BOSTON, MA – October 31, 2024 – To honor National Native American Heritage Month, the Boston Public Library (BPL) is releasing Native Lives, Native Stories, a booklist of recent titles focusing on the cultures, histories, experiences, and diversity of the Native American communities. Celebrated annually in November, Native American Heritage Month acknowledges the unique traditions and important contributions of Indigenous Peoples. The BPL will also observe Native American Heritage Month by hosting special events across branches.
The Native Lives, Native Stories booklist, featuring selected books written by Indigenous authors or about Indigenous history and culture, is compiled by staff librarians from the Chinatown, Connolly, Roslindale, and West End branches along with staff from the Central Library in Copley Square. The 70 titles comprising Native Lives, Native Stories highlight selections for adults, teenagers, and children by authors such as Ned Blackhawk, Joseph Bruchac, Joy Harjo, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Joshua Whitehead. Genres from this collection include biography, expressions, history and contemporary issues, and fiction.
Each book listing contains a brief synopsis and is accompanied by an image of the book cover as well as classification information. In addition to print books, select titles are available as eBooks or audiobooks.
Along with the booklist, the BPL will celebrate National Native American Heritage Month with author talks and lectures, film screenings, book group discussions, workshops, and more. The full list of programs can be found at bpl.org/events. Highlights include:
- Indigenous Geographies — From the Vault Collections Showing | November 1, Central | A showing at The Leventhal Map and Education Center shares items that highlight Indigenous geographies, curated by Amira Madison, the Supporting Indigenous Communities Fellow at the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics. It will explore collections documenting Native life and land in New England and beyond.
- Documentary Club: Lakota Nation vs. United States | November 5, Mattapan | A film screening and group discussion of Lakota Nation vs. United States, a 2022 documentary that chronicles the Lakota Indians' century-long quest to reclaim the Black Hills, sacred land that was stolen in violation of treaty agreements. A searing, timely portrait of resistance, the film explores the ways America has ignored its debt to indigenous communities and ponders what might be done today to repair the wrongs of the past.
- Undergrounds Before Rail: Escaping Slavery, Claiming Liberty | 11/7, Central | Award-winning historian and professor Margaret Newell shares the stories of Native Americans and African Americans who tried to claim their liberty by escaping slavery and the people who helped them from 1620-1750; with respondent Egypt Lloyd.
- Radical Reads: A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter | November 14, Online | A group book discussion of award-winning Métis author Michelle Porter's A Grandmother Begins the Story, which tells the stories of five generations of Indigenous women in western Canada.
- Water Protectors: Exploring Indigenous Identity and Climate Change | November 16, Egleston Square | An interactive workshop with Wee the People that explores the sacred connection Indigenous peoples have nurtured with water and land for thousands of years. When kids look at maps of the US, they are taught to see its land and waters in terms of who owns or controls them. But what if there were a different way of seeing these places — and what if that different way of seeing held the key to protecting our planet?
- Genealogy: Researching Your Native American Ancestors | November 20, Online | This class will provide a brief overview of available resources for researching Native American ancestry. Researching Native American ancestry can be difficult for several reasons including differing levels of recognition, different definitions of what Native American ancestry is, and the controversies surrounding DNA testing.
- Hyde Park Book Club: Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko | November 21, Hyde Park | A group book discussion of Ceremony, a 1977 novel by Leslie Marmon Silko, which follows a World War II veteran who struggles when he returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. Scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and further wounded by the rejections from his people, he regains peace by immersing himself in his indigenous past.
- Queer Reads Book Club: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger | November 21, Jamaica Plain | A group book discussion of Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, which follows an asexual, Apache teen as she attempts to unmask her cousin’s murderer.
- Friday Films: Smoke Signals (1998) | November 22, Parker Hill | A film screening of Smoke Signals, a 1998 film which follows Thomas and Victor, two rivals and friends, who spend their days killing time on a Coeur d'Alene reservation in Idaho and arguing about their cultural identities. When one of them is called away on an urgent matter, this most unlikely pair leaves home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!
Distinguished pieces from the BPL’s Special Collections depicting Native American history, culture, and achievements will be featured on the BPL’s social media platforms during National Native American Heritage Month.
Physical copies of the Native Lives, Native Stories booklist will be available at all BPL locations starting November 1, 2024; it can also be accessed digitally. In addition, the booklist and information about National Native American Heritage Month programs will also appear on the BPL website at bpl.org and on the BPL social media accounts (X, Facebook, Instagram).
Patrons can view many years' worth of prior affinity booklists, such as those from Black History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Disability Pride Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month in an online archive.
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ABOUT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is a pioneer of public library service in America. It was the first large, free municipal library in the United States; the first public library to lend books; the first to have a branch library; and the first to have a children’s room.
The Boston Public Library of today is a robust system that includes the Central Library in Copley Square, 25 neighborhood branches, the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center, the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center, and an archival center, offering public access to world-class special collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and prints, along with rich digital content and online services.
The Boston Public Library serves nearly 4 million visitors per year and millions more online. All of its programs and exhibitions are free to all and open to the public. The Boston Public Library is a department of the City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu. To learn more, visit bpl.org.
