Native American Books You Need to Check Out ASAP!

I have found myself reading a bunch of books focusing on Native Americans over the past year or so. And this list will be me sharing them and which ones I recommend to fellow readers. So, keep reading to find out which Native American Books you need to check out!

While I was reading The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, I realized that this was one of many books about Native Americans that I have read in the past few months. And that got me thinking about wanting to search and read more books about Native Americans.

My method in choosing what I decide to read is often random but it comes down to how well a book is considered by critics and avid readers. And I can tell you that these books were all incredible and ones that I often find myself thinking about.

While browsing articles to do research for this article, I saw that the only time a list of Native American books to read by most publications is in November which is Native American Month. 

Good books should be shared no matter what month and that is why we will be posting more articles about Native American books. You can see the full list below!

Native American Books That You Need to Check Out

• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
• The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
• Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and focuses on the Chippewa tribe living Turtle Mountain. Erdrich was inspired to write the novel after reading her grandfather’s letters. The plot is centered around real life events and the attempted removal of the tribe from their land. 

This is a beautifully written novel that is character driven. We meet a variety of characters that live on Turtle Mountain and see them come together to fight of the government that is hellbent on taking lands from Native Americans. 

There is a sense of community and Erdrich portrays the good and the bad, letting the story resonate with readers and showing what it means to be a Native American. Many of the events are pulled from real events and that is why this novel had a strong impact on readers and critics alike. 

The Berry Pickers

The Berry Pickers is Amanda Peters’ debut novel and is a beautifully written novel that everyone needs to read. The novel won numerous awards such as the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, the 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, and the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime First Novel Award. 

The novel tells the story of the Mi’kmaq family who from travels down from Nova Scotia to Maine to pick blueberries in the summer. One day, four-year-old Ruthie goes missing. Her family searches for her but never find her and we read how both Ruthie and her family deal with the fallout. 

Any other year, The Berry Picker would easily have been my favorite book of the year. This is a powerful novel and it is still hard to believe that this is Peters debut novel. I know this novel will be one of my favorite books that I read in 2025 and one that everyone needs to read as soon as possible!

Wandering Stars

I remember coming across Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange when the novel was just released. The book cover for this novel caught my eye and the blurb made me add it to my to-read list. And I am glad that I did because it is an amazing novel that everyone needs to read.

Orange tells a harrowing tale of racism and trauma that haunts a family for generations. The book tells the story of Native Americans suffering for over a century and the importance of identity and home.

The plight of Native Americans is forgotten or neglected in this country. Their identity is constantly under attack and their history has been buried deep. But Tommy Orange’s novel brings it back into the spotlight and tells their story, while also writing one of the best novels of 2024.

Killers of the Flower Moon

While the first three books are fiction books, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann is a nonfiction that looks at the dark history of the U.S. Grann recounts how a tribe of Native Americans were being killed killed for their newfound wealth.

The Osage Nation was forced to relocate to Oklahoma and start over. They bought land and settled down, hoping they wouldn’t be forced to move again. But when the Osage discovered oil on the land a few years later, they suddenly became rich overnight.

That led to massive coverage and a flock of people to Oklahoma. And what followed is a string of deaths of Osage tribe members that were going unsolved. Grann revisits this tragic historical event and brings it to the surface the harrowing deaths of many Osage which led the FBI to finally step in and bring justice the Osage.

Conclusion

There are a ton of amazing books about Native Americans that I have yet to read. And I’ll be doing my research and making sure that I add them to my to-read list. These are four incredible books and I am sure that I am just scratching the surface. How many of these books have you read? Let us know in the comments below!

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