Speaking Volumes: Get to know about National Native American Heritage Day

By Presidential Proclamation, the day after Thanksgiving has been designated National Native American Heritage Day. It is a day to celebrate and recognize the contributions, culture, tradition and heritage of Native American societies.

As the first to live on this land, Native Americans and their traditions and values inspired the ideals of self-governance and determination that are the framework of our nation. While we cannot undo the pain and tragedy of the past, we can forge a brighter future of progress and hope across Indian country and the entire American landscape.

Here are some books that will help you learn more about Native Americans:

“The Wisdom of the Native Americans”

Edited by Kent Nerburn, it is filled with quotations by Native American leaders that inspire us with their wisdom. The words and evocative photographs in this book provide a dramatic visual and spiritual portrayal of Native American culture.

“As Long as the Rivers Flow”

Written by Paula Gunn Allen and Patricia Clark Smith, it profiles nine Native Americans in this collection that includes the accomplishments of notables such as Apache warrior Geronimo; entertainer Will Rogers; athlete Jim Thorpe; Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation; and others who overcame difficult obstacles to make history.

“Brave Are My People”

Written by celebrated author Frank Waters, it profiles legendary Native Americans with famous names such as Pontiac, Sequoyah, Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle, Osceola, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. The life stories of these great spiritual leaders have been largely unknown. Enjoy these profound, historical and exciting profiles.

“There There”

Written by Tommy Orange, it’s an extraordinary story of 12 Urban Indians living in Oakland, California. As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow, momentum builds toward a shocking conclusion. There will be communion, sacred traditions, pageantry, sacrifice, heroism and loss. This is a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America that few of us have ever seen. It’s fierce, funny, suspenseful, thoroughly modern and destined to be a classic.

“The Painted Drum”

Written by Louise Erdrich, it is compelling and unforgettable. While appraising the estate of a family descended from a North Dakota Indian Agent, Faye Travers is startled to discover a rare drum made of moose skin and cedar fashioned long ago by an Ojibwe artisan. The journey begins, both backward and forward in time, following the strange passage of a powerful yet delicate instrument, revealing the extraordinary effect it has had on those who have come into contact with it.

“Thirteen Moons”

Written by Charles Frazier, it is a powerful and dramatic Native American story. At the age of 12, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key and a map and is sent on a journey through the uncharted wilderness of the Cherokee Nation where he is obliged to run a remote Indian trading post.

These and other materials await you at your local library.

Call your local branch for more information on available titles.

▪ Central Library — 941-748-5555;

▪ Braden River — 941-727-6079;

▪ Island — 941-778-6341;

▪ Palmetto — 941-722-3333;

▪ Rocky Bluff — 941-723-4821;

▪ South Manatee — 941-755-3892.

You also can access the library via the internet at mymanatee.org/library.

Cathy Habora is a staff member at the Braden RIver Branch Library. Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday in the Bradenton Herald.