Native American History

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, First Nations and by Christopher Columbus' historical mistake Indians, modernly disambiguated as the American Indian race, American Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds or Red Indians. It's now considered racially insensitive to call this race "Red Indians".

According to the still-debated New World migration model, a migration of humans from Eurasia to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which formerly connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. These early Paleoamericans soon spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. According to the oral histories of many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, they have been living there since their genesis, described by a wide range of traditional creation accounts.

Application of the term "Indian" originated with Christopher Columbus, who thought that he had reached India (his original destination). This served to imagine a kind of racial or cultural unity for the aboriginal peoples of the Americas. Once created, the unified "Indian" was codified in law, religion, and politics. The unitary idea of "Indians" was not originally shared by indigenous peoples, but many now embrace the identity.

While some indigenous peoples of the Americas were historically hunter-gatherers, many practiced aquaculture and agriculture. The impact of their agricultural endowment to the world is a testament to their time and work in reshaping, taming, and cultivating the flora indigenous to the Americas. Some societies depended heavily on agriculture while others practiced a mix of farming, hunting, and gathering. In some regions the indigenous peoples created monumental architecture, large-scale organized cities, chiefdoms, states, and massive empires.

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We fill this section primarily with vintage titles, which can be very interesting, but at times inaccurate, and often frustrating to modern sensibilities. While we would love to expand it, lack of space and demand keeps it relatively small. Therefore, separating it out by tribe or region doesn't make a lot of sense for us yet. We'd like to point you to a resource we find quite informative, though you'll need to subscribe to the service for full benefits. Check out this page at Biblioguides.com

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90 Items found Print
Active Filters: Biographies
Beyond the Ridge
by Paul Goble
from Aladdin Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Hawk, Sac Rebel
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Black Hawk, Young Sauk Warrior
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Cathrine S. Cleven
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Bright Path
by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show
Landmark #73
by Walter Havighurst, illustrated by John C. Wonsetler
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Captain Waymouth's Indians
by Anne Molloy, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Hastings House
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces
by Shannon Garst, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Julian Messner
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Chief Joseph: Leader of Destiny
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Associates
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (2 in stock)
Chief Seattle
by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Chooch Helped
by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz
from Levine Querido
for Preschool-2nd grade
2025 Caldecott Medalist, American Indian Youth Literature Award
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Claws of the Thunderbird
by Holling Clancy Holling
from P.F. Volland
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Crazy Horse
by John R. Milton
Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Crazy Horse: Young War Chief
Childhood of Famous Americans
by George Edward Stanley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79
Drawing America: Sacajawea
Drawing America
by Elaine Raphael & Don Bolognese
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
Frog Girl
by Paul Owen Lewis
from Tricycle Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Geronimo: Apache Freedom Fighter
Native American Biographies
by Spring Hermann
from Enslow
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Geronimo: The Last Apache War Chief
by Edgar Wyatt, illustrated by Allan Houser
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath
Landmark #81
by Ralph Moody, illustrated by Nicholas Eggenhofer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Geronimo: Young Warrior
Childhood of Famous Americans
by George Edward Stanley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79
Great Indian Chiefs
from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
High Elk's Treasure
by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illustrated by Oren Lyons
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
I'm In Charge of Celebrations
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Pocahontas
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Chiefs
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
Indian Portraits of the Pacific Northwest
by George M. Cochran
3rd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
Jacksonland
by Steve Inskeep
from Penguin Press
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
James Fenimore Cooper
by Isabel Proudfit
from Julian Messner
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
James Fenimore Cooper
by Donald A. Ringe
from Twayne Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce
by Dean Pollock
from Binford & Mort Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 5th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce
by Dean Pollock, author and illustrator
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Life and Death of Crazy Horse
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
1997 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Little Sioux Girl
by Lois Lenski
Scott, Foresman from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
A Discovery Book
by Marian T. Place
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
May Day for Samoset
by Wilma Pitchford Hays
from Coward McCann
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Medal of Honor: Jack Montgomery
by Michael P. Spradlin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Naya Nuki
by Kenneth Thomasma
from Baker Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Path to the Pacific
Sterling Point Books
by Neta Lohnes Frazier
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
Path to the Pacific
by Neta Lohnes Frazier
from Quarto Knows
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Sacagawea
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Dan Brown
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.64
Pocahontas
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26 $9.60 (2 in stock)
Pocahontas
by Joseph Bruchac
from Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Pocahontas
by Grace Steele Woodward
1989 Printing from University of Oklahoma Press
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Leslie Gourse
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Rabbit's Snow Dance
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
by James and Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Jeff Newman
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Risking it All
Moments in American History
by Anne Souby
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Sacagawea
by Betty Westrom Skold
from Dillon Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sacagawea: American Pathfinder
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Henderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
from Graphia
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.34
Sacajawea
by Brad Phillips
from Apricot Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sacajawea of the Shoshones
by Della Gould Emmonds
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Sacajawea: Wilderness Guide
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Publishing
Biography for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sacajawea: Wilderness Guide
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Publishing
Biography for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Seneca Chief, Army General
Creative Minds Biographies
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Karen Ritz
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Seneca Chief, Army General
Creative Minds Biographies
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Karen Ritz
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet
by Robert Cwiklik
from Avyx, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees
Landmark #65
by Alice Marriott, illustrated by Bob Riger
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing
by James Rumford, translated into Cherokee by Anna Sixkiller Huckaby
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
2005 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Sequoyah: Young Cherokee Guide
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dorothea J. Snow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sitting Bull and His World
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Children's Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sitting Bull: Champion of his People
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Squanto
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.34
Star That Always Stays
by Anna Rose Johnson
from Holiday House
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.34
Story of Crazy Horse
Signature Books #28
by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by William Reusswig
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Geronimo
Signature Books #44
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Charles Banks Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Geronimo
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Geronimo
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Pocahontas
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #21
by Shirley Graham, illustrated by Mario Cooper
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Sacajawea
by Della Rowland
from Yearling
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Story of Sitting Bull
by Jill C. Wheeler; illustrated by Liz Dodson
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Story of Sitting Bull, Great Sioux Chief
by Lisa Eisenberg
from Yearling
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Tecumseh
by Jane Fleischer
from Troll Associates
for 2nd-5th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Tecumseh
by Russell Shorto
from Silver Burdett Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Tecumseh
by Luella Bruce Creighton
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Tecumseh
by Dwight Jon Zimmerman
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Tecumseh, Shawnee Leader
Let Freedom Ring
by Susan R. Gregson
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!
Landmark #76
by Stanley Young, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
True Story of Pocahontas
by Dr. Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow and Angela L. Daniel "Silver Star"
from Fulcrum Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Truth About Sacajawea
by Kenneth Thomasma
from Grandview Publishing Company
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Turquoise Boy
Native American Legends
by Terri Cohlene (adapter), illustrated by Charles Reasoner
2002 Reprint from Watermill Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Value of Truth and Trust
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIBCH)
Voice of the Paiutes
Creative Minds Biographies
by Jodie Shull, illustrated by Keith Birdsong
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
War Chief Joseph
by Helen Addison Howard & Dan L. McGrath
from Bison Books
for 7th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Warrior Maiden: A Hopi Legend
Bank Street Ready-to-Read Level 3
by Ellen Schecter, illustrated by Laura Kelly
from Bantam Books
for 1st-2nd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Sacagawea?
Who Was?...Series
by Judith Bloom Fradin, Dennis Brindell Fradin
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
Wild West
from Amon Carter Museum of Western Art
for 5th-Adult
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)