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Native American

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Book - Fiction. By Sherman Alexie. 2007. 288 pages. Coming-of-age-tale set on Spokane Indian Reservation.

Time Periods: 20th Century, Post-Civil Rights Era: 1975 - 2000

Themes: Native American

The Birchbark House

Book - Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 1999. Historical fiction set in the mid-19th century in the Lake Superior area.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849

Themes: Native American

Chickadee

Book - Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 2012. 208 pages. The fourth book in the series following the Ojibwe girl Omakayas and her family as their lands are invaded by white settlers.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849

Themes: Native American

Dzání Yázhí Naazbaa’: Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home

Book - Fiction. By Evangeline Parsons Yazzie. Illustrated by Irving Toddy. 2005. 32 pages. Historical fiction for upper elementary about the Navajo Long Walk (forced removal by U.S. soldiers) of 1863-1864.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864

Themes: Native American

The Game of Silence

Book - Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 2006. 288 pages. The second in a series of novels for middle school and high school students about an Ojibwe family in the mid-19th century. The story parallels the time of the widely-read Little House on the Prairie series.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864

Themes: Native American

House of Purple Cedar

Book - Fiction. By Tim Tingle. 2014. 326 pages. A young girl's story of growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Industrial Revolution: 1877 - 1899

Themes: Native American

Hurricane Dancers

Book - Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2011. 160 pages. Historical fiction in the form of poetry about the conquest and resistance.

Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764

Themes: Latinx, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance

The Porcupine Year

Book – Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 2010. 224 pages. The third in a series of novels for middle and high school students about an Ojibwe family in the mid-19th century. The story parallels the time of the widely-read Little House on the Prairie.

Time Periods: 19th Century

Themes: Native American

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

Book - Fiction. By Joseph Marshall III. Illustrations by Jim Yellowhawk. 2015. 176 pages. A contemporary Native American boy learns about the history of Crazy Horse in a journey with his grandfather.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Reconstruction Period: 1865 - 1876, Industrial Revolution: 1877 - 1899, 21st Century

Themes: Native American

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Picture Book. By Tim Tingle. 2008. 40 pages. A picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage.

Time Periods: Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864

Themes: African American, Native American, Slavery and Resistance

Alcatraz Is Not an Island

Film. By James M. Fortier. 2001. 60 min. Documentary on a small group of Native American students and “Urban Indians” who occupied Alcatraz Island in November 1969, and how it forever changed the way Native Americans viewed themselves, their culture and their sovereign rights.

Time Periods: People’s Movement: 1961 - 1974

Themes: Civil Rights Movements, Native American

Bartolomé de Las Casas: “Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History. Dramatic reading of Bartolome de las Casas' "Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account" (1542) by John Sayles, Viggo Mortensen, and Staceyann Chin.

Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764

Themes: Democracy & Citizenship, Native American, Slavery and Resistance

Chief Joseph: “Account of His Trip to Washington, D.C.”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History. Dramatic reading of Chief Joseph's "Account of His Trip to Washington, D.C." (1879) by Q'Orianka Kilcher.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Industrial Revolution: 1877 - 1899

Themes: Environment, Democracy & Citizenship, Native American

Chief Tecumseh: “Speech to the Osages”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History. Dramatic reading of Chief Tecumseh's "Speech to the Osages" (Winter 1811-1812) by Deepa Fernandes.

Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849

Themes: Environment, Native American

The Columbus Controversy: Challenging How History Is Written

Film. Written, directed, and produced by Nick Kaufman. 1992. 23 minutes. Contrasting views and scenes from the classroom on teaching about Columbus.

Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764

Themes: Education, Native American

Columbus in America

Film. By Paul Puglisi. 2017. 89 min. Documentary on the symbol of Columbus in the United States and the campaign for Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764

Themes: Native American, Organizing

First Light

Film. By Upstander Project. 2015. 13 min. Story of forced removal of Native American children in Maine sent to boarding schools.

Time Periods: 19th Century, 20th Century, 21st Century

Themes: Imperialism, Native American

Incident at Oglala

Film. By Michael Apted. Narrated by Robert Redford. 1992. 90 minutes. Documentary about the conviction of Native American activist Leonard Peltier.

Time Periods: 20th Century

Themes: Native American

Thunderheart

Film. By Michael Apted. 1992. 118 minutes. Captures some of the conflicts on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the 1970s relating to corporate/government collusion to exploit Native lands for profit.

Time Periods: 20th Century

Themes: Native American

Trinkets and Beads

Film. Trinkets and Beads. By Christopher Walker. 1996. 52 minutes. This documentary reveals the funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling story of the battle waged by indigenous people to preserve their way of life in the Amazon, in the face of international capitalism and colonialism.

Time Periods: 20th Century

Themes: Climate Justice, Environment, Native American, World History/Global Studies