Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
YEAR OF LEARNING
During the month of July, ULA members learned how to best serve patrons who are experiencing homelessness through Ryan Dowd’s Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness. The online training modules are an invaluable resource for librarians across the state which applies an empathy driven model of patron service.
“I was grateful for the access to Ryan Dowd’s Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness training and the discussion on July 29, 2021. My staff has been using Ryan’s book for the past year as ongoing training and it was most insightful to finish our efforts with Ryan’s core training videos. They really helped to cement the concepts for my employees. The discussion was very helpful as it provided an opportunity to hear how other libraries address patron concerns and solutions they have employed. I gleaned some great ideas I hope to implement such as using some of Ryan’s training in our onboarding process and considering a homeless training taskforce. It is always beneficial to learn from others. Thank you for providing the opportunity for discussion.” (Julie Heckert, General Reference Librarian)
Library equity partners, the Utah Library Association and Utah State Library, will focus on Indigenous Land Acknowledgement during the month of August. I hope you continue to take advantage of the monthly opportunities to learn, interact, and take action, that lead up to the ULA 2022 Annual Conference. Explore the Year of Learning Hub to familiarize yourself with the year long “United in Diversity | Unida en la Diversidad” curriculum.
Rita Christensen (She/Her/Hers)
ULA President, 2021-2022
AUGUST 2021: INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
LEARN Workshop: Conversations | Land Acknowledgement – Melissa Shaginoff – Watch On Demand. This recorded conversation is provided by the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Channel. Melissa Shaginoff (Ahtna Athabascan and Paiute) discusses land acknowledgements and the honor and respect they bring to indigenous peoples. During the month of August watch the recorded webinar on land acknowledgements and then join us on September 2nd to discuss what you’ve learned. [View Now]
DISCUSS Zoom Meetup: Serving Homeless Patrons – Becca Lael – Thursday, September 2, 2021 – 12:00 p.m. August discussion: What have you learned about land acknowledgments? What questions do you have? What resources can you share? [Register Now]
TAKE ACTION: Practice land acknowledgement in your library work. Challenge: Research the Native people with ties to the land your library occupies. Find a way to acknowledge them in your library’s physical or online presence. Post what you learned and how you shared it in the Slack discussion.