Walk into any library, and the world is revealed, from tall tales and vital truths to oral histories and picture books. It’s no wonder that these magical repositories of imagination and knowledge also contain some of the coolest, most subversive, and most innovative