On October 14th, the United States celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day (held on the same day as Columbus Day). Indigenous Peoples Day was first celebrated in 1992 in the city of Berkeley, California. It spread to other cities in California and then beyond. President Joe Biden commemorated the holiday with a proclamation in 2021, 2022, and 2023. While not a recognized holiday under federal law, Indigenous Peoples Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the histories and traditions of those who inhabited US land before Europeans settled here.

Indigenous peoples who lived on the land that now makes up Scotts Bluff County were from the Dakota, Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. The Scotts Bluff National Monument was called Me-a-pa-te by the indigenous people until a fur trader named Hiram Scott died nearby and it was renamed after him.

We honor on this day the indigenous people whose land our ancestors took from them. We honor their cultural heritage and their history in the land. We mourn the many lives taken by violence and disease. We honor the care they showed for this land.

If you are curious about the history of Indigenous People in the US and in Nebraska specifically, we have a selection of books for all ages that you can read. Here is just a small sampling:

Children’s Books
* Indige­nous Peo­ples’ Day (2022) by Katrina M. Phillips.
* Native Americans series: Comanche (2019), Crow (2019), Dakota (2019), Ute (2019), Pawnee (2019), and Ojibwe (2019) by Katie Lajiness
* Fry bread­: a Na­tive Amer­i­can ­fam­i­ly s­to­ry (2019) by Kevin Noble Maillard

Junior (Tween) Books
* Voic­es of the peo­ple (2022) by Joseph Bruchac
* A place ­called Amer­i­ca: a s­to­ry of the ­land and peo­ple (2023) by Jennifer Thermes
* Christo­pher Colum­bus and the Tain­o peo­ple (2023) by Kate Messner and José Barreiro
* Na­tive Amer­i­can art (2023) and Na­tive Amer­i­can cel­e­bra­tions and cer­e­monies (2023) by Trisha James.
* Tra­di­tion­al s­to­ries of the Plain­s ­na­tions (2018) by Marie Powell

Teen Books
* Braid­ing sweet­grass ­for y­oung adult­s (2022) by Robin Wall Kimmerer
* Fire­keep­er’s ­daugh­ter (2021) by Angeline Boulley
* War­rior ­girl un­earthed (2023) by Angeline Boulley

Adult Books
* En­cy­clo­pe­di­a of Na­tive Amer­i­can tribes (2006) by Carl Waldman
* Art­s & craft­s of the Na­tive Amer­i­can tribes (2011) by Michael Johnson & Bill Yenne
* Na­tive Uni­verse: voic­es of In­di­an Amer­i­ca (2004) by Gerald McMaster and Clifford Trafzer
* Spir­it­s of the earth: a guide ­to Na­tive Amer­i­can ­na­ture sym­bol­s, s­to­ries, and cer­e­monies (1997) by Bobby Lake-Thom, Medicine Grizzly Bear
* Spir­it­s of the Plains (1997) by Thomas E. Mails

Stop by the library and the staff can help you find these books or any others about Indigenous Peoples and their history. The more we learn, the more we know.