This year Indigenous People’s Day is Oct. 13, with the Washington area especially mindful of honoring Native peoples and Nations. The District and counties of nearby Maryland and Northern Virginia all include land acknowledgements on their websites. This region was once the homeland of the Nacostine/Anacostin, Cherokee, Pattawomeck Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples, and other recognized local tribes.
Acclaimed author Carole Lindstrom finds her greatest inspiration in Native history and her heritage. Lindstrom is Turtle Mountain Ojibwe and Red River Metis, with ancestral lands in North Dakota. She grew up in Nebraska, lived in Maryland for many years, and recently moved to New York’s Hudson Valley.
As a child, Lindstrom’s maternal grandmother “was forced into the Wahpeton Indian boarding school in the early 1900s, and all their culture was stripped” from the students, said Lindstrom. Consequently, neither Lindstrom nor her mother knew much about their Native background until Lindstrom, as an adult, began researching their past.
Her seventh book, “The Gift of the Great Buffalo” (reviewed below) is based on her ancestry. Researching protagonist Rose, who is Metis, and an 1880s buffalo hunt was “about me learning about myself,” said Lindstrom.
The book has been a hit at schools and book events. “Children, and adults, are surprised at how many buffalo once roamed all over North America, even the East Coast.” And they are “always shocked” by the animals’ brush with near extinction, said Lindstrom. “But I also tell them good news about the numbers coming back and why and how. And why it’s important that we don’t let [such wanton destruction] happen again.”
Rose will be returning next year, in Lindstrom’s first middle-grade novel, as yet untitled. “I am really looking forward to it being out in the world,” she said.
Until then, readers might enjoy some of Lindstrom’s other books, including “My Powerful Hair”; “Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior”; and the Caldecott-winning “We Are Water Protectors.”
Tots – Age 7
“The Gift of the Great Buffalo”
By Carole Lindstrom
Illustrated by Aly McKnight
Bloomsbury, 2024, $18.99
Excitedly, Rose and her family gather with hundreds of other Metis families for the twice-yearly buffalo hunt. The meat, bones and hides of these animals will help to feed, clothe and shelter them for the next six months. But in the 1880s USA, the once-great herds have dwindled through overhunting by white settlers pushing Westward. To help locate the animals, Rose leaves the camp and scouts on her own. She walks for miles, alert and in a spirit of gratitude for the buffalo. Watercolor art by Aly McKnight, of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, beautifully depicts the activity and spirit of camp life in this tale of resilience and hope by Carole Lindstrom, who is Anishinaabe/Metis and Turtle Mountain Ojibwe.
“Bud Finds Her Gift”
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Illustrated by Naoko Stoop
HarperCollins, 2025, $19.99
This first picture book by Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer reveals a sensibility akin to that of her bestselling “Braiding Sweetgrass.” Both books are informed by Indigenous practices and wisdom. Bud is a quiet, observant child in a busy Native American family. She wants to do important things, like the others, so she asks her grandmother, Nokomis, for advice. Nokomis suggests she stand by a large tree and watch and listen. Bud observes a robin, berries, moss and bird poop and hears the unique song of each. Yes, even poop has a song and important work, as the disperser of seeds undigested by the bird. What a delightful, memorable fact for young readers! Bud comes to realize that her “important thing,” as a child, is to attend to and express gratitude for the natural world. Though in time, this may lead to other forms of expression, says Nokomis, this gift of witness is valuable in and of itself.
“All the Stars in the Sky”
By Art Coulson
Illustrated by Winona Nelson
Simon & Schuster, 2025, $19.99
Clay yearns to be the class star of the week because he believes that signals his importance. But his Cherokee grandmother gently offers another perspective. No one individual is as important as their family and community, she says. See how the stars work together to light the sky? The next day, just as he had first hoped, Clay is chosen by his teacher to be the star. He shares his grandmother’s insight and asks, “Can we all be stars?” The teacher listens and agrees (thus offering a wonderful model of a kind, flexible authority figure). This thought-provoking story by Art Coulson, who is Cherokee, upholds shared responsibility and community rather than the usual Western model of competition and hierarchy. Winona Nelson draws on Ojibwe beading traditions to create stunning art that shows the interconnectedness not just of kids in the classroom but of the cosmos.
By Brook M. Thompson
Illustrated by Anastasia Khmelevska
Heyday, 2025, $20
This story of Native resilience is based on author Brook M. Thompson’s childhood along the Klamath River in Northern California. In this vibrantly illustrated book, the young narrator talks about the salmon and lampreys that live in this river. They are vital to the surrounding ecosystem and as a centuries-old food source for the Yurok Tribe. But dams and toxic conditions have severely impacted the ability of these fish to thrive and reproduce. In 2002, 60,000 salmon sickened and died. That’s when “the tribal people [protested], scientists did research and the politicians made a fuss.” The result: 20 years later most of the dams were removed, and today salmon and lampreys can travel their natural waterways. During this time, the young Brook of the story grows up to study environmental engineering. Now back on the Klamath River, she takes “care of fish for people in the future,” just as her ancestors had previously done for her.
Preteens
“On a Wing and a Tear”
By Cynthia Leitich Smith
Heartdrum/HarperCollins, 2024, $18.99
Middle-schooler Ray Halfmoon, his class- and housemate Mel Roberts and his Grampa Charlie are on a mission. With the help of well-meaning but distractible Gray Squirrel, they are driving an injured celebrity athlete to an important competition. Great-Grandfather Bat’s ball-playing skills helped the Animals win against the Birds eons ago, and he is key to the rematch in Georgia. But the road from Chicago to Atlanta is filled with bumps, truck breakdowns and lively visits to Cherokee relatives for Ray and Muscogee for Mel. Not to mention a nefarious video-recording couple bent on using Bat to boost their social media presence. Will Grampa’s old truck make it in time? Will Bat be fit to play? With a warm, oral storytelling style, author Cynthia Leitich Smith, who is Muscogee, keeps stakes, suspense and humor at high levels. Amongst the novel’s significant strengths are the animal characters. Though anthropomorphized, they are also attentively crafted with respect to species traits and needs. Smith’s author’s note includes information on Indigenous representation in the media and the Native lands over which her characters travel.
Teens
“Sisters in the Wind”
Angeline Boulley
Henry Holt, 2025, $19.99
Once again Angeline Boulley draws on her Ojibwe heritage for a novel as gripping as her Printz-winning “Firekeeper’s Daughter.” Lucy Smith even returns, this time as the first-person narrator. At 18, Lucy has aged out of the precarious foster system, which has overseen her care since her father died four years ago. She’s learned to watch out for herself. Understandably, she’s wary when two strangers visit her in the hospital after a bomb detonated at her workplace. This lawyer and his companion tell Lucy that she’s Ojibwe, on her mother’s side — an ancestry completely unknown to her. And oh, yes, she has maternal relatives eager to open their homes to her. Lucy’s mind swirls with questions. Why did her white father keep this information from her? Who is stalking her and why? Did that bomb target her, specifically? And finally, can she trust these two so-called helpers and perhaps discover a family she never dreamed of? Powerful themes of identity, racial injustice and family undergird this taut, compelling thriller.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, DC, and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently “Queen Elizabeth II,” an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for the Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. To learn more, visit https://maryquattlebaum.com.
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Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
