National Native Am,erican Heritage Month is celebrated each year in November. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages, and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation. The library hopes to help our patrons and visitors to the library to celebrate by choosing a reading selection from the library. In this column for the remainder of the month of November I will introduce our patrons to selections which can be checked out from the library. Our 1st selection is “Walking With Grandfather, The Wisdom of Lakota Elders” stories compiled by Joseph M.Marshall III. In “Walking With Grandfather,” Joseph M. Marshall -now an esteemed Lakota elder himself- unveils the core teachings imparted by those who raised him on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation of SD. With him, you will journey to the heart of Lakota wisdom through stories that blend true events from his boyhood with mythic tales known by every Lakota.

Our 2nd selection is “We Are Water Protectors” by Carole Lindstrom is a winner of the Caldecott Medal. “Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people’s water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.

Our 3rd selection is “… Walking Along … Plains Indian Trickster Stories” by Paul Goble. Goble has pulled together six of his best Iktomi stories and compiled them into a compendium of trouble, disaster, fun, and examples from which to learn. Iktomi is the Lakota name for the American Indian Trickster who appears in the stories of peoples all over the North American continent. He is famous for getting into mischief, causing trouble, and never learning the lessons handed out to him.