Veterans: Native Stories

Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Created in partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war.

With an author's note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, this is a story that reveals the roots that ground us, the dreams that help us soar, and the people and traditions that hold us up.

Product Description: The Diné (Navajo) language helped win World War II, and it lives on in this book, as the Code Talkers remember the war and reflect on the aftermath and the legacy they will leave behind. The veterans, able to speak to a daughter of one of their own in English and Diné, truly shared from their hearts. They not only provided more battlefield details, but they also reveal how their war experiences affected themselves and the generations that followed.

Ira Hayes, a member of the Pima tribe, was one of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, catapulting him to celebrity status. His life became a struggle against fame and then alcoholism, ending when he was only 32 years old. This picture book biography features evocative paintings and concluding with additional factual information and photographs.

As a child of two military parents, Deb Haaland moved around a lot when she was young before finally settling in Albuquerque to be near family. But she persisted, studying hard and eventually earning a law degree. An enrolled member of the Pueblo Laguna nation, Deb was one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress, where she represented New Mexico's 1st District. In 2021, when the Senate confirmed her as President Biden's secretary of the interior, she became the first Native American in history to become a cabinet secretary.

The Klamath River, 1918. The native Yurok people of Northern California have been untouched by the savage world war raging in Europe -- until now. Three cousins are called to serve a nation that has given little but cruelty to their people. Thrust into battle on the Western Front, these young men struggle to preserve their humanity while facing the unspeakable horrors of the greatest military conflict ever known.