This blog post contains a list of upcoming events for fall semester 2026 at the Labriola Center. Check back in throughout the semester for updates and view our events page here!
August 2026
Labriola Center Book Club: Healer of the Water Monster
At the end of August, the Labriola Center will host a book club that discusses Brian Young's Healer of the Water Monster. This is Young Adult fiction, and the story is based on the Navajo creation story. Having something approachable yet inspiring supplements your craving for stories yet gives your brain a break from research jargon. The book club takes place virtually on zoom on Sunday, August 30 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Sunday, August 30
10 am - noon
Virtual, on Zoom
Register for the Healer of the Water Monster Book Club
Book synopsis:
Brian Young’s powerful debut novel tells of a seemingly ordinary Navajo boy who must save the life of a Water Monster—and comes to realize he’s a hero at heart.
When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.
One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help.
Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.
Check availability for Healer of the Water Monster at ASU Libraries
September 2026
ASU Library Day and Labriola Welcome Back
Join us for Library Day 2026 on Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and discover what you can make, learn and do at ASU Library.
Looking for a study spot, research help, a creative break or a place to spend time between classes? Library Day is a chance to experience the spaces, people and resources available to you.
Stop by to meet librarians, archivists and other library experts, try activities, pick up some swag and learn something new. Bring your questions. We’re here to help
When you need to find a place to study, get help with research, take a creative break or just spend time between classes, there's a place for you here.
Library Day activities vary by location, so you can experience something different at each library.
Wednesday, September 9
Noon - 2 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
No registration needed
"What is Theatre?" An Indigeneity in Theatre Panel
"What is Theater?" An Indigeneity in Theater Panel facilitated by Hannah Holt, MFA Candidate in Dramatic Writing, featuring Vina Begay, Assistant Librarian and Archivist, Playwright Claude Jackson and guests for a short 5-10 minute reading of an excerpt from the play Olivia, by Claude Jackson. In light of this play coming to Arizona State University, there will be a casting for auditions. Audition information will be given at the panel.
Play synopsis:
Olivia is a modern western that takes places on an Indian reservation. Olivia protects a young girl from the evil Sheriff John Brown, who wants to capture and kill the young girl for witnessing Brown kill her best friend. This is a thriller as Olivia and Brown are locked in a standoff before the inevitable gun battle.
Thursday, September 10
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the event here
Indigenous Open Mic Night: Healing the Heart
Come experience the Labriola Center's Indigenous Open Mic Night, which centers healing using rematriation frameworks. This Open Mic will be hosted by Xuedoin (Osage) and Claire Maracle (Mohawk).
This event is a sibling to "Healing the Heart, a Rematriation Talking Circle," which takes place a day prior to this open mic. The purpose of the talking circle is to "empower acts of repair by resourcing those who are and who feel under-resourced; restoring the spirit from disinherited practices of land and community-connection; and helping rebalance power dynamics, moving away from rigid hierarchies which reinforce settler colonialism and racialized capitalism" (from Words of the People's 2026-2027 Rematriation Tour).
As defined by Claire Maracle, rematriation is "a continual way of being, in harmony with love for all of creation, where we all share a responsibility and values." Attendees are welcome to sign up to share their work, whether it is a poem, song, dance or live performance.
To learn more about rematriation and topics revolving around how it is practiced and defined, check out this article by Baratunde Thurston and Claire Maracle. There will also be a book display at the Labriola Center in Hayden Library that highlights Indigenous feminism.
Thursday, September 17
6 - 8 pm
Hayden Library, 204
Register for the Indigenous Open Mic
About the artists leading the Indigenous Open Mic and Talking Circle:
𐓐𐓶𐓟𐓰𐓫͘ “Xuedoin” is Chelsea T. Hicks, an Osage interdisciplinary storyteller and founding artist of Words of the People. Currently a PhD student at the University of Oklahoma, 𐓸𐓶𐓟𐓰𐓫͘ creates contemporary Indigenous language expressions via writing and visual art. Her first book 𐓩𐓘͘𐓲𐓟 𐓷𐓘𐓮𐓬𐓟 ‘A Calm & Normal Heart’ won the 5 Under 35 Award from the National Book Foundation and she is a recipient of the Oklahoma Book Award for ‘The Making of Killers of the Flower Moon 𐓨𐓣͘𐓪͘𐓬𐓘 𐓡𐓧𐓘𐓮𐓤𐓘 𐓻𐓣͘𐓤𐓘 𐓲ʼ𐓟𐓵𐓟’ by Osage News. Her first novel, 𐓣𐓤𐓪, is forthcoming from The University of Oklahoma Press.
Claire Maracle is a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, raised as a guest on Muscogee, Osage, and Cherokee land. This experience directly informs their work in rematriation and their conviction that language is the key to transcending displacement. As Executive Director of Words of the People, their decade of arts activism is driven by the belief that fluent futures are built not through preservation alone, but through unyielding visibility and the active, creative celebration of living languages.
Labriola Center Book Club: Heroes of the Water Monster
This book club will take place virtually through zoom on Sunday, September 27 from 10 a.m. to noon. Come discuss the sequel to Brian Young's Healer of the Water Monster!
Sunday, September 27
10 am - 12:00 pm
Virtual on zoom
Register for Labriola Center Book Club: Heroes of the Water Monster
Book Synopsis:
An unmissable companion to Healer of the Water Monster, which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, this novel by Navajo author Brian Young tells the story of two contemporary young Navajo heroes--and one water monster--who must learn to work together to save their present world from the lasting hurts of their people's past.
