When I think of armchair travel, my mind often turns to far-off destinations. My relocation to New Mexico earlier this year reminded me of the cultural and environmental richness of the Navajo Nation right here and inspired me to seek out additional reading to expand my knowledge and understanding.
If you’ve had the good fortune to travel in the American southwest, you’ve likely driven through or adjacent to the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S. Set across northwestern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, and southeastern Utah, the land spans over 27,000 square miles (which the internet tells me is approximately the size of West Virginia.) One of the most famous vistas is Monument Valley, which you’ve possibly seen on the big (or small) screen, too.
In my search for books by Diné authors—while this community is often called Navajo, this label originated with Spanish missionaries: traditionally they called themselves Diné, which means “the people”—I was excited to discover a range of programs and resources supporting emerging writers and creators.
At the 2024 Santa Fe International Literary Festival, which I was lucky to attend earlier this year, Diné author Ramona Emerson and award-winning novelist Tommy Orange spoke of their positive experiences with the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), whose low residency MFA program “emphasize[s] the importance of Native writers offering voice to the Native experience. The program and the literature we read carries a distinct Native American and First Nations emphasis.” I’ve since used the IAIA website and online literary journal as a starting point to identify new-to-me Native authors. In addition to today’s book list, I’ve also included below a handful of other resources which introduced me to voices writing from the Diné perspective.
Whether you’ve traveled to this part of the country yourself or you’d like to experience it on the page, today’s selection of titles includes everything from memoir to non-fiction, middle grade to mystery. Please tell us about your favorite books by Diné authors or set in the Navajo Nation by leaving a comment below.
Resources for exploring Navajo Nation literary scene:
- Navajo Nation Library Instagram account: a great place to discover authors
- Torrey House Press – one of my favorite publishes for authors writing in / about the west
- Harper Collins Heartdrum Imprint for 8+ readers
- Dine Studies Conference
- Especially recommend the 2023 program
- IAIA in Santa Fe
- Emerging Dine Writers Institute
9 books by Diné (Navajo) authors
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Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)
Holly says: It’s a well-known fact in MMD-land that Rebecca Roanhorse is one of my must-read authors; the book that started it all for me was this fantasy, Roanhorse’s debut. Set in a post-apocalyptic Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation), this story follows Maggie Hoskie, a monster hunter, who is tasked to track down a missing girl. She reluctantly partners up with a medicine man and travels the reservation in pursuit. They encounter more than they expected and find myths and legends have come to life. This title received numerous awards including the 2019 Locus Award for Best First Novel.
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Shutter (Rita Todacheene #1)
Holly says: I discovered author Emerson, a Diné writer and filmmaker, at the 2024 Santa Fe International Literary Festival, where she moderated a fantastic conversation with Tommy Orange. Shutter, her first novel, tells the story of Rita, a forensic photographer who also sees ghosts—and they often want revenge. It artfully blends flashbacks to Rita’s youth and her current struggle to identify the rotten cops behind recent deaths she’s been assigned to photograph. I recommend a strong stomach as content warnings apply: this book starts with a frank description of a woman’s violent death. However, I really enjoyed Rita’s story and look forward to the sequel, Exposure.
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Healer of the Water Monster
Holly says: This warm-hearted middle grade novel introduced me both to Navajo myth and to publishing imprint Heartdrum, which features intertribal voices and young Native heroes. The story follows Nathan, who spends the summer with his grandma and uncle Jet on the Navajo reservation. When he gets lost in the desert one night, Nathan unexpectedly meets a Water Monster from the Navajo Creation story. Needing the Water Monster’s help to return home, Nathan agrees to help heal the Water Monster in exchange for this assistance. I appreciated how this story wove together Diné myth and legend with modern-day concerns from access to safe drinking water to climate change.
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The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee #1)
Holly says: It feels impossible to discuss Navajo & New Mexico fiction without referencing Tony Hillerman. His widely known Leaphorn & Chee mystery series follows Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn (introduced in the first title) and Jim Chee (first introduced in book four of the series). The series counted 18 titles at the time of Hillerman’s death, and his daughter Anne has since continued writing it. To be honest, I didn’t love The Blessing Way, and jumped ahead to book seven, Skinwalkers, where Leaphorn & Chee first work together. That book was much more enjoyable, but I did find it helpful to read a few of the earlier books to have a sense of each character before they began to work together. All told, my experience with the Leaphorn & Chee series was similar to Louise Penny’s series, which I found stronger in the later titles. While Hillerman is a white man of European descent, my research indicated that his approach to this series and writing both fiction and nonfiction set in and around the Navajo Nation is regarded as respectful. He's been compared to William Kent Krueger in terms of writing about an indigenous character.
