earthreading Fiction, North America, Prize Winners, Spanish language

Mexico

One out of two by Daniel Sada; translated by Katherine Silver

One out of two was written by Daniel Sada in Spanish in 1994. It was translated into English by Katherine Silver in 2015. This extremely short novel follows the life of adult twin sisters, living alone in a small rural town somewhere in northern Mexico. The two sisters are very close, but when one of them manages to finally attract a suitor, the sisters decide to share him between themselves. The only problem is, the suitor has no idea what’s happening, and believes that he is dating – and falling in love with – only one woman.

Daniel Sada was born in Mexico in 1953. One out of two is his second book to be translated into English. For those who read his works in Spanish, he is usually remembered for his poetry. In the English-speaking world, however, he is better known for his novels and prose. Tragically, Daniel Sada died in 2011, just hours after being awarded Mexico’s National Prize for Arts and Sciences for Language and Literature.

earthreading English language, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost stories, Juvenile Fiction, North America

Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Elatsoe was written by Darcie Little Badger in 2020. Written for a juvenile audience and set in an alternative America, where ghosts, vampires, and magic are all real, this story follows the story of young Elatsoe, or Ellie, who can bring ghosts back from the realm of the Underworld. After her cousin dies in what she believes to be a homicide, Ellie attempts to use all her ghostly powers to uncover the truth about her cousin’s death – before it’s too late.

Darcie Little Badger is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. She has a PhD in oceanography from Texas A&M University. As her debut novel, Elatsoe has received rave reviews from NPR, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly. She is currently writing a comic series for Marvel, and lives in the United States.

earthreading English language, Fiction, Ghost stories, Horror, North America

Blackfeet Nation

The only good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The only good Indians was written by Stephen Graham Jones in 2020. It follows the story of four young men, all members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana (USA). After an ill-advised elk hunt, the four men find themselves hunted by something vengeful, terrifying, and seemingly unstoppable. Unstoppable, that is, until it meets a junior high basketball all-star from the reservation. A cross between Deer Woman and Freddy Krueger, The only good Indians firmly plants Native American legends in a modern setting.

Stephen Graham Jones was born in Texas in 1972. He is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. He has published over twenty works of fiction during his career. Much of his work is considered Horror, and he has won several Horror awards during his writing career. He currently lives and teaches in Boulder, Colorado, with his family. The only good Indians is his latest novel, but he has already announced a new novel coming out in summer 2021: My heart is a chainsaw.

earthreading English language, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, North America, Prize Winners

Spokane Nation

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian was written by Sherman Alexie in 2007. Aimed at a young adult audience, the novel follows the story of Junior, who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State (USA). Junior ends up leaving the school on the reservation and attends the neighboring all-white school nearby, where he is endlessly taunted for being Native American. Although a work of fiction, much of this story comes from Sherman Alexie’s personal experiences in an all-white high school growing up. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Sherman Alexie was born in 1966. He grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Many of his experiences growing up on the reservation were used in The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Sherman has written many short stories, collections of poetry, and memoirs. In 2018, he would have been awarded the American Library Association’s Carnegie Medal Award for nonfiction; however, he declined the award amid accusations of sexual misconduct from a woman Sherman claimed to have been a former lover. Sherman released a statement where he admitted to wrongdoings in the past, but denied the accusations of this particular woman. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

earthreading English language, Memoirs and Biographies, Nonfiction, North America

Pueblo of Laguna

Pocahontas: medicine woman, spy, entrepreneur, diplomat by Paula Gunn Allen

Pocahontas: medicine woman, spy, entrepreneur, diplomat was written by Paula Gunn Allen in 2003. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2004. This is a biography about the life of Pocahontas as told from a Native American perspective. Basing much of her research and arguments in Powhatan religion and culture, this book builds a very different image of Pocahontas than what most American children are taught in school. I am including this title as a book for the Pueblo of Laguna tribe because that is the author’s heritage. Pocahontas was not Pueblo of Laguna; instead, she was a member of the Powhatan nation (located in the modern American state of Virginia).

Paula Gunn Allen was born in 1939 in New Mexico. She was one of the first to begin writing “American Indian literature” in the 1960s, at a time when many “in academia still denied [its] existence.” She considered herself to be of European, Lebanese, and Native American descent. Her mother was of Pueblo of Laguna, Métis, and Scottish heritage. Allen passed away in 2008 after a long illness.

earthreading English language, North America, Poetry

Muscogee (Creek) Nation

How we became human: new and selected poems by Joy Harjo

How we became human: new and selected poems is a collection of poems by Joy Harjo, published in 2004. Joy Harjo is the 2019-2022 U.S. Poet Laureate, which is a position chosen annually by the official Librarian of Congress. She is the first Native American to ever receive this honor. Her poetry draws on Native traditions, stories, and symbology, and tend to incorporate landscape a great deal into their imagery.

Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which is currently in the American state of Oklahoma (although that is NOT their historical homeland). She was born in 1951, and as of this writing, is still currently living and working in the United States.