Let’s start out guns blazin’, shall we? This year, just as Native American Heritage Month began, Deb Haaland made history as the first Indigenous American woman to be elected to Congress. I am simultaneously proud of her and ashamed that it has taken this long.
But this is a good reminder of why heritage months exist in the first place. This country is still catching up to where it should be, and it’s important to learn about the history and experiences of our community members.
The books below allow us to do just that—we start off with Haaland’s memoir, then journey into YA fantasy, then horror, then romance, all told from distinctly Indigenous perspectives.
Memoir
A Voice Like Mine by Deb Haaland
As for her memoir, which came out earlier this year, here’s what our writer Kendra Winchester had to say: “Deb Haaland was the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet. Before that, she was one of the first Native American women to be elected to Congress. A member of the Pueblo of Laguna, Haaland grew up with a life impacted by alcoholism, poverty, and single parenthood. But she grew to believe her voice mattered, and now in 2026, she’s running for governor in New Mexico.”
In Reading Color
A weekly newsletter focusing on literature by and about people of color!
Young Adult
Children of Owl by Darcie Little Badger, illustrated by Abigail Rajunov
Maisie, Joel, and Verona are three cousins who live in a trailer park that is surrounded by creatures, both safe and murderous. For Maisie, life’s never been the same since her best friend died and Owl, harbinger of ill tidings, made her a visit. Joel’s been forced in to a summer of kitten fostering, thanks in part to some bad decision making. Verona is so desperate to leave the trailer park that she’s willing to watch a haunted house. Then there’s Owl–despite who he is, he cares deeply about each of these kids.
Little Badger’s latest book weaves together four stories, illustrated by Rajunov, that play with good and evil, myth and reality. It looks SO good. —Kelly Jensen
Horror
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
This book technically isn’t new, but I’m listing it here because its sequel—titled Off the Reservation—just came out.
Here’s what our writer, Carina Pereira, had to say about it in A Love Letter To The Only Good Indians:
“Dear The Only Good Indians (or, should I say, Deer, hahaha),
I think about you about at least once a week, sometimes more.
Thank you for being one of my favourite books out there, for introducing me to the possibilities of horror, and for making me sound absolutely unhinged when I talk about you to other people.
It’s okay you have ruined ceiling fans for me. Staying cool is overrated, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
If you’re wanting another Indigenous spooky sequel, Never Whistle at Night, edited by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. has a part 2 in Back for Blood.
Romance
Sunflower Season by Danica Nava
There’s nothing like the golden radiance of a field of sunflowers. June hopes that magic can fix her after burning out at her job in tech. But when she buys a run-down sunflower farm in her rural Oklahoma hometown, she quickly realizes that it’s not as much of an easy-growing job as she hoped. Luckily, June gets another chance to start fresh when she runs into Noah, her first love who wants to figure out where they went wrong. It’s a luminous story about healing and putting down new roots in a place that nurtures you. —Susie Dumond
Fantasy
The Sorceress of Sky Serpents by Eden Robinson
Eden Robinson wrote the bestselling Trickster trilogy and now begins a new epic series with The Sorceress of Sky Serpents. I am particularly excited about how this story takes on monster-like creatures.
This tale follows Yuala, who is the daughter of the Guardian of the Eagle Clan and the granddaughter of its shaman. Yuala carries a family legacy on her shoulders, though she longs to become a warrior or healer. Yet Yuala’s one talent casts her as a misfit: she can connect with creatures many regard as monsters. This gift puts her in line to become her clan’s next shaman, and she dives headlong into the grueling apprenticeship. As a rival clan grows in power and is on the hunt for a powerful sorceress, will Yuala come into her own power in time to keep her clan and village safe? —Lyndsie Manusos
Children’s
Here Come the Aunties!: A Joyful Picture Book Celebrating Family Love and Community for Children by
From the title alone, I know this gorgeous picture book is pure joy. So many BIPOC cultures hold a special place for aunties—both of the blood and the adopted-through-kinship variety—and here, we see just what they mean to Indigenous communities. Community members are aunties, neighbors are aunties, and yes, your parents’ sisters are aunties, too. Every kind of auntie is there for life’s best and worst moments—to laugh with you and hug you when you need it. —Erica Ezeifedi
The month has just started, so make sure to add even more Indigenous books to your pile with this list of new Native speculative books.
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