Samish Library

The Samish Indian Nation Library is a resource for Samish citizens who wish to learn more and perhaps conduct research about native culture, language, history, and other aspects of native life. While our collection here focuses on Northwest Coast (including First Nations), we also have books on Plains, Southwest and Woodlands tribes.

Samish Indian Nation Library has books that pertain to Northwest Coast native culture, history, art, spirituality, language, native plants and their uses, famous native artists, native crafts (including how-to books), and other aspects of native life. We also have books on local history (Skagit County and surrounding areas).

Currently, our library has over 3,000 titles available for checkout. This includes including a children’s and young adult section and a wide selection of DVDs. Our collection is growing, and we are continuously adding new titles! Books and DVDs are checked out for a month at a time. Samish Citizens and residents of the greater Fidalgo area may check out books from the Samish Library.

Our hands go up to Samish citizen Jan Flagg who has built our library collection from the ground up. Jan has an amazing talent for recognizing and purchasing books that compose our collection.

To set up a patron account and to check out materials from Samish Indian Nation Library, contact our Library Assistant.

Libby Digital Library

We now have free e-books and audiobooks available! Click here to learn about the Libby app.

Chelángen Library Blog

Book recommendations from Reader's Window

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Summer 2020

Nov 4, 2021, 10:25 by Cheryl Chatt, Samish Library Assistant

Hello everyone and welcome to Samish Indian Nation Library! My name is Cheryl Chatt and I am your new Library Assistant.

Our hands go up to Jan Flagg, who has built this amazing and beautiful library collection and we are looking forward to sharing it with you.

We will be spotlighting titles and areas of interest in the newsletter to bring you up to date on what the library has to offer.

Samish Indian Nation Library has a wide selection of books and a few DVDs that are available for check out. The library collection itself is primarily nonfiction and topics cover a wide range of Native American history, culture, art, plants as medicines, spirituality and other topics pertaining to native culture and tribes across the United States. While the library office is currently closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I am in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. We are arranging with patrons individually for book check out. I am happy to assist patrons with finding the book or topic that they are interested in.

Our book recommendation in this issue is Tulalip: From My Heart by Harriette Shelton Dover. Harriette was the daughter of Ruth Sehome Shelton, of Samish lineage, and Chief William Shelton, a noted Tulalip leader and carver. Born in 1904, Harriette recounts some fascinating history of her memories of growing up on the Tulalip reservation, her experiences attending the Tulalip Indian Boarding School, and her memories of elders coming to her home as a child and talking about being present at the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott.

This autobiographical account was the result of a collaboration with anthropologist Darlene Fitzpatrick, who recorded Ms. Dover’s memories over a ten-year period.

Again, welcome to the library, and I look forward to serving you!

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