When choosing a book, typically, you might choose based on the cover, storyline, or online buzz. However, this can be a problem as it leads to some voices not being heard over others. There are hundreds of different genres, writers, and stories that are often overlooked because of this, including Indigenous books.
However, expanding the stories you read and expose yourself to can open your eyes to new experiences. It’s an interesting take to step into another person’s shoes by reading their writing. You might find the next book to obsess over in stories you have yet to look into.
Communities like Black, LGBTQIA+, and Indigenous communities are often a part of the left-behind group. It can be said that many stories often center around a white cis person as the default character. However, there are wonderful authors and stories to look into that stem from more diversity. I have compiled a list of books written by or about Indigenous stories you should add to your TBR to diversify your list.
1. Never Whistle At Night by various authors
Never Whistle At Night | Credit: Amazon
You might need to keep a light on for this one. They say different superstitions can bring an evil spirit to you. In some Indigenous cultures, whistling is a common one. Brought together by Stephen Graham Jones, Never Whistle At Night features over 25 stories. Each of these folkloric Indigenous stories shares things like curses down to monstrous creatures.
I’ve recently added this book high up on my TBR. As an avid fantasy reader looking to expand the types of stories I am reading, Never Whistle at Night feels like a good start. The dark fiction anthology covers different Indigenous cultures, including Native Hawaiians, Native Mexicans, and countless others.
Never Whistle at Night has a Goodreads review of 3.91 stars with a total of 3,333 written reviews and over 20k additional ratings.
2. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
In the book Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Daunis Fontaine falls deeper and deeper into trouble. Set in a Native American community, Daunis’s life is surrounded by tragedies and scandals, preventing her from fitting in. After tragedy strikes her family again, Daunis has to care for her mother. However, her entire life flips upside down after witnessing a gruesome murder. Soon enough, she becomes the center of a criminal investigation. There’s romance, murder, and mystery. What more could you ask for?
In 2022, Firekeeper’s Daughter won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel. If you didn’t know, these awards are for recognizing the best in the mystery genre. The book brings large Indigenous elements into the mystery genre, creating a chilling and deep storyline.
The Firekeeper’s Daughter has 4.32 stars, 24k reviews, and 181k ratings.
3. Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
Ex-Chicago detective, Carrie Starr, needs a new start to her life. In an Indigenous book about going back to her roots, she applies to be the new tribal marshal at the reservation her father grew up in. In Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove, Carrie searches for girls who went missing on the reservation and starts catching glimpses of a woman from her father’s stories. A woman with deer antlers. Unsure whether the Deer Woman will help Carrie or lead to her demise, you will have to read to find out.
A deeply folkloric story, Mask of the Deer Woman is a true thriller. The book significantly touches on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. This movement addresses a serious problem in our communities and also happens to be a major story plot point of the book.
The book has 3.70 stars with 251 reviews and almost 1k ratings on Goodreads.
4. There There by Tommy Orange
In a world of inequality, the more voices the better and this novel includes twelve different voices in one book. There There by Tommy Orange is a collection of indigenous stories from people who are traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow in California. All the characters are Native American, however, not all of them embrace their heritage. Consequently, there is a plethora of lifespans you are getting a peek into with this one novel. With every few pages, you step into the shoes of someone different. In one section a robber or a filmmaker and in others a kid, a mom, and countless other people.
The book shares twelve different perspectives of a Native American person’s life experiences. You get a peek into other lives and how they’re all interconnected. Each story couldn’t be more different. Despite this, you see different people come to love, hate, and even learn more about themselves and their culture.
There There has 3.98 stars, 24k reviews, and 207k ratings on Goodreads.
5. Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec
One perspective everyone must look into is the one of settler colonialism from the perspective of an Indigenous writer. Becoming Kin by Patty Krawec does just that as it discusses our past to further expand on our futures. She emphasizes how paying attention to our past and our history will prevent us from repeating the same mistakes. No matter how you look at it, we as humans are always connected whether it is through blood, culture, time, or history. Therefore, connecting our history will make us stronger.
Additionally, the book is a great way to learn more about another community straight from someone’s personal experiences while interweaving historical, scientific, and cultural ideologies into the mix. The book is from the perspective of an Indigenous author so it’s important to hear what could be considered an inside perspective.
On Goodreads, Becoming Kin has 4.56 stars, 286 reviews, and 2k ratings.
6. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The first book in a trilogy, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, is a science fiction story revolving around a prophecy. The book has a heavy focus on Indigenous characters, settings, and mythologies. In this novel, you will encounter a bisexual pirate captain, intense prophesies, an eclipse, and plenty of drama. All of these elements come together and are bound to be a good read.
Revolving around a dishonored, magical captain, Xiala, who is transporting a passenger who has been described as harmless but could be anything but. At the same time Xiala is setting sail, the winter solstice approaches. This year, the solstice coincides with the solar eclipse, which is proscribed by the Sun Priest as the unbalancing of the world.
Black Sun has 4.18 stars, 49k ratings, and 9.1k reviews on Goodreads.
7. Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
Based on the author’s family history, Buffalo Dreamer follows Summer and her family. One day, Summer starts to have vivid dreams that feel more like a memory. The dreams take place in the time of her grandfather, where she will learn of her people and spread awareness. In turn, she starts to learn more about her family’s past while looking for answers.
The novel is especially meant to teach younger audiences the importance of the past. The past is crucial to learn about as it shapes who we are and where we will go.
Buffalo Dreamer has 4.18 stars, 176 reviews, and over 700 ratings.
8. This Land by Ashley Fairbanks
A picture book made to teach children about the history of the land, This Land by Ashley Fairbanks is a part of the Race To The Truth series. The story describes how history goes back from family to family. Even further back to before a house was built and what may have been there beforehand. It’s the history of the people and the land in a way meant to reach kids.
