The Greatest Books of All Time on Indigenous People

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
485 Tristes Tropiques Claude Lévi-Strauss 1955 French French
558 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Alexander Brown 1970 American English
1002 Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko 1977 American English
1059 The True History of the Conquest of New Spain Bernal Díaz del Castillo 1632 Spanish Spanish
1145 The Bone People Keri Hulme 1984 New Zealand English
1318 Love Medicine Louise Erdrich 1984 American English
1507 Bless Me, Ultima Rudolfo Anaya 1972 American English
1890 Obasan Joy Kogawa 1981 Canadian English
1985 Black Elk Speaks John G. Neihardt 1932 American English
2069 The Round House Louise Erdrich 2012 American English
3065 The Secret River Kate Grenville 2005 Australian English
3118 The Nine Guardians Rosario Castellanos 1957 Mexican Spanish
3312 Into The Heart Of Borneo Redmond O'Hanlon 1984 British English
3324 Broad and Alien is the World Ciro Alegría 1941 Peruvian Spanish
3637 The Logbook Of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus 1493 Multiple Spanish
3931 Mean Spirit Linda Hogan 1990 American English
4231 Pounamu, Pounamu Witi Ihimaera 1972 New Zealand English
4522 Te Puea Michael King 1978 New Zealand English
5161 Die Söhne Der Großen Bärin Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich 1951 German German
5599 The Lost City of Z David Grann 2009 American English
5684 Moriori Michael King 1989 New Zealand English
5862 France And England In North America Francis Parkman 1865 American English
5977 1491 Charles C. Mann 2005 American English
7044 The Beothuk Way John Kitchen 1991 Canadian English
7104 Māori Michael King 2003 New Zealand English
7622 Dropbear Evelyn Araluen 2021 Australian English
7714 We Were Not The Savages Daniel N. Paul 1993 Canadian English
7820 Men Of Maize Miguel Angel Asturias 1949 Guatemalan Spanish
8107 The Land Of Little Rain Mary Austin 1903 American English
8353 River Thieves Michael Crummey 2001 Canadian English
8735 Tangata Whenua Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris 2014 New Zealand English
8958 Quarup Antonio Callado 1967 Brazilian Portuguese
8965 O Uraguai Basílio Da Gama 1769 Brazilian Portuguese
9002 The Flame Trees Of Thika Elspeth Huxley 1959 British English
9031 The Storyteller Mario Vargas Llosa 1987 Peruvian Spanish
9087 City Of Kings Rosario Castellanos 1960 Mexican Unknown
9322 Terra Nullius Sven Lindqvist 2007 Swedish Swedish
10166 Laughing Boy Oliver La Farge 1929 American English
10305 Travels In The Congo André Gide 1927 French French
10305 The Broken Spears Miguel Leon-Portilla 1959 Mexican Spanish
10567 The Mighty Red Louise Erdrich 2024 Unknown English
10616 Madukka The River Serpent Julie Janson 2022 Unknown English
11499 What The Colonists Never Knew Dennis Foley, Peter Read 2020 Unknown English
11532 Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa Mungo Park 1799 British English
12325 Conquest Of Mexico Hugh Thomas 1993 British English
12514 Grandmothers Of The Light Paula Gunn Allen 1991 American English
12621 The Missionary Movement In Christian History Andrew Walls 1996 Scottish English
14897 Great River Paul Horgan 1954 American English
14984 The Rifles William T. Vollmann 1994 American English
15683 Mexico Nicolas Cheetham Unknown English
15858 Through the Dark Continent Henry M. Stanley 1878 British English
15908 The Fur Trade In Canada Harold A. Innis 1930 Canadian English
15908 La Salle And The Discovery Of The Great West Francis Parkman 1869 American English
16543 The Nez Perce Indians And The Opening Of The Northwest Jr., Alvin Josephy 1965 American English
17150 Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers Robert Bringhurst 2000 Canadian English
17150 History of the American Frontier Frederic L. Paxson 1924 American English
17150 In Trouble Again Redmond O'Hanlon 1988 British English
17150 Stranger in the Forest Eric Hansen 1988 American English
16936 Journal of a Trapper Osborne Russell 1921 American English
17150 The Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko 1991 American English
17150 Black Robe Brian Moore 1985 Canadian English
17150 Covered With Night Nicole Eustace 2021 American English
17150 Frontiers Noel Mostert 1992 South African English
17150 Louis Riel Chester Brown 2003 Canadian English
17150 Alaska James A. Michener 1988 American English
17150 Moon Of The Turning Leaves Waubgeshig Rice 2024 Canadian English
17150 The Timeless Land Eleanor Dark 1941 Australian English
17150 Becoming Little Shell Chris La Tray 2023 Unknown English
17150 The Heartbeat Of Wounded Knee David Treuer 2019 American English
17150 Bounty Lands William Ellis 1981 Unknown English
17150 In The Shadow Of Quetzalcoatl Merilee Grindle 2023 Unknown Unknown
17150 Into The Amazon Larry Rohter 2017 Unknown English
17150 On Savage Shores Caroline Dodds Pennock 2023 Unknown English