Graphic Novels by Indigenous Authors and/or Illustrators from Perpich Library

November 18, 2025

November is Indigenous Heritage Month! Here are some fantastic graphic novels by Indigenous authors and/or illustrators.

“Sequential storytelling and graphic media has a long history. Sadly, though, much of those historical materials portray Indigenous characters fraught with dehumanizing stereotypes, tropes, and, at times, outright racism. Such misrepresentation marginalizes and minimizes our rich, varied, and diverse cultures… graphic and sequential storytelling media represents a relatively new frontier for the accurate portrayal of Indigenous characters, rather than just stereotypical representations.” Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo) (author of Native Americans in Comic Books)

All items on this list are available at the Perpich library. Click on titles for more information.

1. Bad Medicine by Christopher Twin (Cree, Canada)
After wandering out to the river near their homes, five teens decide to build a fire and exchange horror stories. Chad begins by telling the group about an unfortunate fisher who encountered a cluster of small, malevolent creatures while navigating the river in his canoe. Attempting to defend himself, Carl lashed out with an oar… and his world changed forever. One by one, the teens try to outdo each other, and the evening evolves into an impromptu storytelling competition.

2. Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History by Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Band of Chippewa/Ojibwe, Minnesota)
This book explores the fur trade from an Ojibwe perspective, offering insights into Ojibwe life, kinship and clan systems, technologies, and puts Ojibwe women back at the heart of this remarkable era. The fur trade was the first global trading system and the Ojibwe people were key players in a historical period that has shaped the geography, social structures, the history of Minnesota, and the nation. More than 800 pen and ink drawings, connecting historical records and art, oral traditions, Western and Indigenous scholarship, family history, and contemporary artisans, tell this important history.

3. A Girl Called Echo, Volume 1: Pemmican Wars by Katherena Vermette (Red River Métis, Canada); illustrated by Scott Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk
Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl adjusting to a new home and school, is struggling with loneliness while separated from her mother. Then an ordinary day in Mr. Bee’s history class turns extraordinary, and Echo’s life will never be the same. During Mr. Bee’s lecture, Echo finds herself transported to another time and place―a bison hunt on the Saskatchewan prairie―and back again to the present. In the following weeks, Echo slips back and forth in time.

4. Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life by Alina Pete (Cree, Canada)
First Nations culture is living, vibrant, and evolving, and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up with pop culture creeping inexorably into our lives. From gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, Indigenous culture is so much more than how it’s usually portrayed. Indiginerds is here to celebrate those stories!

5. Little Moons by Jen Storm (Ojibwe, Couchiching First Nation, Canada); illustrated by Ryan Howe and Alice RL (Ojibwe, Canada)
In this moving graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Reanna grieves the loss of her older sister. Can she find comfort through her family’s Ojibwe traditions? It’s been a year since Reanna’s sister, Chelsea, went missing on her way home from school. Without any idea of what happened, Reanna and her family struggle to find closure.

6. The Spirit of Denendeh, Volume 1: A Blanket of Butterflies by Richard Van Camp (Dogrib Tłı̨chǫ, Dene Nation, Canada); Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk
No one knows how a suit of samurai armour ended up in the Fort Smith museum. When a mysterious stranger turns up to claim it, Sonny, a young Tlı̨chǫ Dene boy, is eager to help.

7. Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story written by David A. Robertson (Swampy Cree, Canada); illustrations by Scott B. Henderson
Inspired by true events, this story of strength, family, and culture shares the awe-inspiring resilience of Elder Betty Ross. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy is adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changes. Betsy is taken away to a residential school. There she is forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalls the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls―words that give her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive.

8. This Place: 150 Years Retold by various authors
Explore the past 150 years in what is now Canada through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.

9. Thunderous by M.L. Smoker (Assiniboine/Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation) & Natalie Peeterse; illustrated by Dale Ray DeForest (Navajo)
If Aiyana hears one more traditional Lakota story, she’ll scream! More interested in her social media presence than her Native American heritage, Aiyana is shocked when she suddenly finds herself in a magical world-with no cell coverage! Pursued by the trickster Raven, Aiyana struggles to get back home, but is helped by friends and allies she meets along the way. Her dangerous journey through the Spirit World tests her fortitude and challenges her to embrace her Lakota heritage. But will it be enough to defeat the cruel and powerful Raven?

10. Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki
In Native American traditions, the trickster takes many forms, from coyote or rabbit to raccoon or raven. The first graphic anthology of Native American trickster tales, Trickster brings together Native American folklore and the world of comics. In Trickster, 24 Native storytellers were paired with 24 comic artists, telling cultural tales from across America. Ranging from serious and dramatic to funny and sometimes downright fiendish, these tales bring tricksters back into popular culture.

All items on this list are available at the Perpich Library.

Title descriptions are provided by Amazon and/or the publisher.