Native American Heritage Month: Recommended Reading

We wrap up November and the United States’ Native American Heritage Month with the following list of recommended speculative fiction reading by Indigenous writers of North and Central America and the surrounding islands. On this list, we focus primarily on those writers who are current members and/or descend from the First Nations of Canada, the Indigenous peoples of the US, Mexico, and Central America, and those of the surrounding islands.

As ancestry is a deeply personal matter as well as a human right, we know that no list like this could ever be complete and comprehensive. If there’s someone who belongs on this list that we haven’t added, let us know!

Clarion West’s offices and programs take place in Seattle on the unceded lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish peoples. These lands are occupied without treaty. We encourage you to consider donating to the tribes and nations on whose land you make your home. Compensation begins with programs like Real Rent Duwamish.

As part of our mission to support emerging and underrepresented voices in the genres, we recommend the following writers:

Dennis E. Staples (CW 2018) is an Ojibwe writer, a member of the Red Lake Nation, and a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts & Clarion West Writers Workshop. His first novel is THIS TOWN SLEEPS.
https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/this-town-sleeps/

Louis Erdrich is an essential American poet and author whose books include FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD and ANTELOPE WOMAN.
https://birchbarkbooks.com/blog

Russell L. Bates was a television writer, author, and member of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma. He co-created Dawson Walking Bear, the first Indigenous American (Comanche) Starfleet member to appear in the STAR TREK franchise. That same animated series episode, “How Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth,” won the first Emmy award for the franchise. https://www.sfwa.org/2019/02/28/russell-bates-a-remembrance/ https://www.sfwa.org/2019/03/13/in-memoriam-russell-l-bates

Stephen Graham Jones is an award-winning author, a staple of the horror genre, and a recurring Clarion West instructor. His recent books include MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW, NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS, & MAPPING THE INTERIOR.
https://demontheory.net

Owl Goingback is a recipient of the Horror Writers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. His many works include CROTA, COYOTE RAGE, & the TRIBAL SCREAMS anthology.
https://owlgoingback.com/index.htm

Daniel H. Wilson is a robotics engineer, Cherokee citizen, and author of ROBOPOCALYPSE, ROBOGENESIS, THE CLOCKWORK DYNASTY, and WHERE’S MY JETPACK?
https://danielhwilson.com

Sloane Leong writes fiction and comics including PRISM STALKER and A MAP TO THE SUN.
http://sloanesloane.com/writings

Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D., is an award-winning designer, writer, artist, and researcher who creates and studies Indigenous-led media such as games and comics. She is Anishinaabe with family from Bay Mills, Métis, and Irish.
http://www.elizabethlapensee.com/

Brian K. Hudson is a ᏣᎳᎩ (Cherokee) cyberpunk, author, and writing professor. Check out his work in PEOPLE OF COLO(U)R DESTROY SCIENCE FICTION and at his website.
http://briankhudson.com/fiction/

D.A. Navoti is a member of the Gila River Indian Community and a multidisciplinary storyteller and writer. His literary work has appeared in Homology Lit, Spartan, Indian Country Today, Cloudthroat, and elsewhere. He founded and curated We the Indigenous, a West Coast literary series, and founded Wellness-ish-ness: a blog for creative hot messes.
https://danavoti.com/

Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache geoscientist with a Ph.D. in oceanography. She’s also the author of short stories, marvel comics, and the debut novel ELATSOE.
https://darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com/about/

Rebecca Roanhorse is the author of BLACK SUN, RACE TO THE SUN, the SIXTH WORLD series, and STAR WARS: RESISTANCE REBORN.
https://rebeccaroanhorse.com

Strix Beltrán is a Mestiza author and game narrative writer, known for her essays on gaming and the games Bluebeard’s Bride and Holovista.
http://strixwerks.com

Jeffrey Veregge is an artist, designer & writer from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. He has created over 100 comic book covers for Marvel, IDW, Valiant, Dynamite, Boom! & Darkhorse Comics.
http://jeffreyveregge.com

Cherie Dimaline is a member of the Georgian Bay Metis Community and the author of EMPIRE OF THE WILD, THE MARROW THIEVES, and THE GIRL WHO GREW A GALAXY.
https://cheriedimaline.com

Elissa Washuta is a Cowlitz essayist and the author of WHITE MAGIC and STARVATION MODE & editor of SHAPES OF NATIVE NONFICTION.
http://washuta.net

LeAnne Howe is an enrolled Choctaw, a U of Georgia professor, and author of SAVAGE CONVERSATIONS, CHOCTALKING ON OTHER REALITIES, and much more.
https://mikokings.wordpress.com