News + Events

Encore performance of Music of the West African Kora, January 17

January 13, 2023 By Jennifer Downey

A.K. Smiley Library invites you to an encore performance of Music of the West African Kora, presented by Sean Gaskell, on Tuesday, January 17 at 6:30pm at the Contemporary Club.

This program will include a performance and educational demonstration on the kora, an ancient 21-stringed harp with a long neck. The kora is traditionally played by West African oral historians known as Griots, also known as Jalis or Jelis. The soft, melodic sound of the kora often stands in contrast to the themes of the songs, which recall times of war, hardship, love, and loss throughout the history of Mande society.

Sean Gaskell has been studying and playing the kora since first hearing a performance in 2006. What began as curiosity led to a global education and busy career. He has spent time in Brikama, Gambia, West Africa, learning from traditional kora masters Moriba Kuyateh and his father, the late Malamini Jobarteh. Mr. Gaskell has presented adult, youth, and family programs at over 350 libraries and a multitude of K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and assisted living facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

This will be Mr. Gaskell’s third time playing for Smiley Library, and it’s a program you won’t want to miss. It’s not often one has the opportunity to experience the music of this rare instrument and the fascinating history told through its songs. Families are welcome and no registration is required.

Observe the 2022 Native American Heritage Month with these new books, periodicals

November 1, 2022 By Teresa Letizia

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November with some of the Smiley Library titles listed here. As a reminder, there is no charge to place a book on hold. Just browse below and click on titles in which you are interested!

In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens. The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed.

The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919. In 2021 the United States designated the federal holiday of Columbus Day to also be observed as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994. (source: NativeAmericanHeritageMonth.gov)

Of Local Interest

Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson. Published in 1884, it features a Scottish-Native American orphan girl, and takes place in Southern California. The Ramona Pageant, which still takes place in Hemet, California, is derived from this character.)
The hunt for Willie Boy : Indian-hating and popular culture, by Redlands historians James A. Sandos and Larry E. Burgess. A scholarly and ethno-historical examination of an actual incident which took place in Southern California in 1909, and which was the focus of 1960 novel Willie Boy & the last western manhunt and its 1969 film adaptation, “Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here.” The authors provide compelling research to correct the facts, and to vindicate the Paiute-Chemehuevi Indian called ‘Willie Boy.’

New Fiction

Shutter, by Ramona Emerson
When two feathers fell from the sky, by Margaret Verble
Fevered star, by Rebecca Roanhorse
Calling for a blanket dance, by Oscar Hokeah
The sacred bridge, by Anne Hillerman
White horse, by Erika T. Wurth

Heritage Room items (available by appointment for use in the Heritage Room)

Did you know that the Library’s Special Collections department, the Heritage Room, holds a Carnegie Indian Collection? It began in 1910 with a gift from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to honor his friend Albert K. Smiley. It includes rare and selected volumes primarily on the Native American tribes of California and the Southwest.

Recently added to the Heritage Room’s Non-Fiction Indian collection is a publication which features the Smiley brothers’ work as Quakers, and that of others, in attempts to achieve Native American justice:

As they were led : Quakerly steps and missteps toward Native justice, 1795-1940, by Catlin, Martha Claire

Albert K. Smiley served as a commissioner on the Board of Indian Commissioners from 1879 to 1912, the year he died. He founded the Mohonk Indian Conference in 1894 and nominated the presiding officers each year after that until 1912.

Heritage Room periodicals, books

News from native California, quarterly periodical
American Indian culture and research journal, quarterly periodical / University of California, Los Angeles, American Indian Culture and Research Center.
Heritage keepers, periodical / Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Inc., Banning, Calif., Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Morongo Reservation, California.
Handbook of North American Indians / Sturtevant, William C.
Strong hearts & healing hands : Southern California Indians and field nurses, 1920-1950 / Trafzer, Clifford E.
San Bernardino County Museum Association quarterly / San Bernardino County Museum Association
West of slavery : the Southern dream of a transcontinental empire / Waite, Kevin (Historian)

Young Readers’ Room (YRR)

The first Thanksgiving : separating fact from fiction, by Mavrikis, Peter

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Older Fiction and Non-Fiction

We are the land : a history of native California / Akins, Damon B.
The Apache diaspora : four centuries of displacement and survival / Conrad, Paul
“The chiefs now in this city” : Indians and the urban frontier in early America / Calloway, Colin
Living nations, living words : an anthology of first peoples poetry / Harjo, Joy
Poet Warrior: A Memoir / Harjo, Joy
Black snake : Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and environmental justice / Todrys, Katherine Wiltenburg
Standoff : Standing Rock, the Bundy movement, and the American story sacred lands / Keeler, Jacqueline
The taking of Jemima Boone : colonial settlers, tribal nations, and the kidnap that shaped America / Pearl, Matthew
Cheyenne summer : the battle of Beecher Island : a history / Mort, T. A. (Terry A.)
Ramona / Jackson, Helen Hunt
The hunt for Willie Boy : Indian-hating and popular culture / Sandos, James A.
Willie Boy & the last western manhunt / Trafzer, Clifford E.
The Lumbee Indians : an American struggle / Lowery, Malinda Maynor
Blood and treasure : Daniel Boone and the fight for America’s first frontier / Drury, Bob
The Apache wars : the hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the captive boy who started the longest war in American history / Hutton, Paul Andrew
Go home, Ricky! : a novel / Kwak, Gene
The sentence : a novel / Erdrich, Louise
The healing of Natalie Curtis / Kirkpatrick, Jane
Crooked hallelujah / Ford, Kelli Jo
The removed / Hobson, Brandon
The only good Indians : a novel / Jones, Stephen Graham
There there / Orange, Tommy
Eyes bottle dark with a mouthful of flowers / Skeets, Jake
An Afro-Indigenous history of the United States / Mays, Kyle
Native women changing their worlds / Cutright, Patricia J.
Diné bizaad : speak, read, write Navajo / Goossen, Irvy W.
The Cherokee syllabary : writing the people’s perseverance / Cushman, Ellen
Tracks that speak : the legacy of Native American words in North American culture / Cutler, Charles L.

