I am a book pusher. Think Tina Fey in Mean Girls at her desk chomping a chocolate doughnut and explaining, “Because I’m a pusher. I push people.” For me, it’s toward books I love, and especially, books I love by authors of underrepresented groups telling their stories their way.
As a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, I’ve always had my eye out for Indigenous authors. While I could fill the next few paragraphs with my picks, I thought it’d be more fun to talk to professional book pushers: Indigenous bookstore owners. Particularly, hear what Native horror or YA they love to sell (and we should be reading).
Let’s start in my home state of Oklahoma, with Heather Kathleen Moody Hall, Chikashsha Proprietor of Green Feather Book Company in Norman Oklahoma. Her first recommendation is Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith, which she describes as a contemporary mystery where main character Huggies Wolfe and his friends “take on mystery and social inequity alike.”
“It combines the power of community, the tragedy of Missing and Murdered indigenous Women (MMIW), and the never-ending fight against harmful stereotypes into a perfect jewel of a coming-of-age story,” Hall said.
One of Hall’s favorite horror stories of all time is The Hatak Witches by Devon Mihesuah. Set in Oklahoma, the story feels deeply personal and connected to her own family stories. “It features bits and pieces of cultural stories so familiar it feels like it could be told at a panther clan family gathering.”
For Paperbacks & Frybread owner Dominique Burleson of the Lumbee Tribe says when someone asks for Indigenous Horror, her go-to recommendation is Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. “Those of us who loved the Hunger Games post-apocalyptic dystopia are all grown up and need a stronger fright. This book fits the bill. Everyone I’ve recommended it to comes back wanting more!”
For Darcie Shultz, owner of Books and Burrow in Pittsburg, Kansas, and member of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, she is huge Cherie Dimaline fan and loves to recommend Funeral Songs for Dying Girls.
“It’s a complex, coming-of-age story exploring so many elements from grief to identity to love. I found the main character Winifried beautifully flawed and so many times I was heartbroken for her. I also love that Dimaline leaves room for vulnerability within her characters – it creates real moments of connection for the reader.”
One of Shultz’s tops reads of the year is the “simply brilliant” Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers. “Not only is the book physically stunning with haunting illustrations, but the writing is like nothing I’ve ever read. It’s a gruesome collection of short stories from a critical and powerful Native voice.”
Bookstores aren’t the only way to be a book pusher. Kinsale Drake is a Diné poet and author based out of the Southwest who founded the NDN Girls Book Club, which provides free literary programming for Native youth, uplifts Native authors, and distributes free Indigenous literature.
“This is such an exciting time for Native authors,” Drake said. “NDN Girls Book Club has given me a lot of hope for people’s interest in Indigenous Literature, especially our young ones. We need more Native voices getting published, taking independent routes, and redefining settler notions of success.”
Drake shares how excited she is for the new Never Whistle at Night dark fiction anthology bringing twenty-eight Indigenous authors together, including a forward by Stephen Graham Jones. “I think a lot of people don’t know how big of a deal it is that contemporary Indigenous writers are publishing themed anthologies— a lot of these stories haven’t coexisted in print before. It’s exciting and groundbreaking, not to mention the talent of who’s in here.”
Drake also recommends My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, “Gripping, chilling…the ultimate badass / internal-monologuing ‘Final Girl’ trope… but she’s Native and obsessive and emo (and she’ll let you know it).” She also loves to share two Louise Erdrich novels, The Round House “a heart-wrenching, gorgeous piece that handles its storyline with both care and realism” and The Night Watchman, “filled with incredible characters, important historical events, buoyed by a rare happy ending, and, my personal favorite, a hunky Native love interest.”
Over the past year, I’ve had some fantastic Indigenous titles pushed onto me through the Black Walnut Books Indigenous and Lit Book Club, a monthly subscription showcasing contemporary Indigenous authors and books. Owner Hillary Smith, Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, has found the book club to be “one of the most rewarding aspects of not just my bookselling career, but my life in general.”
“I feel honored to be able to connect with people from all over the world through the stories of Indigenous authors,” Smith said. “The picks have been some of the best books I have ever read, and I can’t wait to keep learning and growing through them.”
Two of those books Smith been recommending a lot lately are short story collections. Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers, “Ranging from horrifying to wondrous to funny this book is incredible” and God Isn’t Here Today by Francine Cunningham with “stories that range from spooky, funny ghost stories to straight up horror. I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to scary stuff, but this collection is so beautifully crafted even I could enjoy the gory stories.”
Nadine Teisberg, staff member at Birchbark Books owned by author Louise Erdrich, of enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa, recommend Bad Cree by Jessica Johns. “Jessica is a member of Sucker Creek First Nation and pulls you into Bad Cree with the very first sentence,” she said. “When the main character, Mackenzie, wakes up with a crow’s head in her hands, this is just the very beginning of the heart-pounding, plot-driven book that is Bad Cree. It’s a perfect mix of creepy and tantalizing.”
Teisberg also recommends one of her all-time favorite authors often, Cherie Dimaline. “The Marrow Thieves was the first I read by her and will always be my favorite, as it is truly one of the best dystopian novels ever written. You may feel like you’re constantly on the run with Frenchie, as he struggles to get away from the folks that are out to steal his bone marrow, the source of his dreams, but I promise you will be comforted with him also as he finds community and love in this dark world.”
As we head into November, which is Native American Heritage Month, I hope these book sellers have inspired you to do your own book pushing, especially of titles by Indigenous authors and even, bought at Indigenous-owned bookstores.
***
