For Indigenous People’s Day today, here’s an updated look at queer-inclusive children’s books that celebrate indigenous people and cultures—great for reading all year ’round!
- Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman, by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Harper Collins), is a powerful autobiography by one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and the first openly lesbian Native American to hold such an office. This is a story written to inspire, and likely will, serving as a mirror for those who share one or more of Davids’ identities and for anyone whose path takes them places they didn’t expect. Full review.
- Families
, by Jesse Unaapik Mike and Kerry McCluskey and illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko (Inhabit Media), is the story of Talittuq, a second-grade boy living with his mother in Iqaluit, the capital city of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. One year at the start of school, he realizes the many different family configurations that he, his friends, and his teacher have. While the plot in some ways sticks to well-worn paths trod by many other LGBTQ-inclusive books celebrating families, it stands out for its focus on an indigenous family and its use of Inuktitut terms and names throughout. (There’s a glossary at the end, although much is also understandable from the context.) Mike herself was raised in Iqaluit by a single mother, giving the book grounding and authenticity. Publisher Inhabit Media is an Inuit-owned publishing company with its head office in Iqaluit. (Full review.)
- Colors of Aloha, by Kanoa Kau-Arteaga and illustrated by J.R. Keaolani Bogac-Moore, follows a group of Hawai’ian children, plus one older brother and his boyfriend, as they explore their island and learn their colors, along with tidbits about various native Hawai’ian legends, culture, and foods. The joyous tale is published by queer-focused micro-press Flamingo Rampant, and only available through them.
- 47,000 Beads, by Koja and Angel Adeyoha, and illustrated by Holly McGillis, also from Flamingo Rampant, tells of a Lakota child who gets a little help in expressing a two-spirit self and dancing at a pow wow.
- Ho’onani: Hula Warrior, by Heather Gale and illustrated by Mika Song (Tundra Books), is based on the true story of a Native Hawaiian child who feels neither wahine (girl) or kane (boy) and who wants to join the school performance of a traditional kane hula chant. (Full review.)
- When We Love Someone We Sing to Them/Cuando Amamos Cantamos, by Ernesto Javier Martínez and illustrated by Maya Gonzalez (Reflection Press) is a gorgeous bilingual book in English and Spanish that honors the Mexican serenata tradition even as reframes it to include one boy creating a love song for another, with the help of his father. While it is a celebration of Mexican culture broadly speaking and the characters are not identified as indigenous, it includes references to Xochipilli, the Mesoamerican Nahua deity of creativity, dance, and song. A note at the end reminds us that “The Nahua people still continue to inhabit Central Mexico to this day.” (Full review.)
Some other LGBTQ-inclusive picture books include (or likely include) indigenous characters but aren’t focused on indigenous cultures:
- Pride Puppy!, by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin (Orca), is an alphabet book with a fun story arc, plus a seek-and-find game, all wrapped up in a package bursting with diversity across LGBTQ and other identities. Among other things, we see characters with two-spirit Pride flags and signs reading “Two Spirit Pride.” Full review.
- Things in the Sea are Touching Me! by Linda Jane Keegan and illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Scholastic New Zealand), published in both English and Maori, includes one mom with dark hair and a medium skin tone, presumably of Maori heritage. The book is published in New Zealand, however, and may be difficult to get elsewhere. That’s a shame, because it’s a fun tale about a girl exploring the seashore with her two moms, leery of what is touching her under the water (kelp, a small crab, etc.) After her Ma assures her that all is well, she calms down—but then Ma herself runs out of the water, yelling that something touching is her (Ma). The girl reassures her with a laugh that it’s only Mum. A lovely story with jaunty rhymes that could be about any parents and child, but that happens to be of a two-mom family.
These are all great books for reading at any time, whether they reflect your own culture and experiences or offer windows into others. Let’s hope there are even more in the coming year—as always, you can type “indigenous” into the tag field of my database to see what exists!