Young Readers’ Room

Everything you wanted to know about Indians but were afraid to ask / Treuer, Anton
The Marshall Cavendish illustrated history of the North American Indians / Oakley, Ruth
Sisters of the Neversea / Smith, Cynthia Leitich

Young Adult (located in our Teen Underground area on the lower level)

Firekeeper’s daughter / Boulley, Angeline
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People / Reese, Debbie
Apple: Skin to the Core: a Memoir in Words and Pictures / Gansworth, Eric
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band / Staebler, Christian (YA Graphic Novel)

The Redlands community celebrates Adult Literacy Day in Redlands

October 2, 2022 By Diane Shimota

The City Council proclaimed September 25, 2022 Adult Literacy Day in the city of Redlands, recognizing that adults who improve their literacy skills can advance their employment, further their education, and help their children in school. Through the proclamation, the City Council commended the efforts of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s adult learners, volunteers, and community partners. By improving their reading and writing, adult learners can provide a better future for themselves, their families, and their community.

In honor of Adult Literacy Day, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program invited the Redlands community to hear adult-learner authors read their works that were recently published in the fifth volume of Our Stories, A Collection of Writings. In this volume, adult learners wrote about their journeys to literacy, important memories, joys, dreams, everyday annoyances, and reflections on books that they had read. This volume also included collaborative stories from children who participate in the family literacy program and poetry from computer and conversation classes.

Over 150 learners, tutors, their families, and community members gathered on September 25 to celebrate the learners’ works. Adult Literacy Coordinator Diane Shimota, Library Director Don McCue, and Mayor Paul Barich welcomed the attendees. Mayor Barich emphasized the importance of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program and the value it brings to the entire community.

Darcel and Bris at the celebration of authors

The core principle of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program is to assist learners in reaching their reading and writing goals by working with a tutor one-on-one. This goal was beautifully reflected in Darcel Cannady and Briseiry Roque’s anthology submission, Two Voices, which emphasized that tutor-learner teams have much in common and much to learn from each other. After the celebration, Darcel and Briseiry expressed their appreciation to all the people who made the author celebration possible. This was the first adult literacy event they had attended, and they both felt like they were part of a community of supporters.

Author Rossy Le joined the literacy program in 2022 and worked with her tutor, Sharon Regalado, to write two stories for the anthology. At the event, she was very excited to see the community of adult literacy tutors and learners that she had joined, and to read her story, Mochi’s Rat, aloud. She was nervous about reading, but found confidence and assurance through the process. Afterwards, Rossy observed that all the authors who read their stories did so with confidence that they gained through improving their literacy.

Author Magdalena Rebollar read her story, My Dream to Improve Myself, which included her experience of being unable to get an education in her home country because her family was too poor. Now that her children are older, Magdalena can meet with her tutor to learn reading and writing skills that will enable her to complete her education. She is grateful for the support of her tutor, Lauri Jones, whose patience and guidance makes this learning possible.

Seventeen additional authors read their works at the author celebration. After hearing their works, attendees commented on the authenticity of the stories and the value that sharing their stories brought to the community. Community representatives Rebecca McCurdy, President, Friends of the Library, Kate Pretorius, Library Trustee, and Toni Momberger, Executive Editor, Follow Our Courts, spoke about their literacy experiences and the courage it takes, as an adult, to work on this vital skill.

We invite you to read Our Stories, A Collection of Writings. All five volumes are available in the Adult Literacy collection at A. K. Smiley Public Library. To purchase your own copy of the anthology, search for ‘Redlands Adult Literacy Program’ at Amazon.com. You are also invited to watch the recordings of the adult-learner authors who recently videotaped their works. These recordings will be available at www.akspl.org/literacy in October.

After the event, one tutor said that if she wasn’t already a tutor, she would be signing up to become one! The Redlands Adult Literacy Program relies on its wonderful volunteer tutors to provide free instruction in reading and writing. The next volunteer tutor orientation is Wednesday, October 19, at 6:00 pm in the Library Assembly Room. If you are interested in learning more about the Redlands Adult Literacy Program and becoming a tutor, please call Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4138 or email literacy@akspl.org. If you know of someone who needs help in reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their lives by contacting Diane Shimota. All literacy services are free and confidential.

Reading list: Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated September 15 – October 15

September 15, 2022 By Library Staff

September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.

For more information, visit HispanicHeritageMonth.gov, enjoy our display inside the Library, and check out some of our books listed below, such as My Broken Language by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and co-writer of In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes. Hudes tells her lyrical story of coming of age against the backdrop of an ailing Philadelphia barrio, with her sprawling Puerto Rican family as a collective muse.

In addition, you may search our catalog for our large collection of Spanish language materials, or contact the Heritage Room to view local Hispanic heritage items, such as these photos featured in our previous blog post, Honoring the Hispanic Heritage of Redlands.