Well Read: Let's Hear it for Native Authors!

Winter is coming, so there's no better time to curl up with a good book, a mug of something hot, and get cozy under a blanket. We recently gave Redfin our tips on how to design the ultimate reading nook (read their blog with lots of great ideas here), which gives us a great excuse to share some of our favorite Native and Indigenous authors and booksellers you should definitely know cover-to-cover. Read some staff recommendations below, check out our tips on Indigenizing your own reading nook this winter, and be sure to share your favorite titles in the comments!

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomie)

Our Cedar Tobacco Candle is a great olfactory addition to any page-turner

No list of Native-penned books is complete without the #1 New York Times Best-Selling title, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Potawatomie author Robin Wall Kimmerer. From Kimmerer's website: "As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?" 

While Braiding Sweetgrass can be found at any major bookseller, your purchase means so much more to your local favorite bookstore, or from Indigenous-owned retailers like Quiet Quail Books! Reader recommendation: this title is a favorite of Eighth Generation's Director of Business Development, Lacee Shepard (Odawa).

Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo (Muscogee)

Muscogee Nation author Joy Harjo is celebrated for her lyrical command of language (which makes sense, as she's also a musical performer) and poetic prose. As the first Native American to serve as Poet Laureate for the United States, Harjo has influenced a generations of readers and authors alike, and no bookshelf is complete without at least one of her titles. From Harjo's website, in her follow-up to her book Crazy Brave, Poet Warrior, she "invites us to travel along the heartaches, losses, and humble realizations of her "poet-warrior" road. Poet Warrior reveals how Harjo came to write poetry of compassion and healing, poetry with the power to unearth the truth and demand justice."

Explore the full list of titles by Joy Harjo on her website here. Reader recommendation: this title is highly recommended by Eighth Generation's CEO, Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee, Athabascan).

Get Cozy with Eighth Generation

Ready to read with our Good Harvest Wool Blanket and New Day Crew Socks

No nook is complete without being cozy. If you like to read on the couch, make sure you're curled up with one of our Native-designed wool or cotton blankets. Or if you're bedtime routine includes a chapter of a good book, keep your tootsies toasty with our Cotton Crew Socks, available in over 15 designs!

If you can't read by a roaring fireplace, try the gentle glow of one of our Hand-Poured Candles, which further set the vibe with their warm scents. And books shouldn't have all the fun: frame one of our Fine Art Prints and add it when you style your shelves. Now you can read surrounded by comfy, cozy Native designs. 

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (Anishinaabe, Métis) and illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit, Haida)

A quick flip through these gorgeously-illustrated pages and you'll instantly see why We Are Water Protectors won a Caldecott Medal. Rich paintings by Tlingit and Haida artist Michaela Goade beautifully illustrate Anishinaabe and Métis author Carole Lindstrom's empowering story of a young Ojibwe girl fighting to protect her people's water supply from an oil pipeline. This book is the perfect gift for the young readers in your life who will carry our values and power into the next generation. 

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

We can't promise our Natural Geometry Throw Blanket will make scary stories less spooky, but at least it will keep you from shivering! 

Social media has made it hard for many of us to focus, which is why short stories are a great way to ease back into reading as you reset your attention span. One book you won't be able to put down no matter how much you like scrolling Instagram is Never Whistle at Night, an anthology of dark fiction by Indigenous authors. Edited by Shane Hawk (Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa, and Potawatomi descent) and Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. (Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians), this collection features spooky short stories by over two-dozen Native and Indigenous authors. 

Reader recommendation: this title is highly recommended by Gabriel Honeycutt (Cherokee Nation), one of Eighth Generation's great Sales Associates. Gabriel also recommends There, There by Tommy Orange (Cheyenne, Arapaho).

Project 562 by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish, Tulalip)

In a monumental artistic and cultural undertaking, Swinomish and Tulalip photographer and author Matika Wilbur spent years photographing thousands of contemporary Native American people from the over 562 federally recognized tribes. As Wilbur writes on her website, this is "an unprecedented repository of imagery and oral histories that accurately portrays contemporary Native Americans." Short biographies and personal stories accompany the stunning portraits Matika compiled for her book documenting this project, Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America. Reader recommendation: many Eighth Generation artists and partners from over our 15 years of business are featured in these stunning stories. 

MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comics Collection

MOONSHOT now has three volumes

MOONSHOT is a collection of short stories created by indigenous writers and incredible artists in the US and Canada. Now with three volumes, MOONSHOT features both traditional stories as well as contemporary stories. The traditional stories presented in the book are with the permission from the elders in the authors' respective communities, making these stories intergenerational works of art. 

Volume One features features work by Jeffery Veregge (Suquamish/Duwamish, Illustrator), Stephen Gladue (MOONSHOT cover artist, Metis), Todd Houseman (Cree author), Richard Van Camp (Tlicho author), Sean and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley (Inuk storyteller), Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo storyteller), Ian Ross (Metis playwright), David Alexander Robertson (Cree graphic novelist), Elizabeth LaPensee (Metis writer), Dayton Edmonds (Caddo storyteller), Fred Pashe (Ojibwe), Jay and Joel Odjick (Ojibwe), and Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree). Buffy Sainte-Marie's song lyrics Moonshot inspired the name of the collections. 

Support Native-Owned Bookstores

Native-penned titles for sale at Quiet Quail Books

Your dollar goes farther with small businesses, including independent bookshops owned by Native and Indigenous entrepreneurs! California Indigenous-owned book shop, Quiet Quail Books, has the goal of supporting and uplifting Indigenous authors. Shop for any type of reader of all ages and add some good Indigenous reads to your bookcase! With a wide variety of online selection of single books to personalized mystery book boxes for the book lover in your life, support this California Indigenous book shop online or in store in Southern California.

Birchbark Books is another Native-owned bookstore that deserves a spot on your shelf. Based in Minneapolis-St. Paul and with a great online selection, Birchbark Books is sure to fill your shelves with fantastic titles by Native authors and about Indigenous issues. 

Check out this list curated by Penguin Random House to find a Native- or Indigenous-owned bookstore near you!

What's on your bedside table or bookshelf by Native authors this season? Let us know in the comments!