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Award year

2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award

Announced

The American Indian Library Association announced its 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Awards on January 26, 2026, during the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards in Chicago. Given every two years, the awards honor writing and illustration for young readers by and about Native American and Indigenous peoples of North America, favoring books that portray those communities fully across past, present and future. Chooch Helped, written by Andrea L. Rogers and illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz, won for best picture book; Violet Duncan's Buffalo Dreamer won in the middle grade category; and Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, won for young adult readers. The jury also named sixteen honor books: five picture books, six middle-grade titles and five young adult titles.

Source: official announcement

Picture Book

  • Cover of Chooch Helped by Andrea L. RogersWinner

    Chooch Helped

    Andrea L. Rogers and Rebecca Lee Kunz

    American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner

Also recognized

  • Braided Roots by Pasha WestbrookHonor
  • Fierce Aunties! by Laurel GoodluckHonor
  • For a Girl Becoming by Joy HarjoHonor
  • Raven's Ribbons by Tasha SpillettHonor
  • We Weave by Daniel W. VandeverHonor

Middle Grade Book

  • Cover of Buffalo Dreamer by Violet DuncanWinner

    Buffalo Dreamer

    Violet Duncan

    American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner

  • Cover of Red Bird Danced by Dawn QuigleyAIYLA

    Red Bird Danced

    Dawn Quigley

    American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor

Also recognized

  • Jo Jo Makoons: The Super-Scary Sleepover by Dawn QuigleyHonor
  • Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina RathgeberHonor
  • Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-CiottiHonor
  • The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron MukwaHonor
  • The Summer of the Bone Horses by Virginia Driving Hawk SneveHonor

Young Adult Book

Also recognized

  • Super Indian, Volume Three by Arigon StarrHonor
  • The Unfinished by Cheryl IsaacsHonor

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