The best books about empowered Native Americans

by Anton Treuer

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5 books

I think about how to help and empower Native youth all the time and not just because I am an educator and author. I love my Ojibwe language and culture. I speak Ojibwe fluently and officiate at many ceremonies across Ojibwe country. I love to hunt, fish, and spend time in the great outdoors. I have nine children, ranging in age from 12 to 30. I live at Leech Lake, an Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota. I want to turn Native fiction on its head. We have so many stories about trauma and tragedy with characters who lament the culture that they were always denied. I want to show how vibrant and alive our culture still is. I want gripping stories where none of the Native characters are drug addicts, rapists, abused, or abusing others—stories more like the Native life that I know. I don't just want to profess but demonstrate the magnificence of our elders, the humor of our people, and the power of forgiveness and reconciliation.

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Firekeeper's Daughter

Angeline Boulley, 2021

I love "The Firekeeper's Daughter" because it has a gripping story that keeps you guessing and flipping pages. I also love this book because it showcases a strong, female, Native protagonist, solving a mystery, and acting with agency, power, and knowledge of self. It does a lot to disrupt the victim narratives about Indigenous people we have often seen in literature. I also love this one because Angeline Boulley is really connected to her own Native community and shows up in the work. It gives you a window into Ojibwe culture rather than an imagining of the culture.

Tracks

Louise Erdrich, 2006

I love "Tracks" because the characters Eli and Nector seem so familiar to me. The plot is full of tension, but the characters are genuinely humorous, affable, and much like the elders I know across Ojibwe country. This book also gives a window into Ojibwe culture. Louise Erdrich is a Pulitzer-prize winning author and this isn't even her biggest seller, but it's definitely my personal favorite.

The Marrow Thieves

Cherie Dimaline, 2017

"The Marrow Thieves" really spoke to me because, in addition to great story-telling, it sets Native people in a post-apocalyptic setting. As Native people, we are so often portrayed as ancient rather than modern. So, this work connected the ancient and the modern in a novel way. With relatable characters searching for family and community, it was relatable and real even in the world the book describes.

Indian Horse

Richard Wagamese, 2018

I loved "Indian Horse" because it grapples with some of the really tough topics that our people have to face. The characters were relatable and dynamic. I think America and Canada need a wake-up call and an effort to reconcile with their historical treatment of Native people, especially with regard to residential boarding schools. People can only handle calls to justice when they relate to those who were treated unjustly. In spite of the heavy topics, this book does that really well.

There There

Tommy Orange, 2018

I really liked "There There" because it places Native people in an urban context, which is where the majority of Native Americans live. It showed the adaptations our people make to urban environments while maintaining connection across generations. It shows that being Indigenous is "of the land" even when someone is displaced from the exact piece of land they came from through the reforging of community and connection. The storytelling is constructed in an interesting way, too, because multiple characters, each on their own tense journey, start converging and colliding with one another in a great crescendo to the narrative.