The following list of resources was selected by members of the Education subcommittee of the Indigenous Peoples Day Committee. The emphasis is history and culture of the Haudenosaunee with some general books on Indigenous Peoples. This list is a good beginning. The authors of the recommended fiction, for example, have many more great books to read. The recommended websites will lead you to many more resources to explore.  Children’s and young adult books have had very limited representation by Indigenous authors. This is thankfully starting to change, so watch for new books coming out both in the adult and children’s fields.

If you are taking trips throughout New York State there are several great museums to visit which are run by Haudenosaunee people.

Picture Books

• A Peacemaker for Warring Nations, The Founding of the Iroquois League, Joseph Bruchac

• Giving Thanks, Jake Swamp

• We Are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom

• Berry Song, Michaela Goade

• Remember, Joy Harjo

• We are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, Traci Sorell

• I am Not a Number, Jenny Dupuis and Kathy Kacer

Middle Grades

• Children of the Longhouse, Joseph Bruchac

• Peacemaker, Joseph Bruchac

• Birchbark House series, Lousie Erdrich

• Indian Shoes, Cynthia Leitich Smith

• Skunny Wundy, Seneca Indian Tales, Arthur Parker

Young Adult

• My Good Man, Eric Gansworth

• Apple: Skin to the Core, Eric Gansworth

• One Real American, The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General, Joseph Bruchac

• Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians, But Were Afraid to Ask, Anton Treuer (Young Readers Edition)

• Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz (Young Readers Edition)

Adult Non-Fiction

• Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

• And Grandma Said, Iroquois Teachings, Tom Porter

• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, David Treuer

• Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz

• Custer Died for Your Sins, Vine Deloria

• The World We Used to Live In, Vine Deloria

• State New York, A History of Native American Land Rights in Up, Cindy Amhein

• America in 1492, The World of the Indian Peoples before the Arrival of Columbus, Alvin Josephy (ed.)

• Columbus: His Enterprise, Exploding the Myth, Hans Koning

• Rethinking Columbus The Next 500 Years, Resources for Teaching about the impact of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas, Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson (ed.)

• Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Indigenous Histories, Memories and Reclamations, Jacqueline Fear-Segal and Susan D. Rose (ed.)

• Indigenous Firsts, A History of Native American Achievements and Events, Yvonne Wakim Dennis, Arlene Hischfelder and Paulette F. Molin

Adult Fiction: A Sampling of Great Indigenous Authors

• The Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich

• Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko

• The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday

• The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Sherman Alexie

• There, There, Tommy Orange

Places to visit in person and/or web

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day Committee in Rochester, New York

  • Indigenouspeoplesdayrocny.org

• Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center

  • https://www.senecamuseum.org/

  • Located at 82 West Hetzel Street in Salamanca, New York 14779

• Akwesasne Travel

  • https://akwesasne.travel/

    • Plan your visit online or their suggested destinations online

• Haudenosaunee Guide For Educators

  • HAUDENOSAUNEE GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS

    • Download the Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators "designed to provide a deeper and more integrated understanding of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) life—past and present. This guide can serve to enrich the New York State–mandated curriculum.” *Sourced from The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

• The National Museum of The American Indian, NYC and DC

  • https://americanindian.si.edu/

  • 4th St SW, Washington, DC 20560

  • 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

  • Ask the museum about their initiatives for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

• Ganondagan Seneca Art and Cultural Center

  • ganondagan.org 

  • 7000 County Road 41, Victor, NY

  • Visit the website for hours, virtual programing and other event information

• Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center

  • https://www.skanonhcenter.org

  • 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy Liverpool, New York 13088

  • Visit website for online exhibits and hours for in person visit in Syracuse

• Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center

  • https://www.6nicc.com

  • 1462 County Route 60 Onchiota, NY 12989

• Rochester Museum and Science Center

  • https://rmsc.org

  • 657 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

  • Download the The Haudenosaunee Educator’s Guide on the Haudenosaunee and visit the exhibit Keepers of the Western Door

  • Ask the museum about their initiatives for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

• What is Wampum?

  • “This video, filmed on location at the Onondaga Nation School in Onondaga Nation, focuses on the history and purposes of wampum and wampum belts in the Haudenosaunee culture. Also included is a description of the Hiawatha Belt and its symbolism. This video accompanies New York State Education Department ELA curriculum module 4M1A.”

    • https://www.youtube.com

• Educational Guide, "Why does wampum matter?" (copyright Friends of Ganondagan 2023)

  • This 18 page social studies inquiry guide aligns with NYS 4th grade educational standards. It can be adapted for all grade levels and is also a great resource for adult learners.

    • Ganondagan Education Cirriculum: Why Does Wampum Matter?

• IllumiNative

  • https://illuminative.org/

    • “IllumiNative is a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to increasing the visibility of—and challenging the narrative about—Native peoples.”

• National Indian Education Association (NIEA)

  • https://www.niea.org/virtual-resources-for-parents-and-teachers

    • Digital Resources for Schools, Teachers, Parents, and Students