In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, check out these science fiction and fantasy books by authors indigenous to the Americas, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Compiled by:
Jack K.
SF Roanhor
Inspired by Pre-Columbian Americas civilizations, this novel is set in the holy city of Tova during the winter solstice. The story follows a ship carrying a harmless passenger, Serapio, who is blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel.
Dimalin
This novel is inspired by the Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou, a werewolf-like creature haunting native communities. Joan, a Métis woman, has been searching for her missing husband, Victor, for nearly a year. One morning, she finds a preacher inside a revival tent who is unmistakably Victor, and he doesn’t remember Joan at all. In this imaginative and sensuous fable, Joan must uncover the truth and remind Victor of his true identity.
Erdrich
Louise Erdrich explores the world as it is ending due to a catastrophic event. The world is reversing, and women are giving birth to primitive human infants. Cedar Hawk Songmaker, a 26-year-old pregnant woman, is forced to find her birth mother, Mary Potts, to understand her and her baby's origins.The novel is an essential collection for readers and students of Native literature and science fiction.
GN Girl Called Echo v. 1
Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl, struggles with loneliness and separation from her mother. In a history class, she is transported to a bison hunt on the Saskatchewan prairie and back to the present, experiencing the Pemmican Wars and other historical events in this new graphic novel series.
SF Love
A groundbreaking fiction anthology featuring emerging 2SQ writers from Turtle Island, showcasing their visionary narratives of queer Indigenous communities' vivacity and strength amidst settler colonialism's histories. The stories explore bio-engineered AI rats, space transplanted trees, 2SQ resistance camps, virtual reality applications, and space-time continuum bending.
Y Love
A collection of Indigenous science fiction and urban fantasy focusing on LGBTQIA+ and two-spirit characters. These stories range from a transgender woman undergoing an experimental transition process to young lovers separated through decades and meeting in their own far future.
Jones
A darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy whose family lives on the fringe of society. He must decide whether he belongs with them or the people on the other side of the tracks. Mongrels alternates between past and present, creating an unforgettable portrait of a boy trying to understand his family and place in a complex world.
Rice
A post-apocalyptic novel by a rising literary voice. The story follows a small northern Anishinaabe community as winter approaches, leading to chaos and panic. A group of young friends and families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition to help their community thrive. The novel upends expectations, highlighting the resilience of one society as another is reborn.
GN Moonshot Indigenous Comics Collection v. 1
A collection featuring a diverse range of North American comic book and graphic novel stories, showcasing the rich heritage and identity of Indigenous storytelling.
Robinso
This coming-of-age novel blends everyday teen life with Indigenous beliefs, family dynamics, and cannibalistic river otters. Jared is only 16 years old, but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life and struggles to keep everything afloat. He puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster—that he isn't human.
SF Taylor
A collection of nine stories inspired by science fiction legends, blending nostalgia with a modern First Nations discourse. The stories explore themes such as alien contact, space travel, and government conspiracies.
SF Givhan
Anthropologist Calliope Santiago finds herself in a sinister wasteland, navigating a dangerous landscape with her twins. Calliope must reconcile her heritage with her past to survive and deliver her unborn babies in this novel rooted in Indigenous oral history traditions and contemporary apocalypse fiction.
SF Walking
Walking the Clouds is a first-ever anthology of Indigenous science fiction, featuring contributions from Native American, First Nations, Aboriginal Australian, and New Zealand Maori authors. It is an essential book for readers and students of Native literature and science fiction, providing insights into the traditions of imagining an Indigenous future.
Y Edgmon
Wyatt Croft, a trans witch, must confront his past and the royal fiancé he left behind to save a fae kingdom. After losing control of his magic, he flees to the human world, where Emyr North hunts him down. As the witches face worsening conditions, Wyatt must decide between his people and freedom.