional Ojibwe land. The Birchbark House, by Chippewa woman Louise Erdrich, began as a story she would tell to her daughters. Wanting to show the love, community, and humanity that represents Native American culture rather than the negative depictions, Erdrich published the story, which went on to win the WILLA Literary Award in 2000.
Excitable and brave spirited, Omakayas, or Little Frog, is a young Ojibwe girl who lives with her family near present-day Lake Superior. As white people begin to take over the land, Omakays and her siblings continue their way of life while the adults fear that they must move soon. We follow the local community as they survive, learn important lessons and skills, and enjoy a peaceful life together. But when a sickly visitor crashes a powwow one night, he brings deadly smallpox to the area; and the course of the community and Omakayas’ life are changed forever.
“Like Andeg, she couldn’t help being just who she was. Omakayas, in this skin, in this place, in this time. Nobody else. No matter what, she wouldn’t ever be another person or really know the thoughts of anyone but her own self.”
Louise Erdrich
The Birchbark House is the first in the series chronicling the life of Omakayas’ family over 100 years. This novel is perfect for a young book group who wants to read stories like The Little House on the Prairie but through the lens of a young Indigenous girl instead. It is also an interesting read for adult groups who want to learn more about Indigenous culture pre-colonization. The story is brought to life through beautiful illustrations by the author and stories taken from her own life and family. Often the action will stop, and the reader is fully engrossed in the storytelling of an elder. Through this, Erdrich shows the reverence for the past, tradition, and the land that Omakayas and her people hold. Reading groups can discuss how tradition and culture play into their lives and the connections they see between the people in Omakayas’ tribe and those they know.
If you’re interested in requesting this book for your book club, you can find the Book Club Kit Request Form here. (Items must be requested by a librarian)
To see more of our Native American Voices book club titles, visit the link here.
Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. HarperCollins Publishers. 1999.
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Tagged book club spotlight, books, Native American Literature, native americans, Reading
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Book Club Spotlight – Firekeeper’s Daughter
Today, we will be spotlighting a popular title that you might not know we have! Called an “Indigenous Nancy Drew” by the author, Firekeeper’s Daughter is not only a New York Times best-seller, but a TIME Magazine Best of Book of All Time Selection. Author Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, spent ten years researching for the novel, wanting to perfectly capture her tribe and the intricacies of tribal vs. federal laws.
In The Firekeeper’s Daughter, 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine is the product of a scandal between a white woman and an Ojibwe man. Even though her mother’s family is well-respected, and her father’s side are revered Firekeepers, Daunis is an outsider. She is not welcome in her predominantly white town or at the reservation, where tribal leaders deny her parentage and membership. But when murders and overdoses related to drug trafficking slowly spread around Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Daunis is witness to it all. Now she must team up with the new (and mysterious) star hockey player to use her knowledge of science, Ojibwe medicine, and these tight-knit communities to uncover long-held secrets.
“People say to think seven generations ahead when making big decisions, because our future ancestors—those yet to arrive, who will one day become the Elders—live with the choices we make today.”
Angeline Boulley
If you’re an adult book group, don’t let the “YA” label scare you away. Firekeeper’s Daughter is a wonderfully rich story for anyone interested in YA and above. If your group loves stories of small communities haunted by their past, such as Beartown by Fredrik Backman, this is the title for you. However, be forewarned because many heavy topics, seen and unseen, such as sexual assault, suicide, murder, and illicit drug use, are present in this novel. Be prepared to have conversations on these sensitive topics.
Higher Ground, the Obama’s production company, has also purchased the rights to adapt Firekeeper’s Daughter into a Netflix limited series, so keep your eyes peeled!
If you’re interested in requesting this book for your book club, you can find the Book Club Kit Request Form HERE. (Items must be requested by a librarian)
To see more of our books from Native Voices, visit the link HERE.
Angeline Boulley. Firekeeper’s Daughter. Henry, Holt and Co. 2021
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Tagged Book Club, Book Club Kits, book club spotlight, Native American Literature, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “Letters of Mari Sandoz”
We like to celebrate the end of the week with #BookFaceFriday!
Today we also get to celebrate the beloved Nebraska author Mari Sandoz with “Letters of Mari Sandoz” edited by Helen Winter Stauffer (University of Nebraska Press, 1992). Included in the book are over nearly forty years—from 1928 to 1966—of letters. Dive in to Sandoz’s world as she documents her own experiences, struggles, and successes. As part of our permanent collection it’s available for check out to anyone. Just ask our amazing Information Services staff! This title is published by the University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program.
From the Back Cover:
“Mari Sandoz came out of the Sandhills of Nebraska to write at least three enduring books: Old Jules, Cheyenne Autumn, and Crazy Horse, the Strange man of the Oglalas. She was a tireless researcher, a true story-teller, an artist passionately dedicated to a place little know and a people largely misunderstood.”
This week’s #BookFace model is TBBS Volunteer Services Coordinator, Annette Hall!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Feathering Custer”
Hey, book lovers! Happy #BookFaceFriday!
As we dive in to our permanent collection, which dates back to 1972, we’re bound to find some gems. One such book is “Feathering Custer” by William S. Penn (University of Nebraska Press, 2001). As part of our permanent collection it’s available for check out to anyone. Just ask our amazing Information Services staff! This title is published by the University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program.
“Feathering Custer points to the need for critical understanding of the literatures of Native America. Penn’s volume offers a challenge to all those interested in meaningful insights into these literary works to search the indigenous storytelling traditions, lives, and literatures of Native Americans.”—World Literature Today
This week’s #BookFace model is Tom Rolfes, Education I.T. Manager at the Nebraska Office of the CIO/NITC. He’s been at the Commission a lot lately working on the grant project “Nebraska Schools and Libraries—Breaking the Ice and Igniting Internet Relationships.” You can learn all about it on the January 24th episode of NCompass Live.
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
