![Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith](/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_freeform_full_wide/public/blog/2021-11/AncestorApproved.jpg?itok=KOY7z9JE)
November is Native American Heritage Month. There is an excellent website curated by the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It pays tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans. I have also put together booklists of the most recent releases. Native American/First Nation narratives make up only 1% of the total publishing industry each year. This means we don't have enough books! But there is good news. Of those titles, 83% are OwnVoices works. This means they were written and/or illustrated by people that identify as Native American/First Nation. I hope you'll read at least one of them this month.
2021 Native American Picture Books & Biographies
If you'd like to read even more, I suggest taking a look at the American Indian Youth Literature Awards and the new Heartdrum imprint.