Indigenous Reads to Add to Our TBRs!

Greetings readers!

June in Canada is National Indigenous History month and I can tell you that we do a terrible job of celebrating/commemorating it. We do a shit job of reconciling with our Indigenous history in general and like to brush it under the carpet which is awful and really shameful. Canada is often pictured as the friendly Northern neighbour, but we are so conditioned to see out history through the white colonial gaze it is quite sad.

I know a lot of us out there are trying though, and I encourage you, Canadian or not, to research Indigenous history in Canada. One of the books I’m going to be starting with is 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph. It’s not a hefty book physically, but one I know will be a powerful read!

via Goodreads

The Instagram account @aiy.talks has a bunch more lists of educational resources to learn more about the Indigenous experience. I highly recommend following them!

Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that before this post I’ve been keeping up with my Indigenous lit because I have done a shit job at it. So again, I’m here to call myself out and promise to do better.

I wanted to make a list of my Indigenous TBR that will continue to grow as more and more books publish. I hope you all take the time to consider putting some of these books on your shelves too!

A lot of the books I found are based in Canada or by Canadian authors. I know the Indigenous experience in the US and other places around the world differ so please send me some recommendations if you have any!

Picture Books / Middle Grade

My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
Raven and the Loon by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley & Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley
When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
Coyote Tales by Thomas King
Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Young Adult

Those Who Run in the Sky by Aviaq Johnston
Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Lightfinder by Aaron Paquette
Strangers by David Alexander Robertson

Adult

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Moccasin Square Gardens: Short Stories by Richard Van Camp
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Birdie by Tracey Lindberg

Graphic Novels

A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette
Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett
This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm et al.
The Night Wanderer: A Graphic Novel by Drew Hayden Taylor
The Outside Circle by by Patti Laboucane-Benson

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A Call for Recommendations

Y’all I could not find any Indigenous romance novels! Do you know of any #ownvoices authors? I mean if you google Indigenous romance books there are plenty of books by white authors and some old ones with stereotypical representations of Indigenous folks, which is exactly what I don’t want.

I also have lack of Indigenous Sci-Fi/Fantasy books. I mean some of the books listed above are cross-listed as fantasy reads, but I couldn’t come up with a collage of Indigenous SFF books only. If you know of any books or authors let me know! I know Rebecca Roanhorse is a big name and I do plan on reading her work!

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Let me know what you think! How are you planning on keeping up with your Indigenous reads? Have you read any of these yet? Do you have any recommendations for me?

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Happy reading!

~ Rendz