7 Powerful Books Written by Indigenous Women
The authors incorporate Indigenous knowledge, which has historically been buried by colonialism, into bold stories that foster cultural understanding. Each book on this list is a powerful tool for reflection year-round.
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
In The Night Watchman, National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich (an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians) draws inspiration from the life of her grandfather who worked as a night watchman while fighting against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C. Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this powerful novel explores the lives and ambitions of its vivid characters who live on an impoverished reservation, while shedding light on the exploitation and violence these characters face while they grapple with love and death.
Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo, the first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate, invites readers into the world that she was raised in, the world that taught her how to write poetry of compassion and healing. She recounts ancestral poetry, music and stories of owls heralding grief and resilient desert plants. She acknowledges and celebrates the influences that shaped her poetry, among them Audre Lorde, N. Scott Momaday, Walt Whitman, Muscogee stomp dance call-and-response, Navajo horse songs, rain and sunrise. Poet Warrior is a memoir detailing her grief at the loss of her mother, the theft of her ancestral homeland and a celebration of the rituals that make up her life as a poet and Indigenous woman.
Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Kali Fajardo-Anstine is a native Colorado author whose goal is to tell stories with diversity and representation of her family and ancestry. Taking place in 1930s Denver, Woman of Light is a story about a laundress and tea-leaf reader named Luz “Little Light” Lopez. When her brother, Diego, leaves town to escape violence, she begins to have visions of her ancestral homeland, even witnessing the violence that descended on her people. As she reflects on these deep-rooted memories, Luz becomes responsible for keeping them alive and not letting these vital stories become forgotten.
Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson
Probably Ruby is the debut novel of Lisa Bird-Wilson, a Cree Métis poet and writer. It follows Ruby, an Indigenous woman in her 30s who was adopted as an infant. Her adoptive parents, both white, understand very little about her Indigenous heritage. The story is told through a kaleidoscope of different perspectives, from Ruby’s to those of her birth parents, grandparents, her own children, and more. As her life and her relationships begin to spin out of control, Ruby goes on a search for her own history in hopes of better understanding herself.
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
Ceremony, published over thirty five years ago, is regarded to this day as one of the most moving works of Native American literature. It follows Tayo, a World War II veteran of mixed heritage as he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. He is deeply scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and further wounded by the rejection he encounters from his people. His Old Grandma and Betonie, a Navajo medicine man, engage Tayo in ceremonies to open his mind and help him find his place in the world. Written by Leslie Marmon Silko, a Laguna Pueblo Indian woman, this novel has been described as a ceremony of healing in itself.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation who embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. Braiding Sweetgrass is a collection of essays that examine how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that to awaken the ecological consciousness, one must acknowledge and celebrate our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. Kimmerer’s novel is a must-read because it brings Indigenous wisdom to the global conversation about the climate crisis.
Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Award-winning Nishnaabeg storyteller and writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson combines narrative and poetic fragments in this truly original novel about a long-ago time of hopeless connection and finding freedom and solace in isolated suspension. It is told from the perspectives of seven main characters — including a maple tree, a giant and a caribou — attempting to commune with the unnatural urban-settler world. But cut off from nature, they are cut off from their natural selves. The characters, all connected in the same web, perform the daily labor of collective healing. The novel itself is an act of decolonization, degentrification, and unlearning the colonial ideas that have shaped today’s world.
The Story Exchange
NOON acknowledges that we are on the territory of the Onondaga Nation, council fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
We are thankful for their stewardship of our environment.
________
EVENTS:
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5, Fonda, NY
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564
WAMPUM/OTGOÄ Exhibition, Opened March 25th, 2023 runs through September 16th, 2023, Seneca Art & Culture Center
Saturday, August 12th | 1 PM Skawennati
Bark Longhouse opens for the season, 5/3, May- October
Seneca Iroquois National Museum,82 W Hetzel St, Salamanca, New York 14779
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092
Allegany River Indian Dancers, Sat, August 12 – Social Dancers, Dance times approximately: 11 & 2
2023 Featured Exhibit, April 1st – November 30th
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center After a period of being open only to scheduled group tours, the Center has reopened its doors to the public for walk-ins! Skä•noñh is now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
_________
MONTHLY:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting, Next meeting virtual and in person August 15, 7-8:30 PM. Since new people often have a lot of questions, we recommend contacting Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, before the meeting.
___
FYI:
Legendary Onondaga stick-maker Alfie Jacques’ legacy lives on in wake of his passing
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Company Posts about Land Back, Sparks Outrage
Invoking IT to help revitalize Indigenous languages at risk of extinction
Indigenous women in Canada forcibly sterilized decades after other rich countries stopped
Water Song by the Akwesasne Women Singers
Judge Gives Enbridge 3 Years to Close Oil Pipeline on Tribal Land in Wisconsin
Tribe fights to preserve California coastline — and its own culture
Chaco Canyon Hearing Gets Heated
No children’s remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school
Despite Victory in the Supreme Court, a Dark Ruling Hangs Over Tribal Nations
Who Makes the Best Frybread, According to Indian Country
Indigenous Pacific Leaders Call on Countries to Support Ban on Deep Sea Mining
Tree Keepers: Where Sustaining the Forest Is a Tribal Tradition
A Fight for Salmon Fishing Rights Connects Indigenous Peoples Across the Pacific Ocean
How Native American police are fighting the crisis of missing people
Minnesota implements new Native American history requirement for K-12 teachers
Onondaga Nation Newsletter – Anyone interested in subscribing to the Onondaga Nation’s monthly e-newsletter can email nonewsletter@gmail.com with your first and last name. One request per email address please.
__________________
NOON RESOURCES:
Because the Syracuse Peace Council office is only open sporadically, contact Lee Cridland so she can arrange to get them to you.
The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code film is premised on Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, a book based on two decades of research by Shawnee, Lenape scholar Steven T. Newcomb. Available to borrow. Contact Lee Cridland via email or phone 315-472-5478
Standing on Sacred Ground Videos. Each of the 4 episodes is 60 min. Pilgrims and Tourists, Profit and Loss, Fire and Ice and Islands of Sanctuary. If you have a group of friends or know an organization that would like to view any of these films, please contact Lee Cridland phone 315-472-5478.
In addition NOON has organized dozens of educational programs over the past 20 years which are available on line at SPC’s You Tube Channel. Fifteen years ago we coordinated the historic series Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future. Check out the videos here.
WITNESS TO INJUSTICE: UNRAVELING HISTORIC NATIVE & U.S. RELATIONS. This inter-active group exercise is a 2 hour teaching tool that uses participatory education to raise awareness of the history of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States. Through the use of meaningful quotes, and blankets that represent part of Turtle Island (the Western Hemisphere), we explore this shared history that most people rarely learn in traditional settings. We engage in a conversation about the European colonization of Turtle Island in order to deepen our understanding of the denial of Indigenous peoples’ nationhood throughout U.S. History. NOON is offering this exercise to groups, organizations, schools and churches. A good will offering to support NOON’s work is appreciated. If you would like additional information or to schedule a time for a presentation, contact wti.cny@gmail.com.
