AADL recognizes Native American Heritage Month in November with videos, staff recommendations, quotes, and more.
AADL's IndigiLit Book Club
This discussion series celebrates Native American authors and books, across genres, across time, and across the continent.
• Sweetgrass Burning: Stories from the Rez by Barbara Robidoux
• This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid To Ask by Anton Treuer
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Stream These Films With Your Library Card
Powerlands
Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, a young Navajo filmmaker, investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies that have exploited the land where she was born. She travels to the La Guajira region in rural Colombia, the Tampakan region of the Philippines, the Tehuantepec Isthmus of Mexico, and the protests at Standing Rock. In each case, she meets Indigenous women leading the struggle against the same corporations that are causing displacement and environmental catastrophe in her own home. Inspired by these women, Ivey Camille brings home the lessons from these struggles to the Navajo Nation.
The Condor and the Eagle
Four leaders from impacted communities embark on an extraordinary trans-continental adventure from the Canadian Boreal forests to deep into the heart of the Amazonian jungle to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of justice. The Condor and the Eagle documentary offers a glimpse into a developing spiritual renaissance as the film's four protagonists learn from each other's long legacy of resistance to colonialism and its extractive economy. Their path through the jungle takes them on an unexpectedly challenging and liberating journey, which will forever change their attachment to the Earth and one another.
Rez Metal
When Navajo heavy metal band I Dont Konform sent out a demo album to Flemming Rasmussen, the Grammy Award-winning producer of Metallica, they never imagined that a few months later they would be rehearsing with him inside a hot Hogan on the Navajo reservation. As Rasmussen states after hearing their demo, "a specific technical element wasn't what stood out for me but the raw emotion and the thematic rage running through their music stood out as something refreshing and unique" - something true to the life of this metal band. Rez Metal explores the thriving heavy metal scene on the Navajo reservation through the remarkable story of I Dont Konform and their journey gaining popularity on reservations and recording their debut album in Denmark with one of the music industry's most influential producers.
Local History: Who Lived Here?
Christopher highlights a West Park sign that commemorates the many Native Americans, including the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandotte of the Huron Valley. The path through West Park is one of the many footpaths used by Native Americans at the time.
History of The Cherokee Phoenix Newspaper
Sequoyah, a Cherokee born in the late 18th century, invented a system of writing called the syllabary, which includes symbols that refer to consonant-vowel pairs instead of individual sounds. Christopher discusses The Cherokee people's adoption of the syllabary and the significance of The Cherokee Phoenix, the first indigenous American newspaper, in 1828.
Native American Heritage Month: Staff Recommendations
AADL staff members recommend several fiction and nonfiction books, podcasts, films, TV shows, and regional artists that explore different Native American nations, people, and cultures in rural and urban settings.
Quotes
Inspirational quotes are captured through collage art, calligraphy, printmaking, and hand lettering. Each quote encourages reflection about nature, sovereignty, and creativity.
Poems
Native American poets explore kinship, heritage, and wildlife through their impactful words. Their poems are brought to life through collage art, watercolors, and printmaking.
More from AADL
Discussion: No, Not Even for a Picture
An online presentation with Veronica Williamson and Lindsey Willow Smith, curators of the online exhibit No, Not Even for a Picture at the Clements Library, and the resulting poster exhibit previously on display at AADL's Downtown Library.
Art from Around the World | Anishinaabe Watercolors
Learn about Anishinaabe artworks, both historical and contemporary, and then create your own work inspired by an Anishinaabe story. Presented by Jamie John, enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians based in Traverse City.
The Power of Native Women
Throughout history, women have played an important role in the family and the community. But Native women have also helped shape our nation by fighting alongside warriors, becoming doctors and performing other courageous feats. Learn about the impact of these women from historian Heather Bruegl.