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Wyoming Indian High School Library

It’s a very natural environment. It’s a learning environment.

Wyoming

From the Fall 2007 issue of the Wyoming Library Roundup, published jointly by the Wyoming State Library and the Wyoming Library Association

The Wyoming Indian High School library has benches aligned against windows so its students can read by natural light. The library is located on the second floor of the high school building with a wall of windows that overlook the Wind River Mountain Range, while the inside is decorated to season.

Librarian Darlene Powell serves as the school’s lone librarian with help from students with shelving, helping patrons, watching the circulation desk, and any other library-related tasks. Powell not only serves as a librarian, but sometimes as a teacher. “Teachers sign up to bring their classes in or they send students for independent studying. I often fill in as a substitute and supervise classes all day long.” Powell says. In addition, the students who help her out in the library receive a quarterly grade based on the activities they do in the library.

Students gather to study at the Wyoming Indian High School library

The library has a large Native American section that offers the students information about their various tribes. She also provides resources on Native American culture, religion, myths and legends; social issues such as gambling; and information on religious and medical use of plants and herbs. “I ask Native American staff for advice on books to order for the library, especially if they may be offensive or controversial to the Native American culture,” she says.

Powell says she worked hard to have a warm appearance to the library so students feel like it is a nice atmosphere for them. She provides bottled water, lotion, cough drops, Kleenex, bandages and anything they need for a little TLC. “The students respect the library and use it with care and interest,” she says. “They’re very respectful of me and more than willing to ask me if I need help and ask me for help.”

According to the school’s website, the Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes didn’t learn things in a traditional way—meaning they did not know how to read or write. Instead, children learned from those things passed on by relatives. “Meaning, purpose, and values were transmitted orally through story telling—the purview of the tribal elders,” the site says.

This idea has by no means been abandoned by the school. The library offers mentor services through its Grandparent Program. Tribal elder Bernadine Friday provides information and advice to those who come and visit her. “Students study in her room or just sit and visit and drink coffee with her.”

Also offered at the library is the Parent Resource Program. Powell admits she doesn’t have as many parents visit as she would like. “They do ask for information about the local Arapaho and Shoshoni Tribe, but most of that information is located in the Elementary School Culture Center.” Powell says there the information is protected and watched very closely because it is one of a kind information and material. “Some of the information is not printed and it is passed from generation to generation in music or story telling. It is not for all to hear or know because it is sacred.”

The Native American influence is clear in the library. The walls are covered in cultural posters, and bulletin boards lined with borders. “I have handmade decorations and Native American pictures that line the walls,” she says. “Students and staff almost always comment on how nice it feels to be in the library.”

And that’s the kind of environment Powell wants to create for the library. A good environment draws the students into the other resources the library has to offer. “The most enjoyable part of the library is when it is full of students who are using the resources available to them.”

Powell encourages other libraries to make information available about Native Americans, especially the Arapaho and Shoshone of the Wind River Indian Reservation. “Our students are sometimes afraid to leave the reservation because they are mistreated in other communities. “They are very family oriented and do have a difficult time leaving home, but when they do I hope they are treated with respect and dignity just like anyone else.”