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The Missing Morningstar: And Other Stories
Holly says: This debut collection of stories published by Torrey House Press (one of my favorite publishers for authors writing in and about the west) captured my attention from the first page. Spanning the Navajo Nation and beyond, each story delivers a strong sense of place and sharp writing. I kept finding myself repeating lines aloud and admiring how Denetsosie weaves words together to paint a vibrant picture. Her stories grapple with everything from colonial legacy to fertility, gender fluidity to family and heritage. There’s something here for nearly any reader.
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Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed
Holly says: I was fascinated by this sobering investigation of how the Diné were impacted by years of exposure to uranium mines, ore, and radioactive dust across the reservation, fueled by the nuclear arms race, the Manhattan Project, and the Cold War. Having grown up in the west and spent quite a bit of time in this corner of the country, I was also shocked at how little I knew about this tragic history that still influences modern day events. While Pasternak’s book was published in 2011, the dialogue about uranium continues: as recently as July 2024, the Navajo Nation planned to block federal highways to prevent the transport of uranium across reservation lands.
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Blue Horses Rush In: Poems and Stories
Holly says: While I enjoy poetry, it’s not something I often prioritize in my reading life, so this collection from Tapahonso—which incorporates both poems and short stories—was an unexpected delight. Centered around the cycle of a woman's life, the author invites us to explore traditions passed down, holy and everyday experiences, and experience both the history and myth of the Diné people and how these facets of life are blending with modernity. I especially enjoyed ‘Dust Precedes the Rain’, ‘Above the Canyon Floor’, and ‘Daané’é Diné’. While it’s an entirely different type of book, I think this collection would appeal to fans of Braiding Sweetgrass
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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
Holly says: I suspect I’m not the only one who first learned of the Navajo Code Talkers from the 2002 Nicolas Cage movie; reading this memoir was a much more enjoyable and educational experience! Chester—not his name by birth, but the English name assigned to him—shares his story of childhood abuse and discrimination. Despite these early struggles, he later joined the military and was one of the pivotal marines who helped the U.S. achieve victory during World War Two in the Pacific. I learned so much not only about the code talkers, but about the history of the Diné people during this tumultuous time in U.S. history. Content warnings apply.
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New World Coming: Frontline Voices on Pandemics, Uprisings, and Climate Crisis
Holly says: So many books I encounter written by and about the Diné people and culture either look back, or are informed by, the wealth of history and mythology of this community and culture. This collection offered a unique and fascinating perspective of what now lies ahead of us and some of the struggles encountered in this moment in time, including the unique experience of the Navajo Nation during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Encompassing both Diné voices and those of other BIPOC writers, I found these essays and poems to be inspiring, confronting, thought-provoking, and unlike anything else I’ve recently read. Content warnings apply.
More info →Do you have any favorite books by Diné authors? Please share in the comments.
About the author
Holly Wielkoszewski is our What Should I Read Next Media Production Specialist. Her go-to genres are Fantasy and Sci-Fi. You can follow Holly on her Substack: A Liminal Life.
27 comments
I highly recommend this native memoir (not Dine) that takes place in New Mexico in the 1970s and 80s.
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Kyla, I spotted this book at the Santa Fe Literary Festival and it’s on my TBR! Thanks for sharing your recommendation, I look forward to reading it.
I have this from my library. Looking forward to reading it.
Waving from ABQ!
Hi, Caroline!
I love the southwest. I lived in Colorado for a few years, and now love to visit there as well as New Mexico and Arizona. I have enjoyed all the books in Tony Hillerman’s series, and his descriptions of the landscape and portrayal of the Navajo culture make these one of my most favorite reading experiences. And reading some of his nonfiction, as well as his autobiography have made him a hero of mine.
Since Mr. Hillerman’s death, his daughter Anne Hillerman has continued the series. While her writing skills, especially in landscape descriptions, is not yet quite as developed as her father’s, she is doing an excellent job with this series. She continues to make Navajo culture and beliefs an integral part of each novel. And I really enjoy how she is taking a new direction, more deeply developing the female characters in the stories, and making Navajo Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito her central character.