Edward feels ready to move in with his dad's girlfriend and her son, Nathan. He might miss having his dad all to himself, but even if things in their new home are a little awkward, living with Nathan isn't so bad. And Nathan is glad to have found a new guardian for Dew, the young water monster who has been Nathan's responsibility for two years. Now that Nathan is starting to lose his childhood connection to the Holy Beings, Edward will be the one to take over as Dew's next guardian. But Edward has a lot to learn about taking care of a water monster.
Check availability for Heroes of the Water Monster at ASU Libraries!
October 2026
Book Talk Significant Impact: Contesting Surveillance Infrastructure on Tohono O'odham Je'ved
Three authors of Significant Impact, Ophelia Rivas from Tohono O'odham Nation of Ali Jeg'k village, Caitlin Blanchfield from Cornell University, New York and Nina Kolowratnik from Ghent University, Belgium about their newly released book! Significant Impact situates current surveillance infrastructure projects on the Tohono O'odham Nation within a longer history of colonialism and border militarization, and reflects on the role of environmental review within the politics of protection in Indigenous lands.
Thursday, October 1
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Basketmaking Workshop Series with the Heard Museum: Weaving As Sustainable Practice With Accessible Materials
"Somatic healing happens when weaving." In partnership with the Heard Museum, the Labriola Center will be co-hosting a basketmaking workshop series in late October to early November. This three-part workshop is offered as a series so that attendees can make either day for part one, part two, or part three of the workshops.
Baskets as Data Carriers: some themes discussed will be imagining baskets as ancestral computers, where complex geometric plaiting or twining patterns act as binary code or stored historical algorithms. Under the guidance of a traditional basketmaker and weaver, participants will create a small woven piece and learn the history of weaving from the weavers. Materials and tools for the basket making workshops are provided.
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 1
Wednesday, October 21
5 - 8:30 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 1
Thursday, October 22
5 - 8:30pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the Part 1 series
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 2
Wednesday, October 28
5 - 8:30 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 2
Thursday, October 29
5 - 8:30 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the Part 2 series
Labriola Center Book Club: Ghost Singer
Join the Labriola Center for a book club that discusses Anna Lee Walter's novel Ghost Singer, on Sunday, October 25, 2026. This is a virtual event from 10 a.m. to noon.
Sunday, October 25
10 am to noon
Virtual on Zoom
Register for the Labriola Center Book Club: Ghost Singer
Book synopsis:
"Kidnapping and murder on a slave raid to Navajo country in 1830 sets the stage for this mystery/thriller that spans nearly a century and a half. Moving between the Four Corners area, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C., this well-researched and well-written tale interweaves elements of traditional Navajo beliefs and history, anthropological collections at the Smithsonian, ghosts of long-dead Navajos never allowed to rest, and the struggles of present-day Native Americans and Anglos to understand traditional belief systems."
Check availability for Ghost Singer at ASU Libraries
Na:to Nioki (Art Talk): River Walk Mural Art Exhibit
The Labriola National American Indian Data Center would like to extend an invitation to attend an artist talk with O’odham artists, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus and Dwayne Manuel. The artists will discuss the murals they created for the Labriola Center followed by a reception.
The Labriola National American Indian Data Center, in partnership with AZ Humanities and ASU Humanities, invites you to attend a moderated mural talk with O’odham artists, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus and Dwayne Manuel. The artists will discuss the creation and importance of the River Walk exhibit that surrounds and is at the center of the Labriola Center. The talk will be moderated by Apache artist, Douglas Miles, and followed by a reception catered by The Rez, an Urban Eatery.
Hayden Library, Room 204
Monday, October 26, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm
November 2026
Basketmaking Workshop Series with the Heard Museum: Weaving As Sustainable Practice With Accessible Materials
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 3
Wednesday, November 4
5 - 8:30 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Basketmaking Workshop with the Heard Museum Part 3
Thursday, November 5
5 - 8:30 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Doing Research in Indigenous Communities Conference
The 2026 DRIC Conference is a gathering place for tribal leaders, researchers, students, policy practitioners and educators come together to imagine new possibilities for ethical, community-engaged indigenous research pathways and practices. Rooted in sovereignty and guided by community values, the conference highlights how innovation can strengthen governance, transform education and advance health equity across Indian Country.
This year's event is generously funded by the Arizona Biomedical Research Center of the Arizona Department of Health Services, and co-sponsored by ASU's American Indian Studies Program, the Center for Indian Education, the Labriola National American Indian Data Center and the Office of Tribal Nations Advancement and Indigenous Futures.
Thursday, November 12 - Friday, November 13
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Register and learn more about Doing Research in Indigenous Communities Conference
Lofi Study Night
To best support student research, the Labriola Center will be hosting a Lofi Study night. So study in company at the Labriola Center for your research and project needs revolving around Indigenous communities! On Thursday, November 19 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., the Labriola Center will be open with a live DJ.
Thursday, November 18
6 - 8 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the Lofi Study Night
Study Night
In preparation for finals, come to the Labriola Center for the first of our study nights! The Labriola Center will be open 6 to 8 p.m. to assist with research needs, whether that is reserving a study room, working on a group project in our open study space, or simply locking in. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
Thursday, December 3
6 - 8 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the Study Night
Study Night
In preparation for finals, come to the Labriola Center for the final session of our study nights! The Labriola Center will be open 6 to 8 p.m. to assist with research needs, whether that is reserving a study room, working on a group project in our open study space, or simply locking in. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
Tuesday, December 8
6 - 8 pm
Labriola Center, Hayden Library
Register for the Study Night
This is a living list of upcoming events at the Labriola Center for fall 2026. Stay tuned by checking our events webpage or the Labriola Center's Instagram for updates.