"I remember the day I lost my spirit." So begins the story of Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Ša, which means Red Bird. Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in Indiana. But she soon found herself caught between two worlds—white and Native American. At school she missed her mother and her traditional life, but Zitkala-Ša found joy in music...

Jaclyn Roessel live in Kayenta, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation. Like most young girls, Jaclyn has many interests. She likes her math class, she plays basketball and volleyball, and she loves in-line skating. She is also interested in rug weaving, and she has asked her grandmother to teach her how to weave. For the Navajos, weaving is more than a craft or hobby. It is an important part of the culture and history of the Dine--the people. Jaclyn's...

A mother, the author of this story, shares Lakota cultural experiences with her daughter. A mother - the author of this story - shares Lakota cultural experiences with her daughter, introducing her to waci (dance) as a way to celebrate life. Wacipi (powwow), where the dancing occurs, is a setting for Indigenous song, dance, regalia, food and crafts. A warm, family story for all ages, Waci! Dance! visually embraces the joy of being together and caring...

Long ago, the Old Ones were bad. They drank all the water, ate all the pine nuts, and left nothing for the other creatures. Sinawav the coyote punished them by turning them into rocky hoodoos. Now when children misbehave, their Paiute elders remind them that they too could be turned into stone columns! Vivian has heard the stories, but this year as she and her grandmother climb the mesa to pick pine nuts, Vivian has something more important on her...

This book is a tool for parents and educators to introduce Cherokee children to the syllabary of their native language. Adults as well can appreciate the simplicity of the format to help become familiar with their Native speech. On each page spread, there is a beautiful illustration of a syllabary character, a Cherokee word that contains the character, how to pronounce the word in Cherokee, and the word in English. Along the bottom of a page is a...

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Henry R. Schoolcraft immersed himself in the legends and lore of Native American Indians. For thirty years he lived among Indian tribes in the West and around the Great Lakes, where night after night he listened to master storytellers weave spellbinding tales around the dancing embers of lodge fires. Carefully chosen from the many legends Schoolcraft heard, this collection presents nineteen fables brimming...

Supplemented with quotes and engaging articles from USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, The American Indian Experience shines a spotlight on American Indians and their many exciting contributions to American society. From artists and athletes to religious leaders and chefs, American Indians enrich American life. Novelists such as Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie offer enlightening and often humorous glimpses into their life experiences and tribal...

Have you ever voted on something? You might have voted for pizza for dinner, which movie to watch or who should go first in a game. If you have ever voted, you know how important it is to have a voice in making decisions that are part of your life. The people who created this country knew that too and took many risks to create a country where they could speak freely about what they wanted. The battle for voting rights was a long one--with some people...

Pocahontas, the seventeenth-century Native American Indian princess, was instrumental in creating peace between the English colonists and Native Americans. In this book, Andrew Benjamin exposes the historic story of Pocahontas and her way of life in two very different cultures. This book contains original artwork, historical context of the story, recounts folktales from diverse cultures and defines words unique to the story.

Americans have been voting since the United States was first formed. As U.S. citizens, we vote for our country's presidents, senators, and representatives in Congress. We also vote for local leaders like mayors and city council members. We even cast votes to decide how our tax dollars are spent. How does the voting process work, though? Does everyone have the right to vote? Can this right ever be taken away? How are political candidates chosen? Is...