I want to introduce my kids to voices that historically haven’t been amplified.

I asked our children’s librarians for books about Indigenous people, and by Indigenous people, and they provided me with an big bag of books from board books all the way up to YA lit.

These are four of my favorites.

1. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, by Kevin Noble Maillard, ill. by Juana Martinez-Neal

Have you ever had to move your family to a place where the ingredients you use to make your favorite comfort foods were no longer available? This happened to many Native groups who were forced to move to reservations far from home. They were provided with government rations for sustenance, and found a new way to create comfort food using what they had.

At the end of the story, there is interesting background about each illustration in the story. The section includes cultural and historical information as well as details to look for in the artwork.

The book organically answers questions kids may have about Indigenous people (Where are they now? What do they look like?) while telling a story with beautiful, whimsical illustrations.

Bonus? The author includes his own fry bread recipe for readers to try.

2. Who Was Sacagawea?, by Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin, ill. by Val Paul Taylor

I don’t know why this series of biographies has such goofy cover illustrations, because the illustrations inside of the books are a completely different style, detailed and much more appealing.

This story tells us what we already know about Lewis and Clark’s expedition, but focuses on Sacagawea’s life and her contributions to the journey (spoiler alert: She was essential).

The story is a great opportunity to take out a map of the United States and have your kids track the expedition as it makes its way across the U.S.

The story also reminds us of the importance of learning people’s names and how to pronounce them, even when it’s hard.

3. My Heart Fills With Happiness, by Monique Gray Smith, ill. by Julie Flett

I’m all about emotional health and representation, and this book checks both boxes. It’s a reflection about simple things that make us happy, with sweet, colorful illustrations of Indigenous children and families finding their happy place together at home and in nature.

4. Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated the Army, by Art Coulson, ill. by Nick Hardcastle

You have probably heard of Jim Thorpe, but did you know he went to a boarding school in Pennsylvania that was part of a large scale program that started in 1879 and ran up through the 1970’s where Indigenous children were separated from their families as part of a campaign to re-educate and assimilate Native Americans?

Jim Thorpe’s athletic excellence and drive allowed him to thrive in spite of this toxic beginning. The book tells two stories: about the children whose culture was erased by the schools, and about Thorpe’s athletic career.

There are a couple of pages at the back of the book which provide some additional information about Thorpe, his coach, The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and the author, as well as a glossary. We supplemented this by watching several YouTube about the re-education program, which were horrifying, with rampant abuse, trauma, and loss of identity for the children involved.

I’ve long known that Indigenous communities struggle with high rates of substance abuse as well as child sexual abuse and physical abuse. I know the U.S. government has again and again refused to honor treaties or respect areas that are sacred to Indigenous people.

Hearing survivors of this program describe the abusive environment in which they lived, coming back to their families no longer able to speak their language or identify with their culture, I thought, NO WONDER Indigenous populations have dealt with such brokenness and struggle. To think this program only ended 40-some years ago.

We have to tell our kids about this stuff. This book is an age-appropriate place to start.

My students are 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, and I included all of them when I read these books. November is Native American Indian Heritage Month, but I didn’t want to wait until next fall to share these titles. If you have the commitment and time, here’s an hour-long documentary about the boarding schools and the displacement of Indigenous populations.