Samish Library

The Samish Indian Nation Library is a resource for Samish citizens who wish to learn more and perhaps conduct research about native culture, language, history, and other aspects of native life.

Samish Indian Nation Library has books that pertain to Northwest Coast native culture, history, art, spirituality, language, native plants and their uses, famous native artists, native crafts (including how-to books), and other aspects of native life. We also have books on local history (Skagit County and surrounding areas).

While our collection here focuses on Northwest Coast (including First Nations), we also have books on Plains, Southwest and Woodlands tribes.

Currently, our library has over 3,000 titles available for checkout. This includes including a children’s and young adult section and a wide selection of DVDs. Our collection is growing, and we are continuously adding new titles!

Books and DVDs are checked out for a month at a time. Samish Citizens and citizens of the greater Fidalgo area may check out books from the Samish Library.

Our hands go up to Samish citizen Jan Flagg who has built our library collection from the ground up. Jan has an amazing talent for recognizing and purchasing books that compose our collection.

To set up a patron account and to check out materials from Samish Indian Nation Library, contact Cheryl Chatt, Library Assistant. We are open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

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Fall 2022
Nov 30, 2022, 15:36 PM
Happy Holidays from Samish Library! By the time you read this, Thanksgiving will have come and gone. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, as this has been a year of opportunities for phenomenal growth in our Samish Library collection, we realize just how much we are truly thankful for.

The second of two significant donations of books also occurred this past summer. We were contacted by Robert Demerest, a representative from the Orcas Island Friends of the Library.

It appears that there was a significant collection of Northwest Coast art and culture books that they were wishing to donate to our library. Mr. Demerest noted that their library had inherited the collection of these books, and that they were searching for a home for them in a tribal library. He stressed that it was important to keep this collection of books together. After some coordination of schedules, the books were delivered to our library in early August, delivered personally by Mr. Demerest. In appreciation, he was gifted with a bentwood box that was handcrafted by Beaver Lodge carvers with a design that was hand painted by Janis Bailey, a Carving Circle artist.

Fifteen boxes of books in all were delivered—all of them in new or near new condition. The topics are roughly 85% Northwest Coast art, culture, and history. There are also some government publications that make a welcome addition to our ever-growing reference section. Additionally, there are a good number of museum catalogs for various Native art exhibitions that make fascinating viewing (and reading) of various Northwest Coast works of art that are seldom seen.

A highlight from this marvelous gift of a collection includes the book Indians of the Northwest Coast by Maximilien Bruggman and Peter R. Gerber. From the inside cover of this magnificent title: “In this richly illustrated volume, ethnologist Peter R. Gerber traces the fascinating history of these (first) peoples from their origins thousands of years ago to the present day, while Maximilien Bruggmann’s stunning photographs vividly document the powerful imagery of these important cultures.”

The Samish Indian Nation Library is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. I look forward to sharing these and other new titles with you.