54. Nightstand Reads: 5 Comics to Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month
Indigenous stories by Indigenous creators
Howdy Brave Being,
Welcome back! It’s November already and that means it’s National Native American Heritage Month, so let’s celebrate with a list of Indigenous anthologies and comics and support Indigenous creators. Here are some comics that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and are available to purchase now. Let’s hop to it!
THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS AND OTHER NORTH AMERICAN STORIES
The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories from Iron Circus Comics collects several stories from North American folklore with updated takes on ancient tales. It’s the fifth volume of Cautionary Fables and Fairytales and features work by Jordaan Arledge, Maija Ambrose Plamondon, Milo Applejohn, and more. This collection is one of my favorite anthologies that I read this year. Its stories inspired me and moved me to tears.
MARVEL’S VOICES: INDIGENOUS VOICES #1
The Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 anthology opens with a beautiful two-page spread by celebrated Coastal Salish artist and writer Jeffrey Veregge, as he chronicles Marvel’s Indigenous characters through the all-seeing eyes of Uatu the Watcher. It follows with a collection of stories about Dani Moonstar, Echo, and Silver Fox by award-winning creators, including Black/Ohkay Owingeh writer Rebecca Roanhorse, Tongva artist Weshoyot Alvitre, Geoscientist and Lipan Apache writer Darcie Little Badger, Whitefish Lake First Nation artist Kyle Charles, Stephen Graham Jones of the Blackfeet Nation and Qalipu Mi’kmaqu First Nation artist David Cutler.
LA VOZ DE M.A.Y.O.: TATA RAMBO
La Voz De M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo is written by Henry Barajas, who chronicles the oral history of his great grandfather Ramon Jaurigue, AKA Tata Rambo. Tata Rambo was an orphan and World War II veteran who co-founded the Mexican, American, Yaqui, and Others (M.A.Y.O.) organization, which successfully lobbied the Tucson City Council to improve living and working conditions for members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe. Tata Rambo’s activism led to the federal recognition of the Yaquis as one of the remaining Native American tribes. With thoughtful and engaging storytelling by Barajas, art by J. Gonzo, letters by Bernardo Brice, and edits by Claire Napier, Tata Rambo’s story is not to be missed.
The next two nightstand reads are books I haven’t read yet. One is crowdfunding right now and the other I just discovered.
INDIGINERDS
Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life from Iron Circus Comics and edited by Alina Pete is an anthology of joyful stories, exploring the day-to-day life of Indigenous nerds, from a dozen Indigenous artists and writers. It features a range of stories from gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, all the way to missed connections and drama at the pow-wow.
The book is live on Backerkit now and it’s already funded, but they’ve got some awesome stretch goals that involve sending free copies of Indiginerds to Native libraries, community centers, and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Let’s help get this book into readers’ hands.
SHOUT OUT
A collection of 18 LGBTQ2SIA+ stories, Shout Out contains heroes that are two-spirt, a-sexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and non-conforming, from creators who share those identities. This anthology isn’t solely by Indigenous creators, however, it includes a story about a hero who’s two-spirit, so I thought it worth shouting out 😉. I read a review of it from Quill & Quire and it seems to live up to representing the wide array of identities that it promotes.
Let me know in the comments about other Native American comics that I may have missed!