ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ A p ril / 9 9 8 / 2 5 9 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s The Tribal Library Project: Interns, American Indians, and library services A look at the challenges by B o n n ie Biggs A p ilo t p r o je c t, w h ich p la c e d lib rary school interns in tribal libraries on small A m erican Ind ian re se rv a tio n s, p re se n unique learning experiences, challenges, and triumphs. C alifornia’s San D iego County is distin­ guished by the fact that it has m ore Ameri­ ca n In d ian re s e rv a tio n s th an any o th e r county in the United States. W hile the res­ ervations are small, both in terms o f p o p u ­ lation and land mass, several tribal libraries have b een d ev elop ed over the past 12 years either through individual tribal initiatives or under an LSCA grant aw arded to the San D iego County Library for the Indian Library Services Project (ILSP) from 1987 through 1 9 8 9 .1 B u ild in g b r id g e s California State University (CSU) San Marcos, an eight-year-old institution, began d ev el­ oping relationships with local American In­ dian reservations early on. Linkages began through outreach activities that w ere c e n ­ tered in the library and initiated by a pro­ fessor o f American Indian Studies and me. As the ILSP funds dried up, w e began a s e ­ ries o f initiatives to pick up w here the San D iego County Library project left off. American Indian Storytellings, staged in th e sm all, o n e -ro o m -lib ra r y , d rew large crow ds and in less than tw o years the event evolved into an Am erican Indian Cultural te Fair, drawing thousands o f American Indi­ ans and surrounding com m unity m em bers d to the fledgling cam pus. By the time the new university m oved to its perm anent 303- acre site, a form al A m erican Indian Pow W ow , co m p lete with traditional p rotocol, was staged, featuring the Indian Studies pro­ fessor as Master o f C erem onies and m yself as chair o f the cam pus-w ide Pow W ow Com­ m ittee. T he fourth annual event, celebrated in O cto b er 1996, drew nearly 10,000 p eop le to the cam pus. T he level o f com m itm ent dem onstrated through the staging o f th ese events and the involvem ent o f the local Indian com m unity paved the way for me to develop ties with the half-dozen tribal libraries that survived the drying up o f LSCA funding. Som e librar­ ies closed or rem ained o p en — based on the availability o f volunteer staff. A small num ­ b e r rem ain vital, fu n ctio n in g institutions. T h o se affiliated with the gaming tribes nour­ ish. A few o th ers stru ggle to survive as they co m p e te with critical survival serv ices such as w ater, fire, and p o lic e p ro tectio n . T h e p overty rate is as high as the ju n io r high sc h o o l drop out rate and a co m m en su ra te illiteracy rate. T h e fact that any tribal li­ b raries e x ist u nd er su ch harsh co n d itio n s is a testam en t to the Ind ian p e o p le w ho su p p o rt them in the fa ce o f u n co m p ro m is­ ing odds. A bout the a u th o r Bonnie Biggs is assistant to the dean, coordinator for public services, and university coordinator for arts & lectures at California State University, San Marcos; e-mail: bbiggs@ m ailhost1.csusm.edu csusm.edu 260 / C&RL News ■ A pril 1998 R e a c h in g o u t I developed the Tribal Libraries Project in order to assist the valiant efforts o f tribal library staff at the Rincon and Paia reserva­ tion libraries, situated in northern San Di­ ego County and within 45 miles o f the uni­ versity. The project involved library school interns who worked, under my general su­ pervision, in the tribal libraries doing work that tribal library staff identified as impor­ tant. The project called for considerable pro­ fessional oversight and cultural sensitivity, since it had taken me nearly seven years to make inroads with the local native people. It was critical for the interns to learn that the mission, operation, and internal percep­ tion o f a tribal library was markedly differ­ ent from libraries in the macro-culture. The emphasis on collecting tribal material, pres­ ervation o f language, and culture are only a few of the differences between the two. Tribal libraries tend to serve as social gathering places or in some cases, as museums, even as wake rooms. Patterson and Taylor note, in a recent C ollege & R e s ea r c h L ib ra ries article on trib - ally controlled community college libraries, that the philosophy o f the libraries “reflect their integration with, and dedication to the im provem ent of, the tribal com m unity at large.”2 Tribal libraries that serve the general or tribal population at large also take a more holistic perspective on the concept o f librar­ ies in terms o f place and service. The Indian value that places the good o f the many b e ­ fore individual need is alive and operational in most tribal libraries. I contacted the associate director o f the San Jo s e State University, Southern Califor­ nia Campus (Fullerton) for the Masters in Library & Inform ation Scien ce to inquire about the feasibility o f placing interns in tribal libraries.3 The practicum course offered by the program suited the objectives of the tribal libraries project. The Southern California cam­ pus wanted to ensure that interns were not just used as “free w orkers” but rather wanted to place them in situations that would offer a substantive learning experience. The asso­ ciate director thought it was a good idea and posted an an n o u n cem en t in the student newsletter. A