Red Bird Danced

Ariel and Tomah have lived in their city's intertribal housing complex all their lives, but this autumn is different from any before. Ariel, who is Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, has always danced ballet because of her Auntie Bineshiinh, but since her aunt went missing, dancing no longer feels like flying. Tomah, who is Fort Peck Assiniboine, watches his community from a bench outside his building and keeps his own fears to himself. As their paths cross, the two find strength in their community, in the stories of those who came before them, and in art, from jingle dancing to poetry. Dawn Quigley's first middle-grade novel is told in verse. It was a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award honor book for middle grade readers.