Native Americans Today Bibliography
Not all novels involving Native Americans take place on the plains of the "wild west." Many authors have explored the issues and events which affect the modern Native American. The books listed here were written by a range of authors, from perennial bestsellers, to old favorites, to promising up-and-comers. These works provide a representative sampling of novels which look at the problems facing Native Americans from the early 20 th century to the present. We hope you enjoy this more modern take on Native American Fiction.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven – Sherman Alexie
This book is a collection of short stories which describe the lives of Native Americans living on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Alexie is able to write about the customs, emotions, and issues which dominate these people in a way that makes the stories relevant and interesting to people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Sherman Alexie has emerged as today's leading Native American novelist, becoming, in the process, an important voice in American literature in general.
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water – Michael A. Dorris
This novel chronicles the challenging lives and volatile relationships of three generations of Indian women. Written in three parts working from the present to the past, the story is told from the perspective of the three women: Rayona, a teenager of black and American Indian heritage; her American Indian mother, Christine; and the severe and mystifying Ida, mother and grandmother whose past resonates through the lives of the other two women. Each part of the novel explores the shared experiences of the three women but also adds new perspective, culminating into a complete understanding of their interwoven lives.
Love Medicine – Louise Erdrich
Erdrich's first novel is the multi-generational story of a family, told through a series of stories, each by a different family member. The family has gathered after the sudden death of the grandmother, who froze to death in a snowstorm on Easter Sunday. They use these stories to share their collective past and reconnect as a family.
Bluefeather Fellini – Max Evans
From the author of the classic western The Rounders, this story follows the adventures of the half Taos Pueblo Indian and half Italian, Bluefeather Fellini, a drifter seeking his fortune and spiritual enlightenment as he wanders Southwestern terrain during the 1930s and 1940s. Even after serving in WWII and trying his hand at prospecting, and sales, Bluefeather finds himself continually returning to his spiritual homeland in Taos, New Mexico where his Pueblo mother resides.
The Vanishing American – Zane Grey
Nophaie, whose name means "Warrior," is stolen from his people at the age of seven, and made to attend the white man's school for eighteen years, where he and Marion, a white woman, fall in love. When he returns to his boyhood home, he realizes the trouble his tribe faces, and asks Marion to join him as a missionary in helping save the tribes that live on the Oljato reservation.
Talking God – Tony Hillerman
New Mexico Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee pursue two seemingly unrelated cases that lead the detectives to Washington, DC. Leaphorn investigates a homicide case in which an unidentified victim was murdered on his way to an ancient tribal ceremony, while Chee becomes involved with the conflict between a museum, a curator and the return of ancestral remains to its Native American tribe.
All the Beautiful Sinners – Stephen Graham Jones
Be prepared to be alarmed by the Tin Man, a psycho from his past who terrorizes Texas Deputy Sheriff and Blackfeet Nation Member Jim Doe. Written in the spirit of a Thomas Harris novel, this graphic psychological thriller relies on suspense, mistaken identity, and pure terror to recount the story of Doe's struggle to bring a killer to justice.
Medicine River – Thomas King
Will, a Canadian Indian wedding photographer, visits the remote town of Medicine River to attend his mother's funeral and finds himself returning to his birthplace for good. Encouraged by his well-intentioned best friend, Harlen Bigbear, Will opens a photography studio, joins the local Indian basketball team, and becomes involved with a pregnant, single woman. By returning to his roots, Will rediscovers himself, and we get a humorous and unsentimental glimpse of life in a small Native American community.
The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver
Growing up in rural Kentucky Taylor Greer always knew she would get away someday. After buying a used car, Taylor heads west, with no set destination in mind. Along the way she "inherits" a young Native American girl named Turtle. Just after Taylor and Turtle settle in Arizona and begin to finally fit in somewhere, Taylor faces a challenge for Turtle's custody and must first come to terms with her own feelings about abandonment, belonging, love and friendship, before she can begin fighting for her "daughter." The sequel, Pigs in Heaven , continues the story by following the characters, specifically young Turtle.
The Grass Dancer – Susan Power
Power is a Chicago native and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe; her first novel is an impressive look at how the past still affects the present lives of the members of a North Dakota Sioux reservation. Presented in the form of interconnected short stories, each told from a different point of view, The Grass Dancer provides the reader with a snapshot of the life of one tribe from the 1860s through the 1980s.
Shoot and Arrow to Stop the Wind – Colin Stuart
Colin Stuart tells a story of the summer he turned sixteen, when he "met" his great-grandmother, got his first job, and fell in love for the first time. It is the summer he accepts his Indian heritage, and the first summer he is treated as an adult.
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint – Brady Udall
This novel follows the harrowing journey of half-Apache Edgar Mint, who survives being accidentally run over by a mail truck as a child, a hellish boarding school for Native American orphans, and a well-meaning but wildly dysfunctional Mormon foster-family. In spite of his horrific childhood, Edgar's spirit and innate goodness persist as he searches for the tormented mailman who believes he killed him to offer forgiveness.
Winter in the Blood – James Welch
In this largely symbolic work, the unnamed, Blackfeet narrator returns to his family's ranch on a Montana reservation to come to terms with his past and rearrange his present. He pretends not to care about his family and their ranch, but when he comes home, his actions tell a different story. |
