November is Native American Heritage Month, a month set aside since 1990 to honor the history, culture, and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Native American stories and authors are historically underrepresented in classrooms and school libraries, and the books that have been acquired are among those increasingly removed from student access. During the 2023-24 school year, 36% of all banned titles featured characters or people of color.
The list below includes just a portion of the books written by or about Indigenous people removed from school libraries and classrooms in states across the country since 2021. These removals are a fraction of the 22,810 instances of book banning in U.S. public schools PEN America has documented over that period, but are representative of the drive to limit students’ access to stories that explore themes like race and racism, gender identity and sexuality, sex experiences, and sexual violence that can reach school kids at important moments in their lives.
For kids –and adults– who would like to learn more about the experiences of Native peoples, here are some of the books that have been removed from school library shelves in recent years:
- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, banned in at least five districts in Florida, Iowa, Tennessee and Texas.
- Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger and Rovina Cai, banned in at least one Florida district.
- Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids, Nancy K. Mays, and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (illustrator), banned in at least two districts in Florida and Texas.
- Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith, banned in at least three Florida districts.
- Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-neal (illustrator) banned in at least two districts in Florida and Pennsylvania.
- The Round House by Louise Erdrich, banned in at least three districts in Florida, Iowa and Virginia.
- Wilma’s Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller by Doreen Rappaport and Linda Kukuk (illustrator), banned in at least one district in Florida.
- Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army by Art Coulson and Nick Hardcastle (Illustrator), banned in at least one district in Florida.
- Ho’onani: Hula Warrior by Heather Gale and Mika Song (illustrator), banned in at least two districts in Iowa and Texas.
- Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki, banned in at least one district in Florida.
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, banned in at least four districts in Florida.
- The Shark King by R. Kikuo Johnson, banned in at least one district in Florida.
- At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell and Weshoyot Alvitre (illustrator), banned in at least one district in Florida.
- We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell and Frane Lessac (illustrator), banned in at least two districts in Florida and Pennsylvania.
- Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, banned in at least one district in Florida.
- Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell, banned in at least two districts in Florida and Pennsylvania.
For further reading:
