The beginning two weeks of April were a whirlwind for Salina Bookshelf, as we happily participated in numerous events with some of our favorite authors and organizations in the southwest region.
We’re incredibly thankful for the opportunities given by these wonderful organizations.
We also had an incredible time with our authors who joined us and read at these awesome events and be sure to check out Running with Changing Woman by Lorinda Martinez.
Yilta Book Drop hosted by the NDN Girls Book Club
The week of April 1-5th saw the Yiłta Book Drop tour in which the NDN Girls Club, 4KINSHIP, and Cellular One travelled to 4 different areas of the Navajo reservation to provide more than 10,000 FREE BOOKS and items to local reservation communities.
With events and readers at each stop, including Salina Bookshelf’s very own Editor, Tyler Mitchell offering to read poems, the first book drop of its kind, was a very successful event. Mitchell remembers seeing hundreds of kids and community members lining up for free shoes, free children’s books, and recalls his favorite moment of seeing small children with big smiles on their faces holding loads of free books and more with all their might.
NDN Girls Book Club is a 501(c)3 literary organization run by and for Indigenous peoples that hosts free youth workshops, hosts author talks, uplifts Indigenous literature, supports Indigenous booksellers, and sends out free Native books. You can learn more about this incredible organization by clicking the button below.
Language Oral Stories Symposium
The Literary Arts & Oral Stories Symposium was held at the Isleta Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico from April 8-9th. It was hosted by Navajo Technical University and saw workshops, readings, and events focused on the important aspects of Dine storytelling.
Amongst the readers were the Inaugural and current Poet Laureates of the Navajo Nation, Luci Tapahonse and Laura Tohe with special guests, Sunny Dooley, Sherwin Bitsui and Abalone Mountain Press’s founder, Amber McCrary, and many more.
Running with Changing Woman author Lorinda Martinez was also in attendance and was able to talk about her book centering the Navajo Kinaaldá Ceremony and her own journey of writing her book.
Northern Arizona Book Festival
Lorinda Martinez (Running with Changing Woman) and Seraphine G. Yazzie (The Three Little Sheep and Beauty Beside Me)
The weekend of April 13th saw the bulk of Northern Arizona Book Festival Events including a live reading by Lorinda Martinez in downtown Flagstaff’s Heritage Square.
Numerous publishing houses, local presses, and organizations were set up with tables showcasing their important books, zines, merch, etc. offering locals and visitors a glimpse into the literature world of the southwest.
Salina Bookshelf was invited to table at the Heritage Square readings all day on April 13th and were part of the Southwest Indigenous Publishing Panel. The panel included Red Ink Journal, University of Arizona Press, Abalone Mountain Press, Chapter House Journal and Mesa Media, all supporters and curators of Indigenous publishing. The panel discussed important topics about the importance of Indigenous Publishing in an effort to promote creativity, culture and language revitalization, and community.