Spring 2026

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin

Political Pathfinder

From the Series Native American Lives

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin grew up in North Dakota and Minnesota speaking seven languages and watching her father, Jean Baptiste Bottineau, fight for the rights of his communities as a lawyer. Bottineau Baldwin followed in his footsteps, becoming an activist, lawyer, and the first Native American woman to graduate from the Washington College of Law. From marching with suffragists to advocating for the rights of Native Americans, learn all about the life of Bottineau Baldwin.

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979-8-7656-7184-9
On pre-order until 01/01/2026
$12.99
979-8-7656-9742-9
On pre-order until 01/01/2026
$17.99
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Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 4
Genre Social Studies
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Biography, Diverse Books: Feminism, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity
Copyright 2026
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Lerner Publications ™
Language English
Number of Pages 56
Publication Date 2026-01-01
Text Type Narrative Nonfiction
BISACS JNF007110, JNF071000, JNF018040
Dewey 977.004/97333
Dimensions 6 x 9
Guided Reading Level U
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Bibliography/further reading, Glossary, Index, Introductory note, Photo captions, Source notes, Table of contents, and Timeline

Author: Hema Erdrich Patel

Hema Patel is a Yale graduate with a degree in the history of science, health, and medicine and a certificate in education studies. Her mother’s family comes from the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe and she is passionate about Native and Indigenous focused education, arts, research, and scholarship. As a freelance writer, Hema works with the Minnesota Humanities Center.

Illustrator: Awanigiizhik Bruce

Awanigiizhik Bruce (Mikinaak-Wajiw Anishinaabe, Nehiyaw, Michif) is a Two-Spirit diverse-media artist based on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation. Their art focuses on the Anishinaabe philosophy of Seven Generations, a code of ethics respecting ecological consciousness and Indigenous heritage. Awanigiizhik earned a BA in Ojibwe Language, Culture, and History at Turtle Mountain College. They spend much of the year completing site-specific and collaborative projects around the country, like murals in Duluth, Minnesota, and Belcourt, North Dakota. Currently, they are developing a body of work synthesizing quillwork, birch-bark basketry, and robotics, and designing Ojibwemowin visual resources for Turtle Mountain College.