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Reading Recommendations for Native American Heritage Month

American Indian activists began working to establish a national “American Indian Day” in the early 20th century. Native advocates like Arthur C. Parker, Sherman Coolidge, and Red Fox James believed that a national day of observation would commemorate the Indigenous community’s history and culture. Various individual states established “American Indian Days” between 1915 and 1920; more recently, some states—including Massachusetts—have changed the second Monday of October, formerly “Columbus Day,” to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” to focus on the stories of the Native peoples who existed in these lands before European contact, rather than on the oppressors, and to acknowledge the United States’ complicated legacy of colonialism and white violence. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush declared November National Native American Heritage Month (also known as “American Indian Heritage Month”).

Throughout November, visit the Hub on the first floor of Snell Library to explore our print collections featuring Native and Indigenous authors. If you’re not in Boston (and even if you are), make sure to check out the e-books and audiobooks on our virtual bookshelf! Here are some recommended reads from our collection:

Cover of The Only Good Indians


The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (2020): If Halloween didn’t fulfill your cravings for creepy, check out the book Entertainment Weekly called “one of 2020’s buzziest horror novels.” The dark past of four American Indian families leave them terrorized by a vindictive entity determined to make them pay for their sins.



Cover of Split Tooth


Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq (2018): This award-winning novel by Inuk throat singer and artist Tanya Tagaq traces a girlhood in 1970s Nunavut, blending myth and memoir. The audiobook is read by Tagaq herself.




Cover of Poet Warrior


Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo (2021): Three-time United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo writes about her ancestry and the tribal stories and traditions that shaped her. She meditates on grief, loss, ritual, memory, music, joy and everything in between.




Cover of This Land is Their Land


This Land is Their Land: The Wompanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman (2019): Historian David J. Silverman unmasks the truth behind the simple, cheerful Thanksgiving story still taught in kindergartens around the country, and places the Wampanoag tribe at the center of the narrative.

Reading Recommendations for National Hispanic Heritage Month

Bienvenidos a Northeastern, and happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Initially recognized as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, the celebration of Hispanic American history was expanded to a month-long event in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, and is observed from September 15-October 15 each year. Here at the Northeastern University Library, we’ve curated a selection of recreational reading that highlights Hispanic voices, stories, and culture.

Visit the Hub on the first floor of Snell Library to check out the print collection, which includes titles in both English and Spanish. If you’re not on the Boston campus, enjoy any of the e-books or audiobooks linked from our virtual bookshelf! Here are some recommended reads:

The cover of The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas (2022)

This Gothic fairytale begins in the years following the Mexican War of Independence. Beatriz, left orphaned and homeless by the war, marries a wealthy widower and moves to his secluded country estate. But as she settles into her new home, Beatriz begins to hear voices and see visions, and to wonder what really happened to her husband’s first wife.

The cover of Violeta by Isabel Allende

Violeta by Isabel Allende (2022)

The newest novel from the award-winning author of The House of the Spirits and Zorro (among many others!) follows the momentous hundred-year life of Violeta Del Valle, from her birth in 1920 until her death a century later.



The cover of Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through America's Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through America’s Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez (2020)

The son of Mexican immigrants living in Washington, Noé Álvarez left college to participate in the Peace and Dignity Journey: a months-long run organized every four years by Indigenous and First Nations communities, with the intention of fostering and reaffirming cultural connections among First Nations peoples.

New DVDs for Cold Winter Nights

I’ve just updated this week’s New Titles in Snell Library, and I noticed we’ve got a nice crop of new DVDs. If you like biopics, there’s Temple Grandin, about an autistic woman who becomes a pioneer in animal psychology. Hipsters? Catch Julie Christie in Darling (1965), about an English model and her descent into corruption. Or for those who like the classics, watch Ninotchka (1939), a lighthearted comedy about visitors to Paris who ascend into corruption (Garbo laughs!). For date night, borrow Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, based on a graphic novel about what it takes to win the girl of your dreams. A more serious take on love would be Vincere (“Win”, 2009) about the love between Benito Mussolini and Ida Dalser (in Italian), or Un Coeur en Hiver (“A Heart in Winter”, 2006), centering on the love triangle between a concert violinist, her lover, and his best friend (in, you guessed it, French). Working your way through this year’s Oscar nominees? Our newest arrival is the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right (2010), with great acting from Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian parents of two teenage kids. Another family drama, Please Give (2010), explores the dynamics of a Manhattan family waiting for their neighbor to die so they can take over and renovate her apartment. Every week we update our lists of New Titles. You can browse the lists, or subscribe to the RSS feed, depending on your interests. Choose a subject like mathematics, or you can view new videos or new titles from our high-interest award-winning titles in the first floor Hub reading area.