Top 4 Indigenous Authors Changing The Game

If you’re looking for stories on healing, survival, and cultural resurgence, take a look at these essential works of Native literature changing education and the perception of the world we live in. Written By: Raelynn Bichitty, Angelica Ortiz, Emily Wolford, Jason Peralta, Lizbet Porfirio, Mario Camacho, Reyna Reynosa, Tania Rogel, Shurene Premo, Jessica Vargas Hernandez, and Amrah Salomón J.

Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah Miranda

HeyDay Books / Via heydaybooks.com

“Modern art with elements of past Indian knowledge”

This compelling memoir culminates around overcoming the consequences of colonization and historical trauma within Indigenous communities. Miranda incorporates a concept discussed within the article Felt Theory by Dian Millon to emphasize the power that stories like hers have to expand discourse on the effects of colonialism, and as a result, allow for healing.

The structure of this memoir is based on the history of the Spanish Mission System in California between 1770-1836. She debunks popular historical myths about the impacts of the Mission system on Indigenous peoples, the Gold Rush, and shares evidence of the large amounts of money spent by the government in an attempt to annihilate Indigenous people.

Her captivating revelations about an untold history against the backdrop of personal and family tragedy and resilience illustrate her unique storytelling craft skills in which we see that she is able to emotionally rise above all the pain and misery that colonialism has brought Indigenous women. This book is powerful, important, and inspiring.

Giphy / Via media.giphy.com

There, There by Tommy Orange

Penquin Random House / Via penguinrandomhouse.com

“Reinvents Indigenous writing”

Tommy Orange has set himself apart as author of the momentum driven novel There, There - a heart pounding story set in modern-day Oakland, California that is experienced through multiple perspectives of urban Cheyenne tribal members. This powerful slow weaving collection of narratives culminates in one pivotal moment, like the opening of a dreamcatcher loop. Orange’s goal with this novel is to highlight non-conforming Native Americans in the inner city of Oakland and reject the typical portrayal of urban Natives in mass media.

This novel pushes cultural boundaries as it refrains from portraying Native Americans as unsuitable for modern society. Orange introduces a non-romanticized story of Indigenous people who overcome forced government assimilation, mirroring the common narratives urban natives shared as they moved to cities under the Indian Relocation Act. He acknowledges the power of stories to “decolonize spatial discourses” which allows Native perspectives to take precedence and allow for new learning and exploration of precolonial history of Native peoples and relinquished land. This includes re-establishing Indigenous identity that was ignored and dismissed by arriving colonists. This craft choice is a direct manifestation of opposing and reinventing indigenous presence - a concept explored in Mishuana Goeman’s article Re-Mapping Indigenous Presence on the Land.

Orange adds substance to his characters by humanizing them and giving them mainstream issues that non-Indigenous urban American readers can relate to. He retains a truthful and relatable voice in this exhilarating story, a voice that keeps Native youth invested through his reflection of raw human experiences and emotions.

Cineplex-Odeon Films / Via google.com

Nature Poem by Tommy Pico

Tin House Books / Via tinhouse.com

“Breaks with traditional poetry form”

Pico's complex poetry collection examines the effects of colonialism and the fact that Natives are modern people who are trying to eliminate negative assumptions and stereotypes. Pico demonstrates the modernity of Indigenous people through utilizing writing techniques such as text message abbreviations and pop song lyrics. In doing so, he draws in an important audience, the youth of today, who can relate to his writing and learn about what Native people experience day to day.

This books of poems unpacks how people stereotype others and specifically tackles how Indigenous people are assumed to be related to nature. It’s true that many Indigenous people do have a connection to mother Earth, yet it’s hard to be connected to mother earth when she is under so much concrete and asphalt. Pico teaches powerful lessons for any young person through his poems about colonialism, being a modern Native American, being a young queer person, and by describing his journey of wrestling with stereotypes that limit his identity in powerful and hilarious ways.

Mic/Teen Vogue / Via mic.com

Deer Woman by Elizabeth LaPensee`

Native Realities / Via nativerealities.com

“A woman’s strength to fight back”

Elizabeth La Pensee exercises preservation of cultural sovereignty in her comic book retelling of Deer Woman, an ancient Indigenous tale. At first, what seems like a revenge piece for perpetrators of rape and sexual violence turns into a reminder that true power comes from self-love and ownership of the body.

Statistically Indigenous women are suffering far higher numbers of violence than any other group of women. This vignette takes a spin on Deer Woman and encapsulates a continuous struggle against what Andrea Smith discusses in her book Conquest as the connection between spiritual appropriation and sexual violence, where consequences of power play over body, culture, and reproduction. Smith refers to these moments as examples of cultural prostitution, a concept that Haunani-Kay Trask developed, which is how taking without asking reflects the mentality of the dominant society. In Deer Woman, readers witness the Western, patriarchal practice of taking without asking as Indigenous women are victimized heteropatriarchy.

This ode to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) fights the persistent battle of sexually possessing people, accentuated by the unique artwork and self-defense techniques drawn by Jonathan R. Thunder to help empower readers. The feeling you reach when reading is coldness. You’ll find yourself cheering on the oppressed, while encouraging redemption as the black and white color effect of each page reinforces the turbulence of each setting. The music in the comic is fueled by dark energy that will leave you craving more artists changing the game and our reality, like LaPensee.

Shurene Premo / Via google.com