Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Jonathan Nelson delivered when he received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the picture book category for Forever Cousins.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Jonathan Nelson Ya'at'eeh! Shi ei yinishye. Kiyaa'aanii doo Naakai dine'e baschichiin. Hooghan lani da shicheii doo Táchii’nii da shinali. Hello. My name is Jonathan Nelson. I am of the Towering House clan, born for the Mexican clan ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Laurel Goodluck delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the picture book category for Forever Cousins.  **** Naomi Bishop (left) presenting Laurel Goodluck (right) with award for Forever Cousins AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Laurel Goodluck Greetings, Dosha – Hello, friends. It’s wonderful to be spending the morning with you all. Writing a book for children i ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Kim Rogers delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the picture book category for A Letter for Bob.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Kim Rogers This is my first trip to Phoenix. It’s a wonderful reprieve from the freezing Oklahoma winter. Last week, during single digit temperatures, I was trying to thaw out our frozen shower with a portable space heater. Pho ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Christine Day delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the middle school category for We Still Belong.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Christine Day Good morning, everyone. It’s a beautiful day to be here, to share space with you all in this incredible venue, and to celebrate the immense talent and diversity of our Native kid lit community. For those of you ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks given by Traci Sorell when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award in the picture book category for Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series, and the Honor Award in the middle school category for Mascot, and for She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Traci Sorell ᏏᏲ ᏂᎦᏓ. Traci Sorell ᏓᏆᏙᎠ. ᏥᎡᏥ. ᏥᎩᎶᎯ. ᏥᏗᎪᏪᎵᎩ. Wado for the warm welcome. It ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Arigon Starr delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award in the picture book category for Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series. Starr did the illustrations; the book is by Traci Sorell.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Arigon Starr Thank you to everyone at AILA, Kokila Books and especially Traci Sorell. This was my first picture book and hopefully ..read more

On January 25, 2025, Saturday Night Live did a skit called AI Software. It was set in a high school classroom. Along one wall were shelves of books. I did a screen capture of it because on the shelves are books by Native writers, Angeline Boulley and Eric Gansworth! The students were viewing what was presented as an AI generated video that was a mess, which is why the girl in my screen cap has that expression on her face (the word 'What?' is due to the the closed caption option I use).  I am delighted to see Native-authored books on the SNL stage! That's a big one! I'm adding it to AI ..read more

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Byron Graves delivered when he received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the young adult category for Rez Ball.  **** AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks Byron Graves Rez Ball was inspired by fond memories of playing basketball for my high school basketball team on the Red Lake Reservation. Our basketball team was a beautiful distraction from the tough, cold, dark winter months. We were something to ..read more

Most readers of American Indians in Children's Literature know that the Caldecott Medal is a big deal.  It and the Newbery Medal are regarded as the most prestigious book awards in children's literature. That means every single library in the country will get a copy. It means visibility in a major way!  When I heard Rob Bittner say aloud "Chooch Helped" --- well, I felt an incredible jolt of adrenaline.  Children in schools whose teachers and librarians feature this Caldecott-winning book in lesson plans, read alouds, and library programming will identify with a big sister ..read more

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday observance is a day to remember and honor all those whose labor and sacrifice built the Civil Rights movement, and those who maintain that seemingly never-ending march toward a more just society.  Today, I want to honor them by recognizing and recommending three recent books for young people, by Native creators, that explore in different ways the themes of standing one's ground and making a positive difference in one's community. The books are: We Need Everyone by Michael Redhead Champagne (Shamattawa First Nation), illustrated by Tiff Bartel (V ..read more