JOIN US FOR THE 2026 AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARDS CELEBRATION AT THE ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
You are invited to celebrate the 2026 Youth Literature Awards!
Join AILA for an awards reception with speeches from AIYLA winnings authors and illustrators.
This event is free and open to the public!
Sunday, June 28, 2026
3:00pm-5:00pm CDT
Location:
American Indian Center
3401 W Ainslie St.
Chicago, IL 60625
AILA EVENTS AT THE ALA CONFERENCE
AMERICAN INDIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (AILA) MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Friday, June 26, 2026
2:30pm-3:30pm CDT
Location: Hilton Chicago, Lake Michigan
Please join the American Indian Library Association for our General membership meeting held in conjunction with the ALA Conference 2026. Members of the Executive Board will provide updates, and there will be time for networking and introductions. Do not need to be a member of AILA to join the conversation. All are welcome!
AILA PRESIDENT’S PROGRAM
Living Stories: Centering Contemporary Native Voices
Saturday, June 27, 2026
10:30am-11:30am CDT
Location: McCormick Place Convention Center, W194A
This session explores how librarians and educators can better understand and represent the diversity of Native peoples and nations in their collections and programming. We’ll discuss the differences among tribal nations, the unique legal structures for Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, and how colonial borders have shaped identity and representation. Using examples from literature and the media, we’ll highlight how miseducation has influenced what’s on our shelves and in our classrooms. Participants will leave with practical tools, curated book lists, and strategies for promoting authentic Native authored stories year-round.
Presenters:
Stacy Wells, AILA Executive Assistant
Jody Gray, AILA Executive Director
Cynthia Leitch Smith, NYT Bestselling Author & Author-Curator at Heartdrum
APALA and AILA Presidents’ Program: Supporting AANHPI and Indigenous Library Users and Staff with Disabilities
Saturday, June 27, 2026
10:30am-11:30am CDT
Location: McCormick Place, W 192 B
This panel brings together a diverse group of experts with both personal and professional experience to explore how libraries can create meaningful belonging for AANHPI and Indigenous library users and staff with disabilities. Panelists will examine how disability is understood across their cultures, identify structural and interpersonal barriers to access, and outline actionable pathways for more inclusive library design, policies, and workplace culture. Attendees will be actively engaged through Q&A and interactive discussion, and will leave with practical tools that honor the intersection of race, culture, language, and disability.
Presenters:
Eileen K. Bosch, President, Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
Katherine Witzig, Treasurer, American Indian Library Association (AILA)
Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Social Sciences Librarian, CSU Sacramento
AILA AT THE DIVERSITY FAIR POSTER SESSION
Respectful Representation: Honoring Indigenous Art and Culture in Libraries
Saturday, June 27, 2026
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
Location: McCormick Place, W 375 E Skyline North Foyer
Presenter:
Cassandra E. Osterloh, AILA Member at Large
The American Indian Youth Literature Awards: Celebrating Indigenous Voices in Children’s Literature
Saturday, June 27, 2026
3:30pm-5:00pm CDT
Location: McCormick Place Convention Center, W375 Skyline
Presenters:
Joy Bridwell, AILA President Elect
Cassandra Osterloh, AILA Member at Large
AILA MEMBERS PRESENTING AT ALA 2026
AASL’s President Program: Telling Our Stories: Native Voices in Children’s Literature
Saturday, June 27, 2026
10:00 AM– 11:30 AM CDT
Location: Marriott Marquis, Great Lakes AB
Join three acclaimed Native creators for a dynamic in-conversation panel exploring storytelling, cultural representation, and the role of literature in shaping understanding of Indigenous communities–Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of more than twenty books, including Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), whose award-winning works include the Walter Award–winning collection Man Made Monsters and the Caldecott Medal–winning picture book Chooch Helped, and by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Cherokee Nation), the illustrator of Chooch Helped. Together, these creators will discuss the importance of authentic Native voices in books for young people, the intersections of language, art, and story, and how librarians and educators can support Indigenous authors, illustrators, and communities.
Presenters:
Anton Treuer, author
Andrea L. Rogers, author
Rebecca Lee Kunz, illustrator
Program: Connecting Culture and Knowledge: Indigenous Librarians Narratives of Researching Ancestral Histories
Sunday, June 28, 2026
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: McCormick Place, W 176 A B C
78% of American Indians and Native Alaskans lived outside of their tribal resource areas in 2020, which means that Indigenous people are often visiting academic and public libraries to begin their research. When only 1.3% of all librarians identify as American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, this distinct community of researchers is seeking help from non-Indigenous librarians who can often be dismissive or feel ill-equipped to help.
This presentation will feature Indigenous librarians sharing their experiences of researching their histories within libraries and cultural heritage institutions so that attendees can better understand the research support needs of indigenous researchers and better meet those needs.
Presenters:
Tessa Rose Campbell, PhD Candidate, UW Information School
Allison Gallaspy, Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship Librarian
Program: Beyond the Acknowledgement: Navigating Land Acknowledgements in a Changing Climate
Sunday, June 28, 2026
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: McCormick Place, W 192 C
Land acknowledgements have become more visible across institutions, yet their purpose, impact, and implementation continue to evolve. This session explores where we are now, examining both the intentions behind land acknowledgements and the challenges emerging within today’s political and cultural climate. Participants will consider how to approach land acknowledgements thoughtfully, moving beyond performative practice toward meaningful engagement.
Presenter:
Tara Kenjockety, Sponsored by ALA’s Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds (RNTLOAK) Committee
Program: Indigenous Inclusion in Idaho Libraries and Beyond: A Library Staff Training for All
Monday, June 29, 2026
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location: McCormick Place, W 183 A
In 2022, the Idaho Commission for Libraries launched a training course to help Idaho librarians make libraries inclusive, accurately, authentic, and representative spaces for Indigenous Peoples while improving foundational knowledge of library staff about Indigenous Peoples. In many places in the US, including Idaho, Indigenous patrons are likely to be served by non-Indigenous librarians. Non-Indigenous library workers can have gaps in knowledge regarding histories, resources, stories, statistics, and media by, about, and for Indigenous Peoples. Our program, Indigenous Idaho: Future, Past & Present, seeks to bridge that information gap and help libraries to become more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive spaces for all Indigenous Peoples. Today, Indigenous Idaho is offered annually to library staff and now, in its fourth year, is being evaluated for library impact. The course content is also being adapted by other states, with national access to the content for library staff on the near horizon. In this session, learn how Idaho implemented this program, get a summary of the course content and highlights of its evaluation, and learn how library staff workers in your state can access this content in the future.
Presenters:
Mandi Harris, Doctoral Candidate, University of Washington Information School
Kristina Taylor, Outreach & Community Engagement Consultant Idaho Commission for Libraries
The American Indian Library Association is an Affiliate of the American Library Association.
ALA Affiliate organizations are legally separate organizations having purpose or interests similar to those of ALA.
Affiliate organizations work together to support common causes, expance outreach to underserved populations, diversity ALA membership, and provide benefits to all parties involved.
As an Affiliate of ALA, AILA hosts in person meetings and programming at the same time and place as the ALA Conference.