When Leadership Falls Short: The Crisis of Care in Library Work
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Commemorating National Native American Heritage Month with TIE and Choice Content
We gathered TIE and Choice resources that highlight Native American histories, activism, and communities. This round-up includes podcast interviews, book lists, and more.
Posted on November 5, 2024 in Blog Posts
Commemorating Native American Heritage Month
In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, the Toward Inclusive Excellence team assembled TIE and Choice resources that foreground the histories and experiences of Native Americans. Choice, the publisher of TIE and a publishing unit at the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, provides book reviews to help librarians identify academic sources and professional development tools like webinars, podcasts, and white papers.
We hope these resources will aid in learning more about the activism, literature, and research of Indigenous communities this month and throughout the year.
The Authority File
The Authority File podcast presents a weekly conversation about the who, what, why, and how of research creation, publication, and discovery. Join your host Bill Mickey and a rotating cast of librarians, technologists, authors, and other academic library luminaries as they chat about the ways in which scholarly content is created, preserved, and distributed. These series discuss Indigenous Studies programs and arts-based research on the Métis people.
Cultivating Indigenous Studies: Background and Program Creation
During her undergraduate years, Deanna Reder, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and English at Simon Fraser University, struggled to find a wide range of scholarship on Indigenous literary works. However, by the time she returned for her PhD in the early 2000s, an explosion of Indigenous scholars had entered the academic scene. This expansion not only made way for Deanna’s dissertation on Indigenous autobiographical tradition, but also for the Department of Indigenous Studies at Simon Fraser University and the broader development and shaping of Indigenous Literary Studies as a discipline. Listen to episode 265.
Michelle Porter and the Métis Way: Ancestry and Arts-Based Research
Michelle Porter studies the role of bison for the Métis people, a First Nations group of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry in modern-day Canada. Employing the technique of “arts-based research,” Michelle treats artistic pursuits—music, beadwork, oral histories, writing—as viable, robust areas of discovery. Through this method, Michelle looks at the Métis with a holistic lens, resulting in creative nonfiction works like her latest title Scratching River. Listen to episode 245.
Review of the Week
Each week Choice highlights a review that addresses a topical issue, event, or holiday—or simply, a review we believe deserves more attention. These picks discuss Indigenous women activism, decolonizing journalism and public education, and more.
TIE Blog
To keep up with upcoming TIE content, subscribe to the TIE newsletter. This TIE Blog content includes titles to commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and a two-part podcast series with Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) Assistant Director Jordan Clark.
Core Titles to Commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day
This brief collection of resources—drawn from Resources for College Libraries (RCL)—offers readers insights to better comprehend the fraught histories of Indigenous America. While these histories are painful, they are necessary for honoring and accounting for the full breadth of this nation’s history. Read the list of Core Titles.
Jordan Clark on the Afro-Indigenous History of Martha’s Vineyard and Adopting a Decolonial Mindset on Campus
This two-part series of the Toward Inclusive Excellence (TIE) Podcast features Jordan Clark, Assistant Director of the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) and an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah. This first episode touches on Martha’s Vineyard’s Afro-Indigenous history, adopting a decolonial mindset in higher education, and how academia can embrace knowledge-sharing that goes beyond the written word. Listen to part one of the podcast series with Jordan Clark.
Jordan Clark on Applying Decolonization Practices to the Library and AI Tools
In the second episode of this two-part series, Jordan Clark of the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) and an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, advocates for library personnel to educate themselves on decolonization and DEIA practices, and recommends incorporating Native zines, newsletters, and engaging materials into library resources. Jordan examines challenges to opening up Native American research, and urges institutions to hire Native staff and faculty to foreground their perspectives and better connect with Native communities. Listen to part two of the podcast series with Jordan Clark.
Preserving the Indigenous and African American Heritage of Martha’s Vineyard
Each summer, the population of Martha’s Vineyard, a small island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, swells from a modest 17,000 people to more than 200,000 visitors and residents. August boasts the island’s highest occupancy rate, as it brings several activities and traditions, including the annual Grand Illumination night, the Black women’s Polar Bear plunge (paywalled), and the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Celebrities and political luminaries such as former President Bill Clinton and comedian Larry David are frequently spotted enjoying island life in towns like Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown. Former President Barack Obama and his family loved visiting Martha’s Vineyard so much while he was in office that they purchased a 29-acre compound in Edgartown. Read the TIE blog post.
Hot Topic
Hot Topic takes a deep dive into timely, significant, or niche topics guided by reviews over the decades. These lists feature titles on Indigenous mental health studies and services and the history and impact of Indigenous boarding and residential schools.
Indigenous Mental Health
Indigenous Boarding Schools
Header image is a detail of This is Harlem by Jacob Lawrence. Courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. © 2021 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. For more information, click here.