Miko Kings

Miko Kings by LeAnne Howe is a historical fiction book that follows Lena, an Oklahoma Choctaw woman, as she pieces together the history of the first Indigenous American baseball team: the Miko Kings. Howe is an acclaimed Choctaw writer, scholar, and poet. She is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Miko Kings is one of seven books Howe has authored, and it was originally published in 2007. The book explores themes of The Relationship Between Land and Identity, The Importance of Preserving an Accurate History, and The Intersection of Baseball and Indigenous Identity.

This guide refers to the original 2007 edition, published by Aunt Lute Books in San Francisco, California.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss racism and intense violence and include brief mentions of sexual violence (including acts with children and animals). This guide reflects the text’s use of outdated and offensive terms to refer to Indigenous Americans only in quotations.

Plot Summary

Miko Kings follows the story of Lena, a Choctaw Woman from Oklahoma, as she researches the Miko Kings: America’s first Indigenous baseball team. Over the course of the book, Lena weaves together the events surrounding the last game the Miko Kings ever played and how that story is interwoven with her own family’s torrid past.