These new middle grade books by Indigenous authors educate about residential schools and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
November is Native American Heritage Month. These new middle grade books by Native American and Indigenous Canadian authors explore various topics, from residential schools to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in fiction and nonfiction formats. They’re all wonderful books.
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
This is a lovely middle grade novel centering two Cree girls in Alberta, Canada. Summer spends every summer on the reservation where her mom’s family lives. She and her little brother and cousin Autumn swim in the lake, collect sweetgrass, pick berries, and have a wonderful time. But this summer is a little bit different. Authorities have gathered around a former residential school—one where Summer’s grandfather had been kidnapped and taken to as a child—to scan the ground with new technology. They’ve discovered the bodies of Indigenous children buried there. Meanwhile, Summer begins having vivid dreams of the past about a girl, named Buffalo Dreamer, who runs away from the school when her friend Ann disappears. It’s a slim, fantastic novel.
Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools by Dan SaSuWeh Jones
If your middle grader wants to investigate more about residential schools after reading Buffalo Dreamer, then check out this detailed and gut-wrenching middle grade nonfiction. It combines the author’s family history with nonfiction investigation. The author’s grandmother, Little Moon There Are No Stars Tonight, was forcibly taken from her family home by federal authorities when she was just four years old, and taken to a residential school to rid her of her Ponco culture and heritage. Jones traces her story from the time she was stolen to when the residential school was shut down during his lifetime. It’s a very informative read, and I recommend it for upper middle grade readers.
Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley
This is a beautiful, accessible middle grade novel-in-verse told from the perspectives of two Ojibwe tweens who live in a Native American urban housing community. Ariel’s aunt is missing, so she chooses to study the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crisis for a school project. She’s also learning how to dance the jingle dance, though part of her wants to learn ballet. Tomah has a reading disability and struggles in school, though he hides the problem from teachers and his family. Words dance on the page. However, he’s an excellent storyteller and a valued member of his Native community because of it. He loves feeding the birds. Ariel and Tomah are friends, both slowly untangling what it means to be Native and their roles in their community.
READ MORE: https://bookriot.com/middle-grade-books-native-american-heritage-month/
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