The Greatest Western Books of All Time on Indigenous

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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
839 Winnetou Karl May 1893 German German
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
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
2158 The Clan of the Cave Bear Jean M. Auel 1980 American English
2336 There There Tommy Orange 2018 American English
2399 Remembering Babylon David Malouf 1993 Australian English
2561 Segu Maryse Condé 1984 French French
2650 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie 2007 American English
2978 Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer 2013 American English
3063 The Secret River Kate Grenville 2005 Australian English
3122 Carpentaria Alexis Wright 2006 Australian English
3312 Into The Heart Of Borneo Redmond O'Hanlon 1984 British English
3489 Akata Witch Nnedi Okorafor 2011 American English
3638 The Papalagi Erich Scheurmann 1920 German German
3932 Mean Spirit Linda Hogan 1990 American English
5160 Die Söhne Der Großen Bärin Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich 1951 German German
5355 Praiseworthy Alexis Wright 2024 Australian English
5382 Histoire De L'afrique Noire Joseph Ki-Zerbo 1972 French French
5597 The Lost City of Z David Grann 2009 American English
5860 France And England In North America Francis Parkman 1865 American English
5974 1491 Charles C. Mann 2005 American English
7044 The Beothuk Way John Kitchen 1991 Canadian English
7621 Dropbear Evelyn Araluen 2021 Australian English
7701 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter Stephen Graham Jones 2025 American English
7712 We Were Not The Savages Daniel N. Paul 1993 Canadian English
7907 That Deadman Dance Kim Scott 2010 Australian English
7975 Kayang And Me Kim Scott 2005 Australian English
8105 The Land Of Little Rain Mary Austin 1903 American English
8210 Dark Emu Bruce Pascoe 2014 Australian English
8211 Landscape Of Farewell Alex Miller 2007 Australian English
8351 River Thieves Michael Crummey 2001 Canadian English
8554 The Tall Man Chloe Hooper 2008 Australian English
8694 Too Much Lip Melissa Lucashenko 2018 Australian English
8821 The Sacred Hoop Paula Gunn Allen 1986 American English
9000 The Flame Trees Of Thika Elspeth Huxley 1959 British English
9320 Terra Nullius Sven Lindqvist 2007 Swedish Swedish
9566 Custer Died For Your Sins Vine DeLoria, Jr. 1969 American English
9798 Blak Work Alison Whittaker 2018 Australian English
9941 Medicine Walk Richard Wagamese 2014 Canadian English
10165 Laughing Boy Oliver La Farge 1929 American English
10304 Travels In The Congo André Gide 1927 French French
10542 The Yield Tara June Winch 2019 Australian English
10902 Inside My Mother Ali Cobby Eckermann 2015 Australian English
11529 Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa Mungo Park 1799 British English
11825 I Am Woman Lee Maracle 1988 Canadian English
11920 Skeleton Man Tony Hillerman 2004 American English
12324 Conquest Of Mexico Hugh Thomas 1993 British English
12513 Grandmothers Of The Light Paula Gunn Allen 1991 American English
12586 Counting Coup Larry Colton 2000 American English
12620 The Missionary Movement In Christian History Andrew Walls 1996 Scottish English
12712 Brave Weshoyot Alvitre American English
12717 The Door On The Sea Caskey Russell 2025 American English
12764 The Summer Of The Bone Horses Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Steph Littlebird American English
12975 The Idea Of An Entire Life Billy-Ray Belcourt Canadian English
13799 Dancing On Our Turtle's Back Leanne Betasamosake Simpson 2011 Canadian English
14025 Heart Berries Terese Marie Mailhot 2018 Canadian English
14043 Memory Serves Lee Maracle 2015 Canadian English
14896 Great River Paul Horgan 1954 American English
14983 The Rifles William T. Vollmann 1994 American English
14983 I Was A Teenage Slasher Stephen Graham Jones 2024 American Unknown
15851 Through the Dark Continent Henry M. Stanley 1878 British English
15897 Native Planters In Old Hawaii Elizabeth Hand, E. C. S. Handy 1940 American English
15897 The Fur Trade In Canada Harold A. Innis 1930 Canadian English
15897 A Short Account Of The Destruction Of The Indies Bartolomé de las Casas 1552 Spanish Spanish
15897 Coonardoo Katharine Sussanah Pritchard 1929 Australian English
15897 La Salle And The Discovery Of The Great West Francis Parkman 1869 American English
16530 The Nez Perce Indians And The Opening Of The Northwest Jr., Alvin Josephy 1965 American English
17119 Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers Robert Bringhurst 2000 Canadian English
17119 History of the American Frontier Frederic L. Paxson 1924 American English
17119 The Colonial Period of American History Charles McLean Andrews 1934 American English
17119 In Trouble Again Redmond O'Hanlon 1988 British English
17119 Stranger in the Forest Eric Hansen 1988 American English
16901 Journal of a Trapper Osborne Russell 1921 American English
17119 The Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko 1991 American English
17119 Black Robe Brian Moore 1985 Canadian English
17119 Covered With Night Nicole Eustace 2021 American English
17119 Fifth Sun Camilla Townsend 2019 American English
17119 Louis Riel Chester Brown 2003 Canadian English
17119 Alaska James A. Michener 1988 American English
17119 Moon Of The Turning Leaves Waubgeshig Rice 2024 Canadian English
17119 The Birchbark House Louise Erdrich 1999 American English
17119 Empire Of The Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne 2010 American English
16769 Capricornia Xavier Herbert 1938 Australian English
17119 Murriyang Stan Grant 2024 Australian English
17119 Green Grass, Running Water Thomas King 1993 Canadian English
17119 Kiss Of The Fur Queen Tomson Highway 1998 Canadian English
17119 The Lesser Blessed Richard Van Camp 1996 Canadian English
17119 The Orenda Joseph Boyden 2013 Canadian English
17119 A History Of Australia, Vol. Iv. Manning Clark 1978 Australian English
17119 The Timeless Land Eleanor Dark 1941 Australian English
17119 The Fring Dwellers Nene Gare 1961 Australian English
17119 Wild Cat Falling Colin Johnson 1965 Australian English
17119 The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith Thomas Keneally 1972 Australian English
17119 To The Islands Randolph Stow 1958 Australian English
17119 The Australian Legend Russell Ward 1958 Australian English
17119 The Nargun And The Stars Patricia Wrightson 1970 Australian English
17119 An American Sunrise Joy Harjo 2019 American English
17119 The Heartbeat Of Wounded Knee David Treuer 2019 American English
17119 Gathering Moss Robin Wall Kimmerer 2003 American English
17119 Crazy Brave Joy Harjo 2012 American English
17119 The Golden Spruce John Vaillant 2005 Canadian English
17119 The Rediscovery Of America Ned Blackhawk 2023 American English
17119 Venco Cherie Dimaline 2023 Canadian English
17119 The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice And Tribal Wisdom Joan Halifax 1993 American English
17119 The Painted Drum Louise Erdrich 2013 American English