Independent Reading Suggested Books for Honoring Indigenous Peoples
See our Independent Reading for Elementary Students Teacher Tool for guidance on how to use the suggested texts below.
Fiction Texts with Connecting Topics and Themes
- Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (850L) **
- Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson (740L)
- I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
- I am Not a Number by Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer (640L)
- Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell (720L)
- Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingle
- Stolen Words by Melanie Florence (530L) *
- When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (760L) **
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett (600L)
Informational Texts to Build Content Knowledge
- A Kid’s Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities by Yvonne Wakim Dennis
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (1220L)
- My Heroes, My People: African Americans and Native Americans in the West by Morgan Monceaux (1120L) **
- True Books: American Indians series by Kevin Cunningham
* lower Lexile or qualitative measures than core text.
** higher Lexile or qualitative measures than core text.
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