Rooted in Culture, Growing Through Knowledge

Tribal libraries play an essential role in preserving Native languages, cultures, histories, and community knowledge. Language and culture connect Indigenous peoples to their ancestors, identity, and traditions. Libraries overseen by tribal communities allow tribes to retain agency over how their cultural knowledge is collected, preserved, and shared.

Today, tribal libraries face several challenges, including limited funding, limited staff, limited access to technology, unreliable internet service in some communities, difficulty preserving historical documents and recordings, and challenges in protecting culturally sensitive or sacred information. While libraries do not promote censorship, certain cultural knowledge may be restricted from the public sphere as a way of protecting and retaining aspects of Indigenous identity and heritage.

These libraries are located on federally and state-recognized reservation lands — territories where the ancestors of many present-day Native peoples were historically designated to live by the United States government. Like most libraries, tribal libraries offer patrons access to the internet, books, educational resources, technology training, career assistance, and community gathering spaces. They may also provide Native-language classes, storytelling, oral history collections, and the collection and preservation of tribal documents and knowledge.

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1. Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Gindaaso-gamik

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Gindaaso-gamik, also known as the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries, is operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The libraries function with guidance from the Tribal Education Advisory Board and under the oversight of the Tribal Council.

The main library is housed within the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College building, while the Wii Maajiikwad Library is located inside the Wii Maajiikwad building. The libraries provide materials and programs related to Anishinaabe culture, language, history, literacy, and education and offer two LibGuides.

2. Oneida Community Library and Green Earth Branch Library

The Oneida Community Library and Green Earth Branch Library are located in Oneida and De Pere, Wisconsin. These libraries provide services to the Oneida Nation and surrounding community.

The Oneida Community Library was established in 1968 by a group of volunteers in the old Episcopal Mission School (now the Parish Hall). The library later moved to the Oscar Archiquette building in 1970, where it remains today. The libraries maintain resources related to Oneida history and heritage.

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3. Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Libraries

The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Libraries (RSIC) in Nevada provide community-oriented programming and activities. The collection serves all ages and includes Native books relating to the Great Basin tribes and self-directed learning materials.

RSIC also has a language and cultural program that supports community members as they embrace their cultural identity and learn about Great Basin language, history, and culture, including Numu (Paiute), Newe (Shoshone), and Washeshu (Washo). 

4. Chickasaw National Tribal Library

The Chickasaw National Tribal Library in Ada, Oklahoma, circulates materials, supports cultural research and genealogy assistance, and provides educational programming. The cultural research specialist on staff assists patrons with research into Chickasaw history and cultural heritage.

The library also houses the Chickasaw Historical Society, which provides access to publications about Chickasaw history and culture.

5. Qualla Boundary Public Library

The Qualla Boundary Public Library is operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina. The library provides support for cultural arts, language learning, makerspace activities, and intergenerational community learning for patrons. Makerspaces are spaces where members of the community can collaborate on creative projects and use technology that may not otherwise be available to them due to financial barriers.

The library also manages three Little Free Libraries located across the reservation, bringing free books directly to the community.

Your donations help support libraries across the country. 

The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums maintains a map of North American Native Nations and Cultural Institutions throughout the United States and Canada. Each mapped location represents a museum, tribal community, or cultural center. You don’t need to be Indigenous to benefit from these libraries. In fact, any member of the public can visit one of these libraries, just as they would any other library.

November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate Native communities in the United States. The holiday was established by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to honor all American Indian, Alaska Native, and Indigenous communities living within the United States.

This November, consider supporting the Native Library Initiative, an effort born of the Little Free Library (LFL) program. This program provides book-sharing boxes on tribal lands in Indigenous communities at no cost. You can support Indigenous communities in other ways, too, by reading Indigenous authors, attending public cultural events, and learning about Native nations local to you.

You can also consider donating requested books to tribal libraries! When you purchase a book directly from a library’s wishlist, it will go directly to that library. Browse the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries wishlist or the Oneida Community Library and Green Earth Branch Library wishlist to support their collections.

Several tribal communities and organizations also host online book drives. Examples include the Lower Sioux Indian Community and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (Mdewakanton Dakota), the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Oglala Lakota College Library on the  Pine Ridge Reservation, and the Lakota Waldorf School on the  Pine Ridge Reservation. Check the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation website for a list of other Indigenous book drives. (*Be sure to check library donation policies before contributing materials to other libraries.)

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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