Help NDN Girls Book Club build their Bookmobile!

Via Indian Country Today (ICT):

In 2024, “Pinky the Rezmobile” brought free Indigenous books and community joy across the Navajo and Hopi reservations.

This year, the NDN Girls Book Club is fundraising for a new, permanent bookmobile that could take that same idea to exponentially more communities across Indian Country.

With increasing censorship, books such as “Fry Bread” by Kevin Noble Maillard, “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley, “A Snake Falls to Earth” by Darcie Little Badger, and “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz have been challenged or banned in schools.

“A giant pink truck sends a message,” Drake said. “And I think hope is a dangerous thing in times like these because it gets people rallied.”

The next bookmobile, backed by a fundraising campaign aiming to raise $85,000, will help NDN Girls Book Club expand into even more communities, including an upcoming trip to Oklahoma in May. The new bookmobile will also feature illustrated scenes created by Indigenous artists.

About Bookmobiles (via the American Library Association):

Bookmobiles and direct-delivery outreach services are, and continue to be an integral, vital part of libraries around the country. For over 100 years bookmobiles have served rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas, bringing access to information and life-long learning resources to all classes and communities. Bookmobiles are a central part of library service, and ALA is firmly committed to recognizing their contribution to public life with the goal to highlight their value and extend their reach.

With this next crucial step, Book Club will provide large-scale delivery of free books to tribal communities every year with a permanent bookmobile that sports Book Club's signature color (pink!) and can carry thousands of brand-new titles, as well as the traveling team. Together, we can further amplify the power of Indigenous stories & literacy!

In 2024, NDN Girls Book Club had great success with a similar truck, lovingly nicknamed "Pinky the Rezmobile" by families. Our truck successfully journeyed across the Navajo Nation and Hopi Nation to deliver more than 10,000 free books by Indigenous authors in just 5 days. The truck was a donation for the week, but the experience has stayed with us. Now with increased demand and more places we want to go than ever before, having our own bookmobile will allow us to meet the needs of various communities and continue to grow our reach.

About NDN Girls Book Club:

NDN Girls Book Club is a Native women and youth-run organization dedicated to uplifting Indigenous authors and distributing books for free to youth and families. In 2024, Book Club distributed 10,200 free books on the Navajo and Hopi Nations with the SBi Giving Foundation during their Yiłta! (I read it!) Book Drop. In 2025, Book Club distributed thousands of free books by Indigenous authors to Tlingit & Haida villages in Southeast Alaska. In 2026, Book Club will be distributing thousands of free books to tribes in Oklahoma.

In addition, the organization sends out free care packages to youth, distributes free zines and books at community events, and uplifts Indigenous booksellers and presses. Their efforts have been highlighted by the Washington Post, Ben and Jerry’s, Teen Vogue, Yahoo!, and more.

NATIVE BOOKMOBILE

Make the big, pink truck a permanent reality for tribal communities!