{"id":28426,"date":"2024-03-28T16:52:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T22:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ndn-girls-book-club-to-embark-on-yilta-book-drop-tour-in-april\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:29:44","slug":"ndn-girls-book-club-to-embark-on-yilta-book-drop-tour-in-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ndn-girls-book-club-to-embark-on-yilta-book-drop-tour-in-april\/","title":{"rendered":"NDN Girls Book Club to embark on Yi\u0142ta! book drop tour in April"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Founder
Founder Kinsale Drake launched the NDN Girls Book Club in 2023 to provide accessible and quality Native literature to youths on reservations. (Courtesy NDN Girls Book Club)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A nonprofit organization dedicated to providing accessibility of Indigenous literature for Native youths is set to travel 403 miles across the Navajo Nation with the goal of increasing literacy and literary opportunities.<\/p>\n

Starting in Window Rock on April 1, NDNGBC will go in four directions of the Navajo Nation, driving through Leupp and Tuba City before ending in Shiprock on April 5.<\/p>\n

Launched in April 2023, the book club began as a literary resource providing workshops and literature to Native youths.<\/p>\n

Founder Kinsale Drake has been working in literature since she was 17 years old and hopes to provide literary access to those on reservations that accurately depict them.<\/p>\n

Drake holds a bachelor\u2019s of arts degree in ethnicity, race and migration and English from Yale University.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my wish that everybody who doesn\u2019t feel back at home, they feel that they can be reflected in media, accurately and healthily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The group teamed up with Cellular One, Abolone Mountain Press, 4KINSHIP and SBi Giving Foundation. Drake said the collaboration with Cellular One comes from one of mutual understanding in helping the elders and youths on the reservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause for them, Book Club was like this new shining example of a form of mutual aid that really was taking into account what best serves Indigenous knowledge ways, and community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Publishers have generously donated the books that will be distributed. Drake said all the books wall be new and primarily focused on contemporary stories written by Indigenous authors.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will have better access to these beautiful things that I think too often are treated like a luxury, when in fact, they should be in every household on the Navajo Nation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Drake describes the foundation of discovering Native authors and stories as grassroots, coming from a writing background and meeting those writers in different communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause as we know, our education systems have been really violent to us in the past, not too many generations back, like my grandparents, and my great-grandparents went to boarding schools, and that definitely influences our literature and also how we view books,\u201d she said \u201cSo it\u2019s really great having a network of authors who understand those circumstances and those stakes that are at play in something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lily
Lily Painter speaks with a child after choosing a free book at the NDN Girls Book Club launch on April 22 in Phoenix. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Lily Painter, co-coordinator and graphic designer, added to the demand and the diverse stories Native communities are asking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re able to expand outside of what mainstream press or the media know about what Native people want in literature,\u201d she said \u201cBeing able to give out books centered around growing up Navajo, having baby books teaching you how to speak Navajo, or your Kinaalda and having a crush on a boy in your class at school, there are books that exist now, those are stories we can share with kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four directions of the book drop tour hold a philosophy with the book club, starting in the east and traveling in those specific directions, Drake said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause just stopping in one place would be too few and the Navajo Nation is the size of West Virginia,\u201d she said \u201cIt\u2019s so vast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drake said she hopes to continue with the NDNGBC book drops every year throughout a different reservation.<\/p>\n

At their final stop in Shiprock, NDNGBC will be at the Din\u00e9 College library.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a common thing that happens with libraries in America in general is that we see that people don\u2019t know the resources that libraries can provide because there\u2019s just not enough education around what they have available,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Kinsale
Kinsale Drake, founder, has been working in literature since she was 17 years old and holds a bachelor\u2019s of arts in ethnicity, race and migration and English from Yale University. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In an interview with Tri-City Record<\/em>, Drake spoke to the effects of the negative depictions of Native people in media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a scientific fact, proven by decades of study in these fields in psychology as well,\u201d she said. \u201cNative students have the lowest graduation rates from high school, from college, but that\u2019s not because, you know, we are inherently any less smart or motivated than any other community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather, Drake said youths are exposed to the stereotypes and stigmas around themselves and their culture, which leaves an impact on their mental health and self-image.<\/p>\n

\"An
An eventgoer signs up for the NDN Girls Book Club listing at their launch April 22 in Phoenix at the Nurture House. Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record<\/span>Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI think all of us have to remember that education systems aren\u2019t made for us,\u201d she said. \u201cAmerica wants us to forget that only a couple of decades ago, education and literature were tools of violence and assimilation through boarding schools, making us speak English through punishing us for speaking our native languages and practicing our religions and practicing our beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a nuance to the stories dealing with real issues Native people still face, such as alcoholism and drug use, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think something book club tries to do, and I think something that this tour really encompasses is sort of offering, what representation is out there,\u201d Painter said. \u201cBeing able to give our readers and our communities the path to validate their identity through the literature they\u2019re reading and the media that they\u2019re consuming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Senator John Pinto Library, at the Din\u00e9 College South Campus in Shiprock, opened in 2011 to the students and community. The library serves as a resource for literature, research and gatherings. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
A literature desert<\/div>\n

The Senator John Pinto Library, located at Din\u00e9 College\u2019 Shiprock South Campus, opened in 2011 and has been the only resource for literature in the community.<\/p>\n

Outside of school libraries and nonprofit organizations, youths do not have access to books.<\/p>\n

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the library saw a significant drop in community traffic, said branch librarian Darwyn Henderson.<\/p>\n

Most often, community members are not aware of the space and the resources it offers. Visitors find out through word of mouth, he said.<\/p>\n

The library offers a section of Native American titles and authors for adults and youths.<\/p>\n

As librarian, Henderson said the Native literature keeps a good circulation and the library will purchase what\u2019s available.<\/p>\n

During the book drop, the library hopes to utilize its entire space, including the auditorium and the story circle space, for youths.<\/p>\n

Henderson hopes the book drop tour will help more community members will find out about the library and its resources.<\/p>\n

\"Senator
Senator John Pinto Library holds a section of adult and children\u2019s literature featuring Native authors and stories. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Senator
Senator John Pinto Library, located at the Din\u00e9 College Shiprock South Campus, will be the location for the last stop on the Yi\u0142ta Book Tour in April. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10,000 books highlighting Indigenous stories and authors will be donated to Navajo Nation youths<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1060,1240,1222,155,799,28,1241],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-28426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-aztec","tag-bloomfield","tag-education","tag-farmington","tag-headlines","tag-kirtland"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80410,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28426\/revisions\/80410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28426"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=28426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}