Explore the library’s Indigenous Collection!

Have you explored the Indigenous Collection? Take a trip to your local library or head online to check it out! You’ll find materials by and about Native American, Alaska Native, Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and Indigenous Peoples worldwide. You can also find materials with a special focus on Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. 

“Multnomah County has the ninth largest urban Native American population in this country,” says Indigenous Community Services Coordinator Eva Red Bird. “The Indigenous Collection was created because we need to represent Native people. We need to include their stories and histories within the library collection. Not only do Native voices need to be included, but they also need to be celebrated, honored, and represented in an accurate way.” 

“Proposing and establishing the Indigenous Collection as Multnomah County Library's second formal cultural collection was my first large project at Multnomah County Library," says Indigenous Collections Librarian Allison McClanahan. "Indigeneity and Indigenous cultures are not a monolith, so throughout the process I collaborated with my Indigenous team colleagues to ensure the collection met a variety of needs and values. I leaned on the team’s varied lived experiences, perspectives and knowledge to finalize the formal proposal."

McClanahan, who has worked to implement and curate the collection since joining Multnomah County in 2024, adds, “Since its formal establishment last summer, we have added over 1,300 titles to the collection across the library system. I’m excited to see how this collection will grow and continue to serve the needs of our Indigenous patrons as well as those wishing to continue their own learning journey.”

“Multnomah County Library is excited to offer the Indigenous Collection to our patrons,” says Interim Deputy Library Director Dave Ratliff. “It’s important we offer this curated collection of accurate and respectful materials about Indigenous peoples and cultures as a resource to our community that can be accessed at any of our libraries.”

The collection has physical and digital formats for all ages. Red Bird shares that it has “a wealth of materials for people to learn about tribes, recipes, languages, songs, fashion, foods as medicine, parenting, tribal law, and books that celebrate being Native. There are fiction and nonfiction books, biographies, ghost stories, legends, creation stories, and materials that highlight the myriad ways of what it means to be Native.” 

Works in the Indigenous Collection are either: 

• Written or created by Indigenous creators.
• Not written or created by Indigenous creators, but accurately and respectfully represent Indigenous Peoples and cultures worldwide.

You can find materials in the Indigenous Collection in any open library or online. If you’re looking online, try a subject search for “Indigenous Collection.” There are step-by-step instructions with screenshots on the Indigenous Collection page. Materials from the collection are also on shelves throughout all open locations of our libraries. If you’re having a hard time finding materials from the Indigenous Collection in person, just ask a staff member. We’re happy to help! 

The Indigenous Collection will grow and evolve as we continue to curate this resource. “Having a systemwide shared cultural collection that circulates among branches provides a resource for everyone in the community,” says Collection Manager Ellie Avis. “We're actively building this collection, so I expect it will get better and more visible over time.”

Interested in picking up a title in the Indigenous Collection? Explore our list of new and forthcoming titles. 

“I love having more options to spotlight Indigenous/Native books, not just on our display shelves but also during Native Storytime,” says Library Assistant Steela Jo, who is part of the Indigenous team and helps create a display at Holgate Library featuring books by Indigenous authors. “The moment we set the books out, they're checked out — it's a clear sign that interest in the collection is strong and thriving.” 

“I am so grateful for the Indigenous Collection!” says Library Assistant and Indigenous team member Melanie Fey. “It has made finding Indigenous materials in our catalog so much easier and it is also a great way to highlight the work of so many Indigenous authors who have been historically overlooked in the literary community and canon.” 

“The creation of the Indigenous Collection is an important milestone that reflects years of advocacy by Native staff,” says Indigenous Program Specialist Ekatrina Sotomayor, a member of the Indigenous team. “This is especially impactful for Indigenous families like my own, who have struggled to find these materials in our collections, as well as for K-12 educators who are required to teach Tribal History/Shared History. It is my hope that as the Indigenous Collection continues to grow, it will show our library's ongoing commitment to improving services to the significant Indigenous population in Multnomah County."

“The library is for everyone,” says Red Bird. “Every day is another opportunity for our community to begin to heal from 500 years of colonization. The Indigenous Collection provides many resources to help us rebuild what was taken from us. It is an integral and vital collection, and we are so honored to have it.”