Literature is a powerful vehicle for the transmission and interpretation of culture. Reading a variety of literature helps students to understand the principles underpinning values and traditions of their own culture and the cultures of others. Studying the myths, legends, and songs of traditional Native literature helps readers understand contemporary Native literature and appreciate its differences from the mainstream. However, the accepted canons of literature exclude works by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Furthermore, the few literary works about Native Americans that have secured a place in the secondary school curriculum were written by non-Natives, are unauthentic, portray cultural information inaccurately, and perpetuate negative stereotypes. Over the centuries, the stereotypical Native American in literature has shifted from simple, superstitious child of God to blood-thirsty savage to noble savage to victimized dispossessed nomad. Non-Native writers today continue to portray Native people as the "other" when they acknowledge their existence at all. It is only by creating and widely circulating their own literature that Native peoples can become a part of the American "ourness" and take their rightful place in the American literary canon. It is time for secondary schools to introduce their students to the growing body of Native literature. This digest contains 17 references and suggested readings for secondary students. (SV)