As a result, the book is a great way to educate kids about the history of the people who lived here before them. It explains a piece of history they might have thought about at one point in a medium they can understand. The book encourages Indigenous storytelling, which involves passing down stories from generation to generation.
On Goodreads, This Land has 4.31 stars and 36 reviews, with 167 ratings.
9. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
In a futuristic setting, global warming has led to the downfall of humanity. In this world, people are not able to dream anymore. However, the only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people. Their marrow? The cure. In The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, we follow a fifteen-year-old and his companion’s goal of survival from the marrow-stealing “factories.”
In The Marrow Thieves, the North American Indigenous people are stolen, similar to now, but in this world, they are taken to factories where their marrow is harvested. It then goes to rich white people keeping the others oppressed. It’s a good story to understand the perspective of Native oppression in a different reality.
The Marrow Thieves has 3.96 stars, 40.6k ratings, and 5.2k written reviews on Goodreads.
10. Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead’s book, Making Love With The Land, is a collection of creative essays, memoirs, and confessions. Written in his heartbreak, both before and during the pandemic, the book is meant to represent current times. Times in which we are rediscovering ways of the old and creating new ones connecting together and to the land. You will quite literally feel every emotion that Whitehead feels as he’s writing.
There are different writing styles in the collection of stories, some of which match the themes of heartache, yearning, confessions, and love. With serious tones of laying it all to bare, the indigenous book captures a raw and diverse range of emotions.
On Goodreads, you’ll see Making Love With the Land has 4.08 stars with over 200 reviews, and 1.3k ratings.
11. Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance by Leonard Peltier
It took twenty-five years after Leonard Peltier received a life sentence for the murder of two FBI agents to have the DNC take their chance and urge President Biden to release him. Since his sentencing in 1977, Peltier has affirmed his innocence. Truly an icon of his people. A hero in a real tragedy. The unsettling book, Prison Writings: My Life is my Sun Dance, stands for the resilience of his people and mourns the life he could’ve had.
As of February 2025, Leonard Peltier has been freed from prison. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences. Some say it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see what his treatment has been like since incarceration. His life has been forever changed, and through this novel, you get to witness his perspective firsthand.
Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance has 4.24 stars, over 150 reviews, and 2.2k ratings
12. Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
It feels like the weight of the world is on Jared’s shoulders. He’s the kid at your school who sells weed and has a bad home life. He feels the need to care for everyone in his life, all of whom are more than twice his age. In Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson, we follow Jared as he discovers himself after his grandmother tells him he’s not even human. However, challenges arise as alcohol, drugs, dreams, and spirits shake up Jared’s world.
Heavy with magical realism, Son of a Trickster depicts just how hard life can be for other people. Sometimes, you don’t realize others have it worse. It’s Jared’s bleak, painful reality you’re immersed in.
Son of a Trickster has 3.81 stars, 1.7k reviews, and 13k ratings.
13. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
Native American history does not end after the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. In The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer, he discusses how the Native American people did not just die off. Surviving through new eras and adjusting to modern times, the community was never gone.
This novel is a good recommendation for history lovers as it looks back on Native history. The book discusses generations of survival of Native American people. Through many occurrences like white settlers and land seizures, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee discusses the resilience of the people.
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee has 4.24 stars, over 900 reviews, and 6.3k ratings.
14. The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
A little white lie can grow completely out of control. It snowballs from the smallest thing to fit in to making up a whole new life. In The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava, Ember finds herself in more and more trouble as she lies on her resume to get a new job. She then falls into a hot new relationship that’s strictly against company policy. Even more trouble follows when their relationship is discovered by another colleague. This colleague ends up blackmailing Ember, causing more and more lies to emerge. Is it time for the truth to come out, or will Ember stay silent forever?
A true romance with plenty of juicy drama and relationships, The Truth According to Ember highlights a native main character. Being Native is not Ember’s identity but the novel captures her unique perspective of the world. There are instances like having a hard time finding a job identifying as a Native woman and little mannerisms that build her character that differs from other stories.
The Truth According To Ember has 3.69 stars, 5.4k ratings, and 1.5k reviews.
15. Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s novel, Sabrina and Corina, is a collection of different short stories. Most of the stories center around Latinas of Indigenous Ancestry in the American West. The stories discuss the story of feminine power and the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.
Focusing more on Latina characters of Indigenous ancestry, Sabrina & Corina discuss the girls watching the destruction and violations of their culture, homeland, and bodies. They also face gentrification and discrimination while struggling to maintain their cultural heritage.
Sabrina & Corina has 4.18 stars, a 14k rating, and 1.9k reviews.
16. Mankiller: A Chief and Her People by Wilma Mankiller and Michael Wallis
Former Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller’s autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People by Wilma Mankiller and Michael Wallis, tells her history while honoring the history of the Cherokees. In the novel, she highlights the treatment of Native Americans by the US Government in the past, present, and future. Her story is truly one of a kind and will forever hold a part of history.
A Native American activist, social worker, community developer, and the first woman to be principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller was an important matriarch for the Indigenous community. In this novel, readers take in the viewpoint of Indigenous people from the perspective of a woman chief.
Mankiller: A Chief and Her People has 4.09 stars with 89 reviews and almost 800 ratings.
In the end
There are other communities with compelling stories and storytellers that deserve some time in the limelight. At the same time, there are countless other books written by Indigenous authors that are absolute must-reads. My list of suggestions can easily keep on going. You just have to find the stories that speak to you.
Adding new books to your TBR list written by and about different communities can expand your knowledge of the people around you.
