This blog post contains events and tours from July and August 2026 at the Labriola Center, Hayden Library, a visit from Gila River Healthcare Scrubs program, tabling at the National American Indian Health Conference, and book recommendations from Labriola Center library aides and staff.
Summer Interns at the Labriola Center
University of Washington MLIS students Gem Bravo and Lourdes Periera interned at the Labriola Center this summer. Gem Bravo has finalized her summer internship, however Lourdes Periera will continue interning at the Labriola Center until December 2026.
Gila River Health Care Elev8 Summer Scrubs Program Visits the Labriola Center at Hayden Library, ASU
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
In partnership with the Office of American Indian Initiatives and American Indian Student Support Services, the Labriola Center presented to summer scrub participants an overview of the Labriola Center's collections, resources, and services, opportunities for research, cultural connection and student engagement. Students received a walking tour of the Center's spaces, including the Storytelling table, circulating material, Indigenous book displays, and the Center itself, where the students made buttons, played guitar and explored the turntable.
Labriola Center Book Club: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Sunday, July 26, 2026
The Labriola Center explored Stephen Graham Jones' (Blackfeet Tribal member) novel I Was a Teenage Slasher. The main character, Tolly Driver grapples with his identity and circumstance as a slasher and questions his role and reliability as a narrator. The way in which Stephen Graham Jones writes is convoluted, which brings to light the dark depth behind each character and their motives. There are traces of Indigenous influence, with Amber Dennison starring in a Native role, however I Was a Teenage Slasher is not a story that can be characterized as Indigenous speculative fiction, due to its lack of cultural elements. This does not mean the book was not good–I Was a Teenage Slasher was fun, gorey-filled entertainment and was enjoyable to read as there were haunting and supernatural elements!
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
PS3560 .O5395 I18 2024
Check availability for I Was a Teenage Slasher
Tabling at National American Indian Health Board Conference
Tuesday, August 18 - Thursday, August 20, 2026
The Labriola Center tabled at the National Indian Health Board Conference at Wild Horse Pass. Director Alex Soto presented about Indigenous-University partnerships and how Indigenous librarianship at the Labriola Center helps initiatives involving research in and with Indigenous communities.
"The NIHB National Tribal Health Conference is a week-long event that serves American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the space of health – behavioral and public health." Learn more on their webpage. The Labriola Center was asked to provide a list of book recommendations from our collection.
The Labriola Center was asked by NIHB to share book recommendations from our special collections!
The Arts of Indigenous Health and Well-Being *Also available online using ASU ID*
Explores how art, storytelling, and cultural expression support healing, reislience, and community connection. It aligns with Tribal Health by centering holistic well-being and the role of culture in health.
Sovereign Bodies, Sovereign Spaces: Urban Indigenous Health Activism in the United States and Australia *Also available online using ASU ID*
Examines how Indigenous communities advocate for health, dignity, and self-determination in urban settings It aligns with Tribal Health by highlighting sovereignty, activism, and community-led health solutions.
Healing Histories: Stories from Canada's Indian Hospitals *Also available online using ASU ID*
Shares histories and lived experiences connected to Indian hospitals and the lasting impact of colonial health systems. It aligns with Tribal Health by underscoring truth-telling, healing, and trauma-informed care.
Indigenous Public Health: Improvement through Community-Engaged Interventions *Also available online using ASU ID*
Focuses on practical, community-engaged approaches to improving Indigenous public health outcomes. It aligns with Tribal Health by emphasizing partnership, prevention, and culturally grounded interventions.
Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness *Also available online using ASU ID*
Connects readers to Indigenous plant knowledge and wellness practices rooted in the land. It aligns with Tribal Health by honoring traditional knowledge, environmental stewardship, and healing.
Collective Care: Indigenous Motherhood, Family, and HIV/AIDS
Explores the experiences of Indigenous mothers and families navigating care, stigma, and support systems. It aligns with Tribal Health by elevating family-centered care, community support, and health equity.
Walking Together, Working Together: Engaging Wisdom for Indigenous Well-Being
Shares Indigenous teachings and collaborative approaches to well-being. It aligns with Tribal Health by reinforcing relationship-building, shared wisdom, and holistic health.
Labriola Center Book Club: Healer of the Water Monster
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Labriola Library Aides shared their thoughts on reading Healer of the Water Monster for the Labriola Book Club!
"With this month being my first time joining our book club, I was incredibly happy to dedicate more time into reading Brian Young’s Healer of the Water Monster. This book was incredibly healing as it is a story surrounding a Navajo boy from Phoenix spending his summer with his grandmother. While he is there, he learns more about life on the reservation and runs into a sick water monster, who he decides to help. The story navigates through Navajo Creation stories and is a beautiful representation of modern and traditional storytelling.
For me, this book was a story I was hoping to read all throughout my childhood. Seeing Navajo stories and perspectives in literature, especially in this book, made me feel hopeful for the future of storytelling. The book tackled a lot of different emotional topics and sparked a lot of conversation during our discussion. My favorite addition to the book was how they handled medicine and mental health within our community. As someone interested in that field of education I was happy to see how that conversation unfolded and learned more about how this topic can help our communities. I am excited to read the second book for next month’s book club and I can’t wait for the new conversations we will have!"
- Written by Isabell Rodriguez
"For the month of August, our book club read Brian Young’s book, Healer of the Water Monster, which follows Nathan, a young, Navajo boy that is staying with his grandmother for the summer. As he adjusts to her lifestyle, he befriends a Water Monster, who is sick and needs Nathan’s help. As he works to save the Water Monster, he and his grandmother navigate his Uncle Jet when he comes to stay with them for the summer as well; however, it’s clear that something isn’t right with Uncle Jet and needs their help.
Brian Young does an excellent job of incorporating the Holy Beings of the Navajo Creation Stories in his book and personifying them as they aid Nathan and his family. This book was such a fun read and gave some good laughs, but also moments of reflection and thought as we watch Nathan balance the spiritual and physical aspects of his life. I loved being able to discuss and dissect every aspect of the book and could have easily talked for more than two hours. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for an eventful, emotional read that reminds us how powerful hope can be."
- Written by Talia Porras
Book Recommendations
Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
PS153.I52 J878 2018
Check availability for Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
Why do stories matter? As an Indigenous library, this question demands exploration within our understanding of how literature is used to navigate our relationship to our ecosystem. An ecosystem includes beings beyond human expression like land, creatures, and celestial beings. For Indigenous peoples, this is what we call kinship. Daniel Heath Justice gives light to this literary exploration in his book, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. He says, "[Stories] give shape, substance, and purpose to our existence and help us understand how to uphold our responsibilities to one another and the rest of creation, especially in places and times so deeply affected by colonial fragmentation." Looking at literature through this window, how do stories establish our relationship to others?
When we look at the history of Indigenous literature, it is a contested and complex one. Indigenous peoples' stories and lived experiences have been placed in the lens of deficiency: we are lacking in self-government, lacking in financial stability, in struggling with addiction. Indigenous literature, especially Indigenous Speculative Fiction helps us navigate the nuances of the colonial dystopian: our stories are good medicine.
"They remind us about who we are and where we're going, on our own and in relation to those with whom we share this world. They remind us about the relationships that make a good life possible" (Daniel Health Justice).
Justice, Daniel Heath. Why Indigenous Literatures Matter, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/asulib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5317922.
Healer of the Water Monster
Fic Y68he 2021
[Check availability for Healer of the Water Monster]
"This novel is perfect for readers who enjoy realistic stories blended with Indigenous mythology. The setting takes place on the Navajo Nation. It follows Nathan, a young Diné boy who spends the summer with his grandmother and unexpectedly encounters a Water Monster from Navajo Creation Stories. As Nathan helps the creature and supports his uncle through his struggles, he learns about courage, healing, family, and the importance of his cultural traditions. The story combines adventure, heartfelt relationships, and Navajo teachings, making it an engaging read for anyone interested in contemporary Native stories."
- Written by Colton Jim
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
PR9199.4.D56 F86
Check availability for Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
"Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline is a coming of age love story between two Indigenous girls, except there's a catch: one of them is a ghost. Winifred lives in an apartment above the cemetery office with her father. Upon the summer of her 16th birthday, Winifred meets Phil, who died in the ravine next to the cemetery. As Winifred learns more about Phil and her story, she begins to question the meaning of life, death, and especially love. This is a tender and light-hearted read intertwined with real issues experienced in Indigenous communities, such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and addiction."
-Written by Yitazba Largo-Anderson
Ghost Singer: A Novel - Labriola Center Book Club Pick for October 2026!
PS3573.A472284 G46 1988
Check availability for Ghost Singer
"Anna Lee Walter's Ghost Singer tells of a haunting in a federal archive at Washington, D.C. where archivists seemingly go insane. The archive collection and museum artifacts reflect what happens when cultural items and human remains are stolen in the name of history, research, and information. If you are looking for a book that is a classic in the Indigenous Speculative Fiction genre, I highly recommend this one!"
-Written by Yitazba Largo-Anderson
On Sunday, October 25, 2026 the Labriola Center will host a virtual book club from 10 a.m. to noon to discuss the haunting themes within Anna Lee Walter's novel. Register for the Labriola Center Book Club on Ghost Singer!
The Peacekeeper
PS3602.L3555 P43
Check availability for the Peacekeeper
"The Peacekeeper by B. L. Blanchard is an Indigenous speculative fiction novel calling readers to imagine a society where North America was never colonized. In this reimagined world the Anishinaabeg have created a thriving community rooted in their traditions. This novel follows Chibenashi, a Peacekeeper, who 20 years ago lost both of his parents during the Manomin festival, traumatizing his sister. With his mother dead and father locked up, Chibenashi navigates working as a Peacekeeper and taking care of his little sister; however, disaster strikes when his mother’s best friend is murdered 20 years after his mother’s death. In this reconceptualized world, Chibenashi must solve the mystery of his mother’s and her friend’s murder, unearthing their hidden truths as well as his own feelings of guilt and shame."
- Written by Talia Porras
Love After The End: An Anthology of Two Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction
PN6120.92.G39 L68 2020
Check availability for Love After the End
"This speculative fiction short story exhibits bio-engineered AI rats, transplanted trees across the galaxy, virtual reality applications, the development of Two-Spirit and Queer resistance camps, and the bending of space-time continuums. It centers around hope and resilience and imagines futures where Indigenous and Two-Spirit communities continue to thrive through love, kinship, and cultural strength rather than focusing only on loss and hardship.
The collection explores themes such as environmental change, colonialism, identity, community, and survival through a variety of unique and imaginative stories. Each author offers a different perspective, showing that even in difficult or uncertain futures, relationships, storytelling, and cultural traditions remain powerful sources of hope. The anthology also provides meaningful representation of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer voices that are often underrepresented in mainstream science fiction and fantasy.
This book is a great choice for readers who enjoy thought-provoking fiction that challenges traditional ideas about the future while celebrating Indigenous cultures and communities. If you are new to Indigenous speculative fiction or already familiar with the genre, Love After the End offers compelling stories that encourage reflection, empathy, and optimism."
- Written by Colton Jim
Interested in learning more about the Labriola Center? Head to our website or checkout upcoming events happening.