As I’m writing now on the lands of the Coast Salish people, specifically the Duwamish, in a city named for Duwamish and Suquamish Chief Seattle, it feels appropriate to recognize the many ways Indigenous individuals and nations have shaped our society. One way we can do this is by centering Indigenous creators, like Indigenous authors, which is also a category for this year’s Book Bingo card. Check out one of these titles written by Indigenous authors who have connections to the Pacific Northwest:
Cowlitz author Elissa Washuta explores colonization, trauma, mental illness, and addiction in White Magic, with essays ranging from the Oregon Trail computer game, to her time as the Fremont Bridge writer-in-residence, plus an unforgettable piece on Twin Peaks and remembrance.
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk, by Nooksack and Upper Skagit author Sasha taqʷsəblu LaPointe, details LaPointe’s reckoning of seeking home when genocide, disease, abuse, and trauma have interrupted continued access to her ancestral land. LaPointe masterfully intersperses stories of her ancestors, including Comptia, one of the only Chinook people who survived smallpox, and her namesake great-grandmother Vi Hilbert, with her own upbringing and coming-of-age experiences. LaPointe also has a new collection of poetry out recently, Rose Quartz, which incorporates ritual, folklore, and pop culture into poems of healing and struggle.
Speaking of Vi taqʷsəblu Hilbert, Haboo: Native American Stories from Puget Sound is her collection of stories and legends from the Lushootseed-speaking peoples of the region. Realizing that native speakers of Lushootseed were dying out and that the oral traditions of sharing stories and teaching lessons might not survive, Hilbert recorded and transcribed as many stories as she could in this unique collection.
Dina Gilio-Whitaker is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Eastern Washington and the author of As Long as Grass Grows: the Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, From Colonization to Standing Rock. This history of Indigenous resistance to both governmental and corporate intrusions on Native land particularly highlights the need for Indigenous approaches to environmental justice today, as Gilio-Whitaker problematizes some of the tactics and frameworks of non-Native environmental groups and offers possibilities for moving forward.
Ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph is a member of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) First Nation, the founder of Sḵwálwen Botanicals, and the author of Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness. This recent release discusses how to move toward right relationship with plants and the land and the impacts of colonization and cultural erasure on the natural world, then provides a detailed reference guide to local flora and their uses.
Poet and educator Casandra López, who is Tongva, Luiseño, Cahuilla, and Chicana, teaches at Northwest Indian College on the Lummi Reservation. Her poetry collection Brother Bullet contextualizes personal and collective grief as she explores the murder of her brother and Indigenous ancestry across borders.
Tributaries traces Shawnee history through poetry from 1830s forced removal and relocation, through allotment and the Dawes act, to present day from Redmond Poet Laureate Laura Da’, who is Eastern Shawnee. Whether describing Midwestern plains or the waters of the Pacific Northwest, Da’ grounds the reader in the lands of her people.
Additional picks for titles by Indigenous Authors are available on our website.
~Posted by Jane S.
For more ideas for books to meet your Summer Book Bingo challenge, follow our Shelf Talk #BookBingoNW2023 series or check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2023 on social media. Book Bingo is presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures.
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