Native women have been leaders throughout history. From ballerinas to congresswomen and from tribal leaders to scientists, these strong role models have broken barriers and paved the way for future generations. The following picture books and early-reader chapter books compiled by ALA’s Booklist offer a glimpse into the strength, courage, tenacity, and fierce compassion embodied by this broad range of people.
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, created a program to encourage Native individuals living in the region to consider running for non-Tribal elected offices themselves to help ensure that diverse perspectives are part of community conversations and policy decisions. They used resources provided by the American Library Association’s 2024 Peggy Barber Tribute Grant to facilitate the initiative.
NASA voyaged a little closer to home when it held a professional development workshop for Tribal libraries at New Mexico State Library in August 2024. Facilitated by the NASA Science Activation program’s NASA@ My Library project with input from area Tribal libraries, the program explored an array of space-related programming and activities that libraries could adapt.
At the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival session “American History is Native History” on August 24, American Library Association President Cindy Hohl received a warm welcome and enthusiastic response when she asked panelists to speak about the importance of libraries in researching Native history.
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