This book was ok, it wasn't as good as expected. I felt there wasn't enough information and I ended up googling for more info about different people. I liked the in-between parts about the history of natives and being colonised etc. I enjoyed reading about the more historical people than the more modern ones and it has gave me some people that I would like to find out more about.

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present
Author, Adrienne Keene
Illustrator, Ciara Sana
Pub date: 10.19.21

I absolutely love books formatted in this way! Notable Native Americans is a beautifully illustrated and educational book that highlights 50 Native Americans.

The lives, stories, and contributions of these Indigenous people with whom Keene chose to highlight each are unique in their own way- from grassroots organizer, educator, and advocate for generations, Madonna Thunder Hawk to a fourth- generation runner, Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel to author, Tommy Orange. Artists, activists, scientists, athletes, authors, educators, cultural practitioners, beadworkers, leaders, changemakers, and so many more. And such a balanced collection of individuals- not historical tribal chiefs such as Tecumsah, Geronimo, or Sitting Bull, some of the only few we learned about in our history lessons in elementary school, but of Indigenous people from the past and present who have made numerous contributions in so many arenas. Keene chose a wonderfully diverse group of individuals- from the cultural groups of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Kanaka Maoli, all within a wide range of genders, ages, identities, and locations.

What I found most compelling about Notable Native People is that not only is this book an informative collection of individuals, it also discusses issues relative to the Indigenous people- land and water rights, stereotypes, and colonization, just to name a few. This book is an inspirational read for those who want to learn more about the Native American heritage, culture, experiences, and of 50 Notable Native People of the past and of the present. I would love to own a physical copy of this beautiful book, so that my children and I could come back to it again and again constantly learning more about this special collection of remarkable individuals.

Thank you NetGalley, Adrienne Keene, and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read and review this e- ARC!

An excellent look at modern Native American contributors to our world. This culture is seldom highlighted for it's modern influences and there are many. It was a fascinating read to see these brilliant peoples work and how it's changing and building our world better. I couldn't recommend this enough. History is often written only on the past this is a history in the making read.

This book is a stellar must-read for everyone. I learned so much about the 50 inspiring Native people, both from the past and present. I also appreciated the perspectives on the ongoing harms of blood quantum and settler-colonialism, to name a few. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and a perfect accompaniment to the text, Good Native American representation matters, and this #ownvoices book absolutely delivers.

Thank you #Netgalley for the free digital ARC.

i am so happy and thankful i got this ARC! as a native person myself, seeing so many people and so much culture being celebrated was very moving. the book not only provides names and beautiful illustrations but also some very relevant data about the racism native americans face today. very important read, highly recommend!

This was so wonderful and informative. Keene managed to convey a great depth of information without being overwhelming or confusing, and - even more impressive - did so while keeping each profile down to relatively short, bite-sized chunks. An excellent primer on both Native American history and the contemporary issues they continue to face.

I featured this in an article about memoirs and biographies for teens for the October issue of School Library Journal. It will likely be paywalled and only available in print, at least so far, so no link to give you.

This book is beautifully crafted from start to finish and I could feel the care and love that the author put into every word. There were names and faces I was familiar with but many more that I was not and the book took longer to read than expected because I kept stopping to Google and learn more about certain individuals. I especially appreciate that the author made it a point to include Indigenous Hawaiian and Afro-Indigenous peoples.

This book offers so much, not just to Indigenous people’s, but everyone. The author takes the time to discuss the ongoing issues that effect Indigenous people’s today such as identity, representation, land, climate change, and land. I highly encourage non-Indigenous folx to read these portions with extra care. The author has poured so much emotional labour into these pages. Please repay this by sitting in whatever discomfort you may be feeling and then continue to do your own research.

As Métis person and a youth worker books like this fill my heart up and I am so grateful to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy to review. This is one I will be adding to my shelves and coming back to time and time again. My only wish is that the selection of peoples was not confined by colonial borders and represented peoples from all over Turtle Island. Next time, perhaps.

This book is a well researched, well crafted collection not only of 50 incredible indigenous voices, but also of every bit of background information for the non-native reader to understand the struggle and activism that it takes to fight for one's rights as an indigenous person in the United States.
I loved the fact that the text mentioned important quotes from almost everyone in this collection, that made it feel really personal, knowing their words about what they're fighting for.
Plus, this book features some gorgeous illustrations, so it's something that you're guaranteed to pick up every once in a while, just to look at it and read through some of it's sections.

