Dickinson’s Center for the Futures of Native Peoples (CFNP) received an $1,800 grant to increase the texts available in their library, including several books on the history of Native American boarding schools. The library, located on the second floor of CFNP, had a grant given by the Engaged Scholarship Fund, which is organized by the Center for Civic Learning and Action.

The library now has an entire bookshelf with history books based around boarding schools, including the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (CIIS). John Truden, Postdoctoral Fellow in Native American and Indigenous Studies, said he is “fairly confident” that the collection is “pretty comprehensive” of history around the Carlisle boarding school.

Truden also said that this collection around the CIIS and boarding school history will also serve to support Native communities who come to Carlisle to reclaim the bodies of their children from Carlisle, an act called repatriation. Truden said that having these resources when traveling far from home for repatriation can be difficult to find, and hopes that these communities can use them during their time in Carlisle.

The library also has several sections of Native American topics, including feminism, queer ideologies, spirituality, and local history. The broader history section holds  “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which inspired the Oscar-nominated movie. It has maps of Cumberland County and Pennsylvania, where guests can mark significant places in Native American history in both regions.

Along with books, the library also has QR codes showcasing Native studies based podcasts and DVDs of documentaries and movies focusing on Native culture. They are also open to community donations for books, movies and other media, as much of their current collection also comes from donations.