Recommended Media
Native American learning resources
Teacher & Parent Resources
Resources on Native peoples can be found in many places, particularly online. Most of the 574 federally-recognized tribes in the United States (as of spring 2022) have websites, and some also have dedicated museums and history or cultural centers. Books, TV shows and video games are increasingly being written and produced by Native peoples. A small sampling can be found below.
Recommended Books
The Sockeye Mother
By: Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett David Huson)
About The Book
To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the sockeye salmon is more than just a source of food. Over its life cycle, it nourishes the very land and forests that the Skeena River runs through and where the Gitxsan make their home. The Sockeye Mother explores how the animals, water, soil, and seasons are all intertwined.
We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know
By: Traci Sorell (Author)
About The Book
Too often, Native American history is treated as a finished chapter instead of relevant and ongoing. This companion book to the award-winning We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga offers readers everything they never learned in school about Native American people’s past, present, and future.
When We Were Alone
By: David A. Robertson
About The Book
A young girl notices things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her family? As she asks questions, her grandmother shares her experiences in a residential school, when all of these things were taken away.
The Range Eternal
By: Louis Erdrich
About The Book
At the heart of a home in the Turtle Mountains sits a woodstove. It is where Mama makes her good soup, where she cooks a potato for warming hands on icy mornings, where she heats a stone for warming cold toes at night.
In these charmingly illustrated pages, Louise Erdrich tells a story of hearth and home, of memory and imagination, of childhood recaptured in the reflection of a shiny blue woodstove, and of the warm heart of family.
Dancing with Our Ancestors
By: Sara Florence Davidson
About The Book
In this tender picture book, Sara Florence Davidson transports readers to the excitement of a potlatch in Hydaburg, Alaska—her last memory of dancing with her late brother. The invitations have been sent. The food has been prepared. The decorations have been hung. And now the day of the potlatch has finally arrived! Guests from all over come to witness this bittersweet but joyful celebration of Haida culture and community.
Sisters of Neversea
By: Cynthia Leitich Smith
About The Book
Native American Lily and English Wendy embark on a high-flying journey of magic, adventure, and courage to a fairy-tale island known as Neverland. Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters. But with their feuding parents planning to spend the summer apart, what will become of their family—and their friendship? Little do they know that a mysterious boy has been watching them from the oak tree outside their window. A boy who intends to take them away from home for good, to an island of wild animals, Merfolk, Fairies, and kidnapped children, to a sea of merfolk, pirates, and a giant crocodile.
Recommended Video Games & TV Shows
Molly Of Denali
About The Show
The daily adventures of 10-year-old Alaska native Molly Mabray, her family, her dog Suki and her friends Tooey and Trini.
Spirit Rangers
About The Show
Follows Native American sibling trio Kodiak, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, who have a shared secret-they’re “Spirit Rangers!”
Never Alone
About The Game
Never Alone, also known as Kisima Inŋitchuŋa (“I am not alone”), is a puzzle-platformer adventure video game developed by Upper One Games and published by E-Line Media based on the traditional Iñupiaq tale, “Kunuuksaayuka”, which was first recorded by master storyteller Robert Nasruk Cleveland in his collection Stories of the Black River People. Swapping between an Iñupiaq girl named Nuna and her Arctic fox companion, the player completes puzzles in a story that spans eight chapters.