Rows of chairs filled the right side of the University of Idaho Library’s first floor, alongside multiple Native American authored pieces of prose, poetry, fiction, or nonfiction on tiny tables. Voices reading passages of text filled the room, with images of family, basketball, wanted posters, poems, mountains, and more.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the UI Library held a Native American read in, partnering with the Native American Student Center. The event, held at 12:30 p.m. and went until 1:30 p.m., and had around 10 people in attendance. Refreshments were offered during the event as well.
Before the read in began, guest artist Nakia Williamson-Cloud, member of the Nez Perce Nation, spoke about his three pieces of artwork that were featured and displayed near the chairs. Williamson-Cloud is from Lapwai, Idaho, and was impacted by his grandparents, who according to a poster of information about him, never spoke English and dressed traditionally.
“One thing that I think is really significant about us is our relationships that we have are not just with people. Our relationships that we foster, and this is a fundamental part of Nez Perce identity and culture, is that those relationships that we have extend out to the land and to the resources,” Williamson-Cloud said.
After the guest speaker, the read in began, with those who chose books coming to the front of the audience and reading passages. One of those passages was from a piece published in the Inlander, titled “Beloved companions, hard winters, and the flood of emotion that accompanies both,” by C. Marie Fuhrman, a piece about losing a dog.
“They arrived as I was dreaming of swimming across the ocean with my late dog Cisco. The ocean was filled with sharks and I kept kicking at them, trying to keep them away from my dog, but soon he was missing and fear woke me. When Cisco was dying, I pressed my body to him and prayed that one of my own years could be given to him,” Fuhrman wrote.
After multiple passages were read and Native American stories were told, the read in concluded. To learn more about the UI Native American Student Center or the UI Library, visit https://www.uidaho.edu/president/direct-reports/tribal-relations/native-american-student-center and https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/.
Hannah Hale can be reached at [email protected]