One Land, Many Nations: Volume 1

2021 Chicago Public Library Best Informational Books for Older Readers

The continental United States is one land, but within its borders are many nations - sovereign Native American nations whose citizens have dual citizenship.

In Volume 1 of this series, Native Americans Traci Sorell (Cherokee) and Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo) take readers on a contemporary tour of their nation. Readers learn the history of their people, famous citizens, traditional stories, as well as details about tribal life today, including their system of government, education, and commerce.

Cherokee Nation citizen and award-winning author Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for children and teens. Her debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, shares a contemporary Cherokee view of gratitude across the four seasons - beginning in fall with the Cherokee New Year. A former federal Indian law attorney and advocate, Traci lives with her family on the Cherokee Nation reservation in northeastern Oklahoma where she was born and spent most of her childhood.

Dr. Lee Francis IV is tribally enrolled in the Laguna Pueblo Nation. He is the founder of Native Realities Press, a publishing company dedicated to creating comic books by and about Native Americans. He also owns and runs a bookstore called Red Planet Books and Comics, and started the first Indigenous Comic Con.

Jesse Hummingbird, a Cherokee Nation citizen and award-winning illustrator, was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, but spent most of his childhood in the deep South. He focuses on Cherokee and American Indian themes in his bright and colorful paintings. Jesse was selected by the Cherokee Nation as a Cherokee National Living Treasure.

Michelle Sisneros is a contemporary artist of Santa Clara, Navajo and Laguna descent. She not only paints, but creates pottery, clothing, and jewelry. The subjects of her paintings are drawn from traditional Native American themes and include Pueblo women. She says, "I paint now from my soul. The images I paint are from the people who touch my life in a profound way and the Mother Earth I live on."