The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, in collaboration with the Tehama County Library, are introducing a new collection of Native American literature. These books represent works spanning generations by Native and Non-Native authors. They provide the perspectives of diverse cultures and experiences of indigenous peoples. The collection of books includes non-fiction and fictional pieces that are diverse enough to appeal to young children, youth, and adults. The books will be catalogued in the Corning library on Third Street in Corning, CA and made available for check-out by the public.
The book collection is part of the ongoing effort by the Tribe to promote literacy throughout the community, beginning with young children. All parents want their children to do well in school, and books are essential to their early learning. As young children are read to, they build their vocabulary and other early reading skills. A recent study out of Ohio State showed that children that are read multiple books daily will have heard over a million more words by the age of five. One of the authors of study explained, “Kids who hear more vocabulary words are going to be better prepared to see those words in print when they enter school … they are likely to pick up reading skills more quickly and easily.”[i] Children who are read to are given a lasting gift.
The benefits of regular reading extend to young people as well. Reading in elementary and middle school provides children a huge advantage. Elementary students who read thirty minutes or more a day have significantly larger vocabularies and better thinking skills. Not surprisingly, avid readers become better writers. These benefits continue to grow as children enter secondary school. Further, high school students who engage in reading for pleasure get higher grades in English, mathematics, science, and history than their non-reading peers.[ii] There is similar research that the effects of reading for pleasure extends into college.
The Tribe is hoping to draw Native and Non-native readers alike to the library to enjoy the fiction and non-fiction books. These books will instill a greater appreciation of our continent’s diverse Indigenous peoples, histories and cultures. Some of these books contain oral traditions and stories that have been passed on for generations. Reading these books helps us engage in conversation with the past. Books, as Barbara Tuchman reminds us, “are carriers of civilization. Without books, history remains silent.”[iii] Books can bring change. They can increase our understanding and can even change our hearts.
The Everett Freeman Promise Neighborhood initiative (“Corning Promise”) continues to support projects that improve the developmental and educational outcomes in the Corning-Rancho Tehama communities. This is one of the many literacy projects supported by Corning Promise, the community arm of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indian tribe.
[i] Jessica A. R. Logan, Laura M. Justice, Melike Yumuş, Leydi Johana Chaparro-Moreno. When Children Are Not Read to at Home. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000657
[ii] Whitten, Christy, Sandra Labby, and Sam L. Sullivan. “The Impact of Pleasure Reading on Academic Success.” The Journal of Multidisiplinary Graduate Research 2, no. 4 (2016): 48-64. https://www.shsu.edu/academics/education/journal-of-multidisciplinary-gr…
[iii] [Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Nov. 1980), pp. 16-32]