student enrolled in the program contacted me in early 1995 and expressed great interest in the project. On th e jo b c h a lle n g e s T he intern began w orking at the Rincon tribal library in the summer o f 1995. The Rincon reservation is located in north cen ­ tral San Diego County and com prises eight square miles o f green valley and foothills with spectacular mountain views. The on- reservation population is 1,600 with 651 of those being enrolled band m em bers o f the San Luiseño Band o f Mission Indians. The Luiseño derived their name from their asso­ ciation with the Mission San Luis Rey, es­ tablished in 1798 by Franciscan Fathers. The tribal library was estab lish ed w ithin the Rincon Tribal Hall under the ILSP in 1987. Since that time the library has seen four li­ brary managers com e and go, has changed tribal councils ten times, and tribal adminis­ trators three times. The never-ending battle betw een the U.S. governm ent and Indian tribes over sovereignty and econom ic inde­ pendence issues renders reservation politi­ cal clim ates unpredictable at best. In the spring o f 1995 the Rincon library and its staff w ere stable. I met with the intern, visited the tribal library to introduce her to tribal hall staff and the library manager, and left her to work out the details o f her assignments with the library manager. During that summer, the Rincon reservation opened its casino, which featured 400 video gaming m achines. Con­ tinuing litigation in the state and federal courts over the legality o f video gambling jeopardized the casin o ’s future but did not influence the tribe’s decision, rooted in their concep t o f sovereign status, to install the m achines and open the casino. On the day the intern arrived for her first day o f work, the tribal library m anager in­ formed her that he had to leave to video­ tape the opening o f the casino and the e x ­ pected arrest o f tribal elders. U.S. Attorney, Alan Bersin had gotten wind o f the machines via a S a n D ieg o U nion T rib u n e photo, illus­ trating their installation. The intern was un­ able to work with the library m anager that day and she began to understand how the com plexity o f tribal politics takes p re ce ­ dence over daily operations o f any agency on the reservation. A federal order, prohib­ iting the use o f the video m achines, was imposed and the casin o ’s business began a fast decline. Later that summer, all tribal staff C&RL News ■ A p ril 1998 / 261 hours w ere reduced and som e staff were laid off. The tribal library manager was un­ able to interact consistently with the intern and eventu ally left the reservation. T he practicum was uneven at best. P ro je ct e x p a n s io n In the spring o f 1996, the same intern re­ sponded to the ad for the Tribal Library Project in the library school program stu­ dent newsletter and asked for the opportu­ nity to enroll in the practicum again. She was still enthusiastic about the project and noted that som e positive steps had b een taken the previous summer. T he project identified as most critical was to automate the collection, acquisition, and circulation fu n ctio n s o f the tribal library. W orking closely with the tribe, the intern helped to facilitate the decision to acquire and install InMagic software. Although the tribal library manager was not replaced, a part-time li­ brary staff m em ber remained at Rincon and a deal was struck with the tribal administra­ tor to allow intern access. During 1995-96 I established ties with a recently opened tribal library, five miles from Rincon, at the Paia reservation. The Paia res­ ervation, also situated in north central San Diego County, is similar in size and, while inhabited by some Luiseño people, the ma­ jority o f the people in Paia are descendants o f the Cupeño people, relocated by the fed­ eral government in 1902 from nearby Warner Hot Springs. The Paia library was not one of the libraries established under the ILSP but rather by tribal initiative in 1989. The library manager, a Luiseño woman, was very estab­ lished, enrolled in a local library technology certificate program, and was well regarded by the tribal council members— even though she came from another nearby reservation and was not Cupeño. The site was perfect for intern placement because of its stability, proximity to Rincon, and the desire on the part of the library manager to purchase InMagic, as well. If you’re considering a tribal library internship … Developing internships in tribal librar­ ies can provide life-changing experiences for students entering the profession. The student benefits by experiencing a degree o f cultural immersion and by contributing to the operational goals o f the tribal li­ brary. Most importantly, the student gains a broader perspective o f libraries and how they differ, in particular, how tribal librar­ ies serve as social gathering places as well as cen ters for the oral transm ission o f know ledge and mythology. In te re s te d in d e v e lo p in g a sim ila r project in your library’s service area? Here are som e things to consider: • Is t h e r e a n MLS d e g re e -g ra n tin g in stitu tio n in y o u r s e rv ic e a re a ? If there is, you ’ll want to find out if the curriculum includes internship opportunities, and, if so, how the supervisory role is defined. O th er than the tribal library m anager, som eone will need to assume overall re­ sponsibility and be the liaison betw een the library school and the tribal library. • Is t h e r e a n In d ia n r e s e r v a tio n o r s i z a b l e I n d i