This book is an outstanding example of the inclusivity that we need to be celebrating in literature today. Brilliant on every level.

This is an incredible book that belongs in every household, if you ask me. I hate to say that everything within its pages was relatively new to me, but I guess that is the point!

Notable Native People profiles 50 American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian people. It is a celebration of the achievements of the people who belong to these communities, and I found it to be such an inspiring and educational read.

The illustrations are also beautiful - you can pick this book up without noticing the incredible artistry that went into it.

I think this is a very well curated collection that everyone should take the time to read!

Notable Native People is one of those books you want to buy in bulk and hand out to everyone you meet. Dr. Keene not only provides information on who each person is, what they have accomplished, and what they have overcome, but also provides a crucial context that allows non-Native readers to fully understand Native history and its effect on the United States and the sovereign tribal nations within it.

Author Dr. Adrienne Keene does a fabulous job of balancing biographical information with cultural context. Essays that include colonialism information, land back background, Native belonging, representation in media, and current issues in Native lands are interspersed with the short biographies of Native people. Each notable Native person has their own beautiful illustration, making this book accessible for all ages.

There is a wide representation of Indigenous tribes represented. Those profiled include women, men, and non-binary individuals from many tribes and nations. The experiences covered in this book are vast, making each biography unique and stand on its own. Each individual is treated with respect and referred to by their preferred names.

The inclusion of Alaska Native and Maoli (Native Hawaiian) was highly informational. I especially appreciated the history and context of the Hawaiian monarchy overthrow and the process of how Alaska and Hawaii became states. The annexation of Hawaii to the United States was illegal, and something I was not taught about in school. This book also discusses how Alaska Natives living in the Aleutian islands were removed to internment camps during WWII, which is also not widely known or discussed in general public education.

Though the historical context and explanations were enlightening and informative, my favorite parts of this book were the biographies. There are so many wonderful people working hard to protect Native land, culture, history, and practices. It is hope giving to read how Native people have continually persevered and strived to protect their traditions. There are many people actively working to make a difference, and reading their stories is an honor.

What I love the absolute most is the sharing of Native joy. So much of our history has been portrayed as loss filled and sorrowful. While all of these things have occurred, every group of people is more than the worst things that have happened to them. This book really highlights that, showing joy in knowing who you are and where you’re from. All of these individuals are change makers having an impact on their own community and the world at large, and I am grateful to have learned about them.

As a citizen of Cherokee Nation, I often seek out books that highlight and discuss Indigenous experiences and/or are from Native authors. I was thrilled to read about my fellow Cherokees, and also fulfilled learning about our neighboring tribal nations and their customs. I was already familiar with Dr. Keene, as I listen to her podcast, All My Relations (I highly recommend it); she has a gift for explaining historical impact on modern people, and for exploring the nuance of what it means to be Native in a world where so often we are seen as fragments of the past. I highly recommend not only this book, but all of her work.

Notable Native People would be an excellent classroom resource, as its structure allows for continuous or interspersed reading. It is full of wonderful information, inspiring stories, and an honest representation of Native life now and throughout history.

Notable Native People will be available October 19, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley, Ten Speed Press, and Dr. Adrienne Keene for an advanced digital copy such that I could write this honest review.

This was beautifully constructed and very informative - the array of native people displayed in this book was very diverse and wide-ranging (at least to me). I always struggle a bit with remembering the individual people after i finish a book like this because of its format but that’s no fault of the book but one of my own, and I’m happy I learned about these people. I think the chapters in between about settler colonialism and the realities of colonialism in the us, canada and other areas of the world were a really valuable addition. This book has made me want to dive deeper into the culture of Native people, and the recommendations in this book have given me some excellent suggestions where to start!

I don’t see many books spotlighting Native American people, particularly contemporary Native American movers and shakers, so this book caught my eye right away. I appreciated that the book was written by a Cherokee woman who curated a thoughtful, eclectic group from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, tribal and social identities from among the 574 federally recognized American tribal nations and some non-recognized tribes including the most recent Kanaka Maoli in Hawaiian Islands and Alaska Natives when their territories were annexed. Each bio identifies the person’s name, tribe by the recognized designation or what the tribe calls themselves, like Kanaka Maoli, rather than past common tribe names, Hawaiian, and their contribution to society. I recognized a few, but was excited to learn about the many more who were chosen for the book.