Janice, I really look forward to reading Anne Hillerman’s continuation once I catch up on the original series. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
Thanks for your book recs! I lived on and near the Navajo reservation for 8 years of my childhood. It was a good place to grow up. Yá’át’ééh!
I hope you discover a new read you enjoy, Lindsay!
I’ve lived in ABQ for the last 16 years. Welcome to NM! I’ve of the first books I read when I moved here was Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee – though it’s not exclusively about the Navajo. I also took a class on Navajo pregnancy and birth practices, which was amazing, but didn’t have a book for reference.
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee is a must read. It’s definitely eye opening.
Laura, thank you! I’m loving my new home state 🙂 I have actually never read this classic and I definitely would like to. Thank you for the recommendation.
I had a year of pharmacy training in the 80’s on a Navajo reservation. I fell in love with the people and the area. Twenty-five years later in my pharmacy career I met one of the code talkers and his wife. He has passed on but I still see his wife; she calls me her “baby girl” (I’m 62!) and gives me her grandmothers blessing before we part. I adding your list to my high priority TBR list. Thank you!
David Cole writes a series of mysteries based around Laura Winslow who is Hopi, not Dine, but she often works with Navajo people. The first book is called Butterfly Lost.
Oh, I haven’t heard of this series, Wendy. Thank you for putting it on my reading radar!
I am so glad to see this list, having been a huge fan of Reservation Dogs on Hulu and Dark Winds on Netflix. Anything you can give me on Dine culture continues to open my eyes and my mind, so thank you!
You are so welcome, Claire!
I just finished Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. I don’t believe she is Diné, but the book explores a generational saga of a Mexican-Indigenous family in Denver, Colorado and the Lost Territory (includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona) from the mid 1800s to the 1930s. It explores both race and family dynamics and for me was an eye opening account of the west during this time period.
Heather, I’ve heard such good things about this title and I have it on my library holds list. Thanks for the encouragement to bump it up my TBR.
This is a great list, thank you Holly!
The Leaphorn-Chee books have been developed into an excellent show called Dark Winds. Highly recommended.
If you ever find yourself in Phoenix, the Heard Museum is a can’t-miss. There’s a moving and sobering exhibition on the boarding schools (and nearby the museum is a park called Steele Indian School where original boarding school buildings are preserved).
Thanks Deanna, I’m glad you enjoyed! And I definitely second your recommendation for the Heard Museum. My in-laws live in the Phoenix area and I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few times: it’s a gem.
I 100% agree with your recommendations. I am reading my way through the Hillerman series – it’s so compelling and has made me more curious about the Dine culture. The Heard Museum in Phoenix was spectacular. We definitely shed a few tears when reflecting on the exhibition about the boarding schools.
I just started “Shutter” and I’m blown away by the writing. Thanks for the book recommendations!
My pleasure, Cheryl! I just picked up the sequel this past weekend while I was in Santa Fe, and cannot wait to dive in!
Thanks so much for this list, Holly. I spend several months a year in Arizona and am fascinated by the land and culture of the Southwest–so much to see and learn!
Regarding books about the Diné/Navajo, I recently finished “Canyon Dreams” by Michael Powell. He follows a Navajo high school’s basketball team’s quest for the Arizona state championship. Apparently “Rez Ball” is a BIG thing; whole towns show up for games (and even grandmas have opinions on coaching and technique 😳). While the basketball team is the primary story, the book also has much to say about the culture and the people on the Navajo Reservation.
Thank you so much for this list! I lived most of my adult life in Flagstaff and now that I am not there, I miss that land and people. I have a few suggestions. “Talking to the Ground” by Douglas Preston tells the true story of a horseback journey he took retracing the route of the Navajo deity, Monster Slayer. It is one of my all time favorite books. Also, I found on kindle, The Naomi Manymules Mysteries – Set in and around Page. Very fun reading. I missed the characters the minute I finished. One more – I also read on Kindle, Navajo Autumn. Authentic characters and a great story. ❤️
Welcome to New Mexico. I moved from the midwest to Santa Fe about 10 years and I continue to be charmed and delighted. I am reading Shutter right now and am being completely swept away by the story. You are right, a content warning is required, but not unexpected in a book about a crime scene photographer. The Santa Fe Literary Festival is a wonderful event and it gets bigger and bigger every year. I got shut out of some events this year for the first time. Oh well, there is always next year. May you continue to enjoy exploring your new New Mexico home. Welcome!
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