Indigenous Novels, Indigenized Worlds

Book excerpt: The fictional worlds created by many contemporary American and Canadian Indigenous novelists for young people provide unique access to the lived experiences of Indigenous people, past, present, and future and the often inaccessible worlds they inhabit. Readers age 10-16 will gain many insights about Indigenous people and themselves—Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers alike—through sustained immersion in fictional worlds where Indigenous people are foregrounded, active, autonomous, respected, and valued.