Notable Native People was a celebration of these groundbreaking lives, but also a good education tool. The author presented a series of short bio pieces accompanied by a pictorial graphic of each and then placed informational bits between the sets of bios. Indigenous, external and settler colonialism, cultural appropriation, and issues such as climate changed, sacred sites, missing and murdered women at higher rate than other ethnic groups and more are addressed.

Some of the contributions of these spotlighted people were intriguing like ‘seed keeper’ for indigenous foods and farmers who work to restore the indigenous growing methods, ‘culture keeper’, and language revitalization (linguistics who researched and restored the languages to their tribes).

All in all, I was glad to get to know a bit about these amazing individuals from the past and present who worked to preserve their culture and even their group tribal identity, to learn about what they faced historically and now, and to better grasp where they are coming. I thought this short book did a fab job of conveying all this from the easy-read style to the heart the author showed in introducing the world to her people. I will definitely be hunting down the author’s posts and check out her pod cast work for more.

The People come from many tribes and this book highlights many who have not only overcome but stand out among many nations. OK, so the first persons I looked for were Maria Tallchief ballerina extraordinaire and Buffy Sainte Marie. But there are so many from history and the present, potters, other artists of all sorts, museum directors, and some very historical movers and shakers. This book is a great learning tool for ALL Americans, including the new ones (but the ESL is a bit challenging). Buy one for yourself, but buy one for your local library, too! Excellent!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, Ten Speed Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Notable Native People is a collection and historical identification of 50 prominent indigenous leaders. It’s unfathomable to me to look back in US history and see what can basically be termed as genocide of indigenous peoples.

“To be Indigenous is to be of a place, to have creation stories of how your people emerged from the land, and to be connected to a community from that place.”

I feel this 100%! I was born and raised in Hawaii, we come from a line tracing back to Native Hawaiians. I never realized the connection I felt with the land and the people until I moved away and came back to visit.

The stories in the book provides only a slight understanding of indigenous culture. But I gained a lot of insight into other Indigenous cultures. And it was also nice to see parts of my culture written down for others to enjoy!

This book is a must have and a must read!

An incredibly informative book that gives a range of different characters who have, both historically and currently, helped to shape Native identity and history. A very important book for seeing the hidden struggle behind a lot of this, However, at times it does veer into a political tract not just for Native emancipation but for dominance too.

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

This book is so crammed full of many notable native people it's difficult to choose a favorite. All have accomplished great things in their particular gifting and/or skill, often spending a lifetime of commitment to them for the sake of teaching and/or benefiting others. Some are artists, filmmakers, beadwork makers; linguists (Sequoyah was pretty cool); carvers, activists, dancers, basket makers, educators, advocates of their causes and more.

All have a common goal, or actually a two-faceted goal. One facet is to educated their younger generations to know and appreciate their Native culture and traditions, and to stand up for their Native rights. The other is to give more accurate representation to non-Native people of their Native ways and history; to give knowledge, understanding and insight, which in turn, will hopefully impact the non-Native peoples into infinitely better treatment of the Native peoples with justice, kindness and respectful dignity.

It struck me that many of these notable native people are so environmentally caring, passing this deep desire to protect the land, not just for themselves, but for Earth, in general. I have learned much but am aware I've only just scratched the surface. We non-Native people have much more to learn.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

September 2021

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy given by the publisher.

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Notable Native People is an illustrated book profiling 50 Indigenous people with short bios about their lives, struggles and contributions. From Alaska Native to Native Hawaiian, from artists in the nineteenth century to activists that spread awareness now, from Black Native people to ones that identify as Two Spirit - Adrienne Keene did an amazing job at including a large variety of different Indigenous lives and experiences. I really liked that many of the individuals did not live centuries ago but have inspired change only recently. Oftentimes Native people are written off and represented as something of the past but Notable Native People highlighted how reviving traditions, fighting for more rights and celebrating Indigenous lives is something that is happening now - a lot of people just aren’t aware of it. I also really appreciated the accessible and informative additional chapters about colonialism, representation, current issues and more. The illustrations were beautiful and I really liked the art style.
Notable Native People is an educational and quick read if you’re looking to expand your knowledge of Native People or if you just want to let yourself be inspired by these incredible individuals. I really enjoyed this informative and eye-opening book and highly recommend that you check it out.