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Blue Clan Updates: - Our Fundraiser is doing great! We are selling T-shirts’ and other Christmas items! -Adopt A Highway program The Blue Clan has been approved for its Adopt -A- Highway Programs! We will begin plans to pick up trash along State Highway 157 South 157, beginning by the Oakville Indian Mounds Entrance ( Mile Marker 32 ) to mile marker 34 and County Road 187 mile markers 1-2 ! - Grand Opening of Blue Clans Free Little Library set for Saturday, November 6th 2021 at Oakville Indian Mounds! Our Free Little Library will be the First in the Country to feature " Read in Color " books from their new program which will contain Native American content ,and themes! - Blue Clan Squash Hunger Program! Now Accepting last minute Butternut Squash and any or other Donations as we come near the end of our Squash Hunger Program! Thats 3,000 Meals with Squash provided to our Lawrence County Schools Kindergarten- Sixth Grades! With activities concerning the importance of Squash and the Three Sisters to the Native Americans back them as a Tribe and today as all the Necessary Nutrition we need as Natives! -Family Reunion for the Moytoy Family! All Descendants of Attakullakulla, Dragging Canoe, Powhatan, and Ostenaco please arrange to attend our upcoming Family Reunion this Upcoming 2022! For more info - call 256-758-0398 Thank you for your Support! Chief Swann  Little Free Library Opens at Oakville Indian Mounds There’s much excitement around Oakville these days! The Little Free Library is coming to the Oakville Indian Mounds and Cultural Center on November 6, and will be a permanent feature thereafter. According to Hans F., who was determined to bring more educational materials for Native Americans to this area, and Sharron P., who is chairperson responsible for promoting the Little Free Library, this particular location will focus on indigenous people from across the country, with emphasis on Native American heritage and goals. “The Indian Mounds filed and received a license to open and operate a Little Free Library,” Sharron P. explained. “There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 6, at the site.” The organization will supply some of the books and will gladly accept donations, both financial and of new and gently used family oriented books. “We will offer books for children and adults,” Sharon P. continued. “We want to encourage readers of all ages to learn more about our Native American heritage.” Hans F., who is actively involved in the Blue Clan division of the Native American Echota Tribe, and is currently serving as secretary/treasurer, was delighted to have this site made available to area residents. “Although Little Free Libraries have been available throughout the country for some time, this is one of the first to offer the “Reading in Color” initiative which focuses on Native American content and themes.” The first Little Free Library was the brainchild of Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, in 2009. Bol built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it, so he built several more and gave them away. From those humble beginnings a grass –roots movement was born. UW-Madison’s Rick Brooks (retired from Little Free Library 2014) saw Bol’s do-it-yourself project while they were discussing potential social enterprises. Together, the two saw opportunities to achieve a variety of goals for the common good. They were inspired by community gift-sharing networks, “take a book, leave a book” collections in coffee shops and public spaces, and most especially by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Around the turn of the 20th century, Carnegie set a goal to fund the creation of 2,508 free public libraries across the English-speaking world. That goal inspired Brooks and Bol to set their own goal of surpassing 2,508 Little Free Libraries by the end 2013. They wound up exceeding that goal in August of 2012, a year and a half before their target date. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in Hudson, Wisconsin. According to their website, Little Free Library’s Mission and Vision is to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Libraries. “Our vision is a Little Free Library in every community and a book for every reader. We believe all people are empowered when the opportunity to discover a personally relevant book to read is not limited by time, space, or privilege.” “We value all people and communities, and we respect their wisdom in using Little Free Libraries in a meaningful, individualistic way suited to their culture and locality.” Both Hans F. and Sharron P., invite everyone to the ribbon cutting and welcome all who wish to use the Little Free Library. According to the Little Free Library home page there is a growing literacy crisis. “Today in the United States, more than 30 million adults cannot read or write above a third-grade level. Studies have repeatedly shown that books in the hands of children have a meaningful impact on improving literacy. The more books in or near the home, the more likely a child will learn and love to read. But two out of three children living in poverty have no books to call their own.” Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in Hudson, Wisconsin. In our area the newest Little Free Library will be located near the main museum building at the Oakville Indian Mounds. The box is weather proof and in addition to picking out a book you can also donate books. The books are yours to keep or you can return it when you are finished and choose another one. Through Little Free Library book exchanges, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. Studies prove that the more books in or near the home, the more likely a child will learn and love to read. Through the Impact Library Program, the organization grants Little Free Library book exchanges to communities where books are scarce. Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center, Cultural Resource Specialist, Anna Mullican is thrilled to have this opportunity to share books with visitors and to encourage both adults and children to take advantage of this program. “I’m excited to be a part of this program,” said Anna. “It came at a wonderful time because this year’s Caldecott winner is a Native American, Carol Lindstrom, who wrote, “Water Protectors”. Mullican went on to emphasize that in addition to books about Native American heritage and history, the Little Library will also offer books about wildflowers, myths and legends and other topics suitable for family reading. “Two of my favorites are “Water Protectors” and “Fry Bread”,” she said. Mullican is just finishing up a pictorial history of Lawrence County which will be available in the spring. An avid reader herself, she is looking forward to this effort to enrich the lives of area residents and to encouraging people to read more. “This is like having a treasure box filled with books,” she described the new kiosk. “It will be stocked with new and gently used books celebrating Native American history and diversity.” "If anyone wants to donate funding, Oakville can purchase bulk books though First Books or Scholastic," Mullican added. The site is opened Monday through Friday. Hours of operation are 8 am – 4 pm Monday through Thursday and 8 am until 3:30 pm on Friday. “Any monetary donations so designated will be used to purchase new books,” she concluded. November 6, mark your calendar for events at the Oakville Indian Mounds and Education Center, 1219 County Road 187, Danville, Al. 35619. The AHSAA State XC Race on is also held on the Mounds grounds on the morning of November 6, as well as the ribbon cutting for the Little Free Library. Phone: 256-905-2499 email: OakvilleIndianMounds.com Sidebar: Little Free Library was honored to receive the 2020 World Literacy Award from the World Literacy Foundation. They are a Top-Rated Nonprofit by the Great Nonprofits organization and received Guidestar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency. Little Free Library is a recipient of the Library of Congress Literacy Award, the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize, Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers Award, the Women’s National Book Association’s Second Century Prize, and the Force for Positive Change Award. Ann Mullican suggests the following authors for children's books with Native American themes; Joseph Bruchac , Traci Sorrell, Tomie dePaola, Cynthia Leititch Smith, and Brenda Child are great! Report by Loretta G., Blue Clan Member and Reporter for the Moulton Advertiser. Upcoming State MeetingThere will be a state meeting at the tribal grounds on October 16. The meal will be at noon and the meeting will follow the meal. Please bring a covered dish to share that will feed a family of four (4). Everyone is welcome to attend.  |
