Research Guides: Native American Heritage Month: Books

About Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month, also referred to as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. President Calvin Coolidge issued a proclamation on September 28, 1915 which declared the second Saturday of may as an American Indian Day. This recognition was the first for Native Americans, and was the result of years of planning and advocacy by the Congress of the American Indian Association. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month”, and it has been declared a similar Month every year since 1994. The significant contributions of Native American/American Indians have made to the establishment of the United States are celebrated, along with their wide variety of tribe and clan cultures, traditions, and history. It is also a month to learn and act on the current challenges facing Native peoples today.

Books on Native American Culture Available in Begley Library

Native American Landmarks and Festivals by Arlene Hirschfelder; Yvonne Wakim Dennis
ISBN: 9781578596942
Publication Date: 2018-01-01
This book provides a fascinating tour of the rich heritage of Indigenous people across the continent. It guides the traveler to 729 landmarks, sites, festivals, and events in all 50 states and Canada. Read about the history and traditions for each site; also included are maps, photos, illustrations, addresses, and websites to help further exploration.
Native Heritage: Personal Accounts by American Indians, 1790 to the present by Arlene B. Hirschfelder (Editor); Jeffrey D. Hamley (Foreword by)
Call Number: E77 .N355 1995
ISBN: 9780028604121
Publication Date: 1995-06-01
Contains over 120 authentic narratives - by Iroquois, Lakota, Apache, Navajo, Fox Cheyenne, and other tribal voices.
Grandmother, Grandfather, and Old Wolf by Clifford E. Trafzer (Editor)
Call Number: E78.C63 G73 1998
ISBN: 9780870134456
Publication Date: 1998-06-30
A fascinating compilation of original sources recounting the history, culture, and societies of Native American groups of the Great Columbia Plateau.
The Singing Spirit by Bernd C. Peyer (Editor)
Call Number: PS508.I5 S56 1989
ISBN: 9780816512201
Publication Date: 1990-07-01
These eighteen short stories by American Indians, written between 1881 and 1936, represent the rise of Indian short fiction--as opposed to traditional legends and tales--following confinement of all recognized tribes to reservations.
Native American Women's Writing by Karen L. Kilcup
Call Number: PS508.I5 N374 2000
ISBN: 9780631205180
Publication Date: 2000-10-03
This ground-breaking anthology establishes the tradition of early Native American women's writing within American literature and American women's history.

Books of Local Interest Available in Begley Library

The Algonquin of New York by David M. Oestreicher
Call Number: E99.A349 O38 2003
ISBN: 9780823964277
Publication Date: 2003
Algonquians are a group of tribes who spoke languages that were similar to each other, even sharing many of the same words. Algonquians include the Lenape of the New York City area and the lower Hudson Valley; the Mahican of the upper Hudson Valley; and the Montauk, Shinnecock, and Unquachog of eastern Long Island. Authored by a leading authority on the Algonquians, this book will describe their shared culture and what they can teach us today.
Indian History of New York State, Part I, Pre-Colonial Cultures by Ritchie, William A
Call Number: E78.N7 R5 1967
Publication Date: 1967
A selection of Pre-Iroquoian cultures indigenous to the NY State area. Contains illustrations. Published by the New York State Museum.

Other Books Available in Begley Library

That the People Might Live: Native American Literatures and Native American Community by Jace Weaver
ISBN: 9780195120370
Publication Date: 1997-12-18
Loyalty to the community is the highest value in Native American cultures, argues Jace Weaver. In That the People Might Live, he explores a wide range of Native American literature from 1768 to the present, taking this sense of community as both a starting point and a lens.
And Still the Waters Run by Angie Debo
Call Number: E78.I5 D4 1973
ISBN: 9780806119038
Publication Date: 1984-01-01
Examines the policies of the federal government which led to the eventual liquidation of the Indian territorial holdings in Oklahoma.
Four American Indian Literary Masters by Alan R. Velie
Call Number: PS508.I5 V4 1982
ISBN: 9780806116495
Publication Date: 1982-05-01
Velie provides an overview of native American literature as well as an in-depth look at four American Indian writers and their links to both tribal heritages and American and European literary traditions.
Beloved Women by Sarah Eppler Janda
Call Number: E98.W8 J36 2007
ISBN: 9780875803722
Publication Date: 2007-02-08
In an era when minorities struggled for recognition, LaDonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller furthered the interests of Native Americans and forged a new place for women in politics by astutely playing accepted notions about ethnicity and gender to their own advantage.
In the Hands of the Great Spirit by Jake Page
Call Number: E77 .P14 2003
ISBN: 9780684855776
Publication Date: 2004-05-03
This "flowing, lucid, and satisfying...story of Indian nations" (The Washington Post) traces the history of North American Indigenous peoples from the Pleistocene era to the present--a must-read for anyone wishing to gain a broader perspective on not only Native American history, but United States history in general.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; Jean Mendoza (Adapted by); Debbie Reese (Adapted by)
ISBN: 9780807049396
Publication Date: 2019-07-23
Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples' resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism. Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history.

Local-Based Reference Materials Available through Schenectady County Public Library

The Schenectady County Public Library, located at 99 Clinton Street in Schenectady, holds an assortment of local Mohawk and Iroquois history sources, including the following examples:

Collection of Mohawk Legends

Read Mohawk Legends such as: Rabbit Dance, The Invention of the Bow and Arrow, a Tradition.

Call Number: Schdy R 970.3 F14

Reference: https://pac.sals.edu/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.3&pos=1&cn=153810

The Mohawk Indians and Their Valley

An early history of Iroquoian people from 1534-1643.

Call Number: R 974.7 G769

Reference:https://pac.sals.edu/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.3&pos=2&cn=155497

Kateri Tekakwitha (pronounced Ka-Ter-ee Tek-a-with-a).

Known as "Lily of the Mohawks" or "Lily of the Valley", Kateri was born in 1656 in the Iroquois village of Ossernenon, now Auriesville, NY - Kateri would later be known as St. Kateri after being canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Call Number: R 970.2 B928

Reference: https://pac.sals.edu/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.3&pos=3&cn=150754