Celebrating Thanksgiving often means going home, but for many of our Native neighbors, the concept of home is a painful reminder of what was taken from them during campaigns of forced assimilation and removal from their homelands. Nothing we do today can reverse this painful history and its aftermath, but the humanities provide a long overdue opportunity to connect with, understand, and support the experiences of Indigenous peoples in the United States.

Ohio Humanities is proud to support projects and people who share diverse stories from Native Americans all year, from contemporary literature and journalism to scholarship that reframes the founding of our nation. Below are some of our staff’s favorite books written by Native authors or that tell stories that reflect the Native experience—in Ohio and nationwide.

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk, 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction winner

The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales retold by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac

The First Peoples of Ohio and Indiana: Native American History Resource Book by Jessica Diemer-Eaton

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes: Nine Indian Writers on the Legacy of the Expedition edited by Alvin M. Josephy

The Land of the Three Miamis by Barbara Alice Mann

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

There There by Tommy Orange

The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians by Mary Stockwell

White Magic by Elissa Washuta

Happy Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month!