SATA

PERSONAL

Born in NE; children: one son.

EDUCATION:

Studied writing at The Institute of Children’s Literature.

ADDRESS

• Home - MD.
• Agent - Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary Agency; Kathleen@andreabrownlit.com.

CAREER

Author.

AWARDS:

Caldecott Medal, American Library Association, 2021, for We Are Water Protectors.

WRITINGS

• Girls Dance, Boys Fiddle, illustrated by Kimberly McKay, Pemmican Publishers (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), 2013
• Cuthbert Grant: Leader of the Métis People, illustrated by Linus Woods, Reycraft Books (New York, NY), 2020
• We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade, Roaring Brook Press (New York, NY), 2020
• My Powerful Hair, illustrated by Steph Littlebird, Abrams Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2023
• Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior, illustrated by Bridget George, introduction by Autumn Peltier, Roaring Brook Press (New York, NY), 2023
• The Gift of the Great Buffalo (written by Carole Lindstrom ; illustrated by Aly McKnight), Bloomsbury Children's Books (New York, NY), 2025

Also contributor of poem “Drops of Gratitude” to anthology Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Marlena Myles, Lerner/Millbrook (Minneapolis, MN), 2019.

SIDELIGHTS

Carole Lindstrom is a Native American children’s book author of Anishinaabe/Métis descent, and she is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. She has described how she loved to read growing up and spent so much time in libraries, but she never saw people like herself in books, only “shameful and embarrassing portrayals of me,” as she said in an interview with a contributor to KidLit 411. She decided she wanted to write children’s books both for Indigenous children and for non-Indigenous children to have a more accurate perspective of the world. Her books often focus on Native American activists and include titles such as Cuthbert Grant: Leader of the Métis People and Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior.

 

The book that brought Lindstrom to a wider audience was the Caldecott Award-winning We Are Water Protectors. It was inspired by the camp at Standing Rock in 2016. Lindstrom wanted to do something to contribute to the protests over the building of a pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, so she decided to write a picture book. The allegorical story features a black snake that is threatening to poison the water supply, and one young water protector defends her people and land. Lindstrom’s lyrical text combines with Michaela Goade’s watercolor illustrations for a powerful story that also functions as a call to activism.

A writer in Kirkus Reviews described the book as an “inspiring call to action.” They loved how the illustrations feature “brilliant colors and atmospheric studies of light,” and they praised Lindstrom for “this tribute to Native resilience” and the “uplifting focus on collective power.” Ronny Khuri, writing in Booklist, agreed, noting that “these pages carry grief, but it is overshadowed by hope in what is an unapologetic call to action.” The result is a “beautiful tribute and powerful manifesto.”

My Powerful Hair was inspired by a more personal story. Lindstrom grew up in Nebraska and always wanted long hair, but her mother would force her to cut it before it got “wild,” something Lindstrom never understood. Later, Lindstrom realized that this was a legacy of Indian boarding schools, where Native American children were forced to cut their hair and abandon their culture. The story focuses on a young Indigenous girl who is excited for how her hair will grow and all the aspects of her culture that she will get to experience. Steph Littlebird’s pencil-and-digital illustrations evoke woodcuts to complement the story.

In Booklist, Kay Weisman praised the book as “thoughtful and enlightening,” advocating that it is a good fit for both libraries and “units on Indigenous cultures.” She appreciated how the illustrations have a “timeless feel.” A writer in Kirkus Reviews was even more positive, calling it a “deeply moving and inspiring celebration of long hair and its significance in Indigenous cultures.” They described the illustrations as “bold” and “striking,” and the story as a “loving portrayal of a tightknit extended Native family.”

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior is a biography of two women, both of the Anishinaabe people (as Lindstrom is) who are water protectors: the titular subject, Autumn, and her great-aunt Grandma Josephine. The book details the importance of water and what water protectors do, and it shows how Autumn has also spoken out on climate change and challenged world leaders. Illustrations by Bridget George, who is also Anishinaabe, complement the text.

John Scott, in School Library Journal, called the book a “brilliant combination of story, culture, and activism,” and he particularly appreciated how George’s pictures “exquisitely capture the message of the story.” A writer in Kirkus Reviews was somewhat more measured, describing the book as a “touching ode to Indigenous activists.”

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

• Booklist, February 1, 2020, Ronny Khuri, review of We Are Water Protectors, p. 52; March 15, 2023, Kay Weisman, review of My Powerful Hair, p. 62.

• Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2020, review of We Are Water Protectors; May 15, 2023, review of My Powerful Hair; August 1, 2023, review of Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior.

• Publishers Weekly, January 13, 2020, review of We Are Water Protectors, p. 58.

• School Library Journal, August, 2023, John Scott, review of Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior, pp. 100+.

ONLINE

• Bull Horn, https://thebullhornblog.org/ (October 17, 2019), author interview.

• Carole Lindstrom website, http://www.carolelindstrom.com (June 23, 2020).

• Caroline Kustin Pritchard website, https://carolinekusinpritchard.com (April 21, 2020), author interview.

• KidLit 411, https://www.kidlit411.com (February 28, 2020), author interview.

• Morning Edition, NPR, https://www.npr.org (March 22, 2023), Elizabeth Blair, “‘Like a Living Scrapbook’: ‘My Powerful Hair’ is a Celebration of Native Culture,” author interview.

• Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com (March 17, 2020), Antonia Saxon, author interview.

• School Library Journal, https://afuse8production.slj.com (August 22, 2023), Betsy Bird, “Water is Life: A Deep Dive Interview with Carole Lindstrom On Her Upcoming Dual Biography.”*