Over the past several months, Indigenous community members have been working with poet Amber McCrary and the Labriola National American Indian Center at ASU Library to share, preserve, and honor their family histories through storytelling, community archiving, creative writing, and zines. Celebrate the talented voices of the community with a panel and reading!
Alex Soto
NEA Big Read Partner 2021
About Alex Soto
Alex Soto (Tohono O’odham) is the curator/librarian for the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University (ASU) Library, an American Library Association Spectrum scholar, and an Association of Research Libraries Kaleidoscope scholar. In addition to providing culturally informed library support, he facilitates ASU’s community-driven archives initiative in tribal communities. Alex’s journey to librarianship comes after years of success as a touring hip-hop musician/educator and activist. During graduate school, Alex realized the importance of information literacy within tribal communities and the role of reparative archives in strengthening Indigenous sovereignty. Recently, Alex co-authored ASU Library’s first land acknowledgement statement. Alex believes Indigenous librarianship synthesizes his creative, cultural, and professional backgrounds as well as his commitment to Indigenous self-determination, social justice, and community-building.
Find Events with Alex Soto
Labriola Community Celebration
ASU Library Labriola Center, Amber McCrary, Alex Soto, Abalone Mountain Press
Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021 - 4:00pm
Location: Zoom
Type & Genre: Conversation, Panel, Q&A, Reading, Talk; American Indian, Community, Family History, Fiction, Flash, Indigenous, Memoir, Mixed Genre, Personal Essays, Poetry, Short Stories, Visual Art
Location: Zoom
Type & Genre: Conversation, Panel, Q&A, Reading, Talk; American Indian, Community, Family History, Fiction, Flash, Indigenous, Memoir, Mixed Genre, Personal Essays, Poetry, Short Stories, Visual Art
Where We Stand: Indigenous Land Acknowledgments
David Martinez, Felicia Mitchell, Alex Soto
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - 6:30pm
Location: Zoom
Type & Genre: Conversation, Panel, Q&A, Talk; American Indian, Community, Human Rights, Indigenous, Social Justice
Location: Zoom
Type & Genre: Conversation, Panel, Q&A, Talk; American Indian, Community, Human Rights, Indigenous, Social Justice
Over the last several years, more and more universities, museums, and other institutions from all over the world have issued statements of land acknowledgment honoring an area's deep histories, original stewards, and current Indigenous residents and communities. While these acknowledgments are important, they're only a first step. Join Dr. Felicia Mitchell, Dr. David Martinez, and ASU Librarian Alexander Soto for a conversation on the ethics and impacts of Indigenous land acknowledgments.
About NEA Big Read
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This event is presented as part the NEA Big Read: Phoenix, celebrating Indigenous literary arts and culture in the Valley with over 25 talks, workshops, performances, book clubs, art exhibits other virtual events inspired by The Round House by Louise Erdrich. NEA Big Read: Phoenix is presented by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University with additional support from Arizona Humanities, Phoenix Public Library, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities Division at ASU. Find events, meet our partners, and start reading today at http://piper.asu.edu/big-read.
Support Indigenous Communities
The Phoenix Indian Center is the oldest American Indian non-profit organization of its kind in the United States, providing workforce development, cultural enrichment, and other vital services to Indigenous communities throughout the Valley for over 70 years. To support their work, visit their website at https://phxindcenter.org/financial-support/, click the donate button, enter an amount, and enter "NEA Big Read" in the description. Please consider making a gift to the Phoenix Indian Center today.