a n p o p u l a t i o n in y o u r lib r a r y ’s s e r v ic e a re a ? If so, you ’ll want to m ake contact with the governing body, likely a tribal council, to determine if there is a tribal library. If so, you’ll want to b e ­ gin to connect with the tribal library staff and tribal council to determine their inter­ est in an intern program. Y ou’ll want to spend most o f your time, perhaps several visits, listening. • A sk y o u r s e l f w h y y o u a n d y o u r in s titu tio n w o u ld w a n t to p u rs u e th is k in d o f p r o g r a m in th e firs t p la ce . B e­ yond altruism, does your campus/library hold a strong commitment to community outreach? Are there com pelling, mission- based reasons for engaging in projects that cen ter on m ulticultural issues? Is there som eone within the library w hose job de­ scription or research focus naturally links them to this kind o f activity? If so, will the library adm inistration support the time commitment required to develop and then oversee an intern program? For further information about a success­ ful tribal libraries internship project, co n ­ tact B o n n ie Biggs at b b ig g s@ m ailh o stl. csusm.edu or call (760) 750-4337. csusm.edu 262 I C&RL News ■ A pril 1998 I met with two interns at the university in May 1996 to go over tribal histories, politics, and culture and to give an overview o f the university’s relationship to date with the two reservations. The interns exhibited curiosity and genuine interest in the project and agreed to split their practicum time (135 hours) b e ­ tween the two tribal libraries. Over the sum­ mer, the two interns proved to be perfect cultural ambassadors for both their library school and CSU-San Marcos. They ran into some difficult situations at Rincon given the instability o f personnel caused by the casino shutdown. By late summer they turned their attention to Paia, where they had the oppor­ tunity to assist the tribe in drafting a pro­ posal to the Department o f Education for the … th e T rib al L ib r a r y P ro je ct s e rv e s as a liv in g e x a m p le o f h o w tw o in s t it u t io n s o f h ig h e r le a r n in g can p o o l h u m a n re so u rce s to a c h ie v e h ig h e r g o a ls an d to h o n o r t h e ir re s p e c tiv e in s t it u t io n a l m is s io n s ta te m e n ts . Library Services For Indian Tribes and Ha­ w aiian Natives Program Special P rojects Grants. The proposal was geared toward helping to furnish and equip a new 3,600- square-foot-HUD-funded library. They par­ ticipated in a Cupa Cultural Days event, ate their first fry bread, and adopted two starv­ ing and wounded “rez dogs.” Using a Cupeño dictionary, the new “library dogs” were given Cupeño nam es, food dishes, and w eekly treats. They embraced these pleasant exp e­ riences at Paia with enthusiasm and grace. The interns kept daily journals documenting the life-changing experience they had on the two reservations. M issio n a c c o m p lish e d Both tribal libraries have systems up and running. During this internship exp erience, a considerable number o f titles were entered, tribal library staff were trained in the opera­ tion o f InMagic, and user manuals were de­ veloped. In fall o f 1996, the two interns joined me and the associate director o f the CSU Fullerton MLS program at the annual conference o f the California Library Asso­ ciation. The program entitled “The Tribal Library Intern Project” was a well-attended, successful presentation. Neither intern had ever presented at a professional conference before, but each cam e alive and delivered a stirring account when telling their stories to a room full o f interested professionals. The Tribal Library Project is alive and well. I continue to work with interns at the Paia tribal library, which was awarded the DOE grant in the fall o f 1997. G rou n d ­ breaking took place in November, and the Paia library m anager is (with the help of reservation high school students) moving from the old, run-down trailer into the new building. W hy? Beyond the obvious benefits to the tribal libraries and to the learning exp eriences of the interns, the Tribal Library Project serves as a living exam ple o f how two institutions o f higher learning can pool human resources to achieve higher goals and to honor their respective institutional mission statements. In the case o f CSU-San Marcos, the project em bodies the cam pus mission: “CSU San Marcos endorses an international perspec­ tive that addresses the global community in its distinctive social, political, and econom ic terms. This multicultural outlook is reflected in our curriculum, extracurricular activities, international exch anges, and special pro­ grams that focus on world issues and prob­ lem s.” Indian reservations are sovereign na­ tions. As we work together, we are in a sense working “inter-nationally.” N o te s 1. Bonnie Biggs & David Whitehorse, “Sover­ eignty, Collaboration and Continuing Challenge: A History of Tribal Libraries in San Diego County,” Special Libraries 86 (Fall 1995): 279-291. 2. Lotsee Patterson and Rhonda Harris Tay­ lor, “Tribally Controlled Community College Li­ braries: A Paradigm for Survival,” College a n d Research L ib ra ries 57 (July 1996): 316-329. 3. The author would like to acknowledge Nancy Burns, Cindy Mediavilla, and Debra Hansen, CSU Fullerton; Kim Laru and Sarah Way, interns from CSU Fullerton; tribal library staff Doretta Musick, Mark Macarro, and Patrick Viveros for their commitment to this project and to David Whitehorse for the initial inspira­ tion to make a move.