23 American Indian and Alaskan Native Books to Fill Your Home
Support Indigenous authors and creators with books for every room, from kids' crafts to cookbooks to the perfect new coffee table book.
Books keep stories alive and now more than ever it’s important to keep Indigenous stories alive. Shopping Indigenous-owned bookstores or your local bookstores that sell American Indian and Alaskan Native-written books is the best way to support Indigenous authors. But you can also shop online bookstores such as Paperbacks & Frybread or Black Walnut Books. American Indian and Alaskan Native-written books are a great way to introduce Indigenous history to your kids and learn about local cultures in your area or even the Indigenous land your home is on. From cookbooks and craft books to coffee table books and bedtime stories, here are our favorite books written by Indigenous authors. If you find a favorite, consider ordering two copies and donating one to your local library to share these important stories with others.
COFFEE TABLE BOOKS
Refresh your coffee table stack or office bookshelf with pages full of Indigenous art and design, from textiles to a history of fashion. For modern history, the photo essays from Matika Wilbur’s Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America are incredibly powerful and feature stunning portraits of American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Pacific Islanders and other Indigenous cultures across the country.
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CRAFT BOOKS
In many American Indian cultures, crafting is sacred. The sale of wares such as baskets or pots are often forbidden because of their symbolic significance. It’s important to approach learning about Indigenous crafting with respect and an awareness of the appropriation of Indigenous designs that often appear in home design. This activity book from Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder is a great way to introduce kids to Indigenous cultures, but for more modern crafting, we love Christi Johnson's Mystical Stitches: Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment.
COOKBOOKS
Shopping local and eating local are not new concepts, though they’re certainly trendy right now. If you ever get the chance, don’t miss the Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. This unique Smithsonian eatery features curated Indigenous menus from specific regions of the country. At home, you can learn about specific regional cuisines with Indigenous-written or recipe-developed cookbooks. See where tamales originated or why frybread is so important to various tribes today. And vegans will love the plant-based recipes in Lois Ellen Frank's Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky.
KIDS' BOOKS
Bedtime stories and summer reading are perfect opportunities to teach your little ones about Indigenous cultures and make sure your children see characters from all walks of life in stories. While kids may learn Indigenous history in school, the book We Are Still Here! teaches children that numerous tribes continue to thrive, and their story is ongoing. It’s an important reminder for parents, too. Add these board books and picture books to your kids' shelves or bookmark them for birthdays and baby showers.
