Native Athletes in Action by Vincent Shilling (Ages 9-14, Grades 4-8)

This book is about Native athletes such as Richard Dionne (Sioux) CBA Basketball Champion, Cheri Becerra-Madsen (Omaha)-Wheelchair Racing Olympian, World Record Holder, Stephanie Murata (Osage) National Wrestling Champion, Jim Thorpe (Sauk and Fox) Olympian/Football/Baseball, etc. I especially liked the story of Naomi Lang, member of the Karuk tribe and ice dancer since I also love dancing and skating. Not only do we learn of famous Native athletes through this book, but we also learn about their childhood and the tribes from which they came.

Navajo Long Walk : Tragic Story Of A Proud Peoples Forced March From Homeland (Ages 10-14 Grades 5-7)

"We were given two ears so that we may hear both sides of every story" ---Joseph Bruchac


Navajo Long walk tells the story of the Navajo people’s forced journey from their beloved homeland to the Bosque Redondo, a journey of 470 miles. Americans Colonels and Generals such as General James H Carleton and Kit Carson believed that the Navajo people were enemies and that they should be defeated in battle and then removed completely from their lands. Though Navajos tried desperately to reason with General Carleton, he refused to see reason or listen to the Navajo side of the story. The combination of illustrations and text (text by Brachac and illustrations by Begay) tell the story of the suffering of the Navajo people as they faced fatigue, starvation, and death during their journey as well as the renewed sense of hope as they were finally allowed to return to their beloved land and live in peace.