Last Wednesday, Book Harvest staff were invited to visit the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School for a very special day of celebration: not only to honor Native American Heritage Month, but also to unveil the school's newly replenished library.

Over the past few months, Book Harvest collaborated with partners at the school and Blue Cross Blue Shield NC to provide hundreds of books both to the tribal school's library and directly to students through a free book hub. In our new video, join us in eastern North Carolina and hear from the voices who made it all happen!:

The day began with a welcoming celebration that honored Haliwa-Saponi tradition and culture, including a smoke and prayer ceremony, demonstrations of different regional song and dance, and a friendship circle (in which our own employees took part!). This deeply thoughtful program reminded us of the deep connection between literacy and community, especially as it ended with a reading of the widely-loved children’s book “Frybread” by Kevin Noble Maillard.

After the excitement culminated in the library ribbon-cutting (where students were already planning book clubs and participation in Battle of the Books), the festivities continued with frybread, much to the delight of the students and attendees alike. So much to our delight, in fact, that the Book Harvest team risked a powdered-sugar-coated car as we carefully transported our leftovers all the way back to Durham.

From ceremony to ribbon-cutting to frybread sampling, the day was a perfect blend of honoring tradition and celebrating new opportunities for young readers. 

A huge thank you, again, to everyone who made this collaboration possible, and to the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School for graciously welcoming us into their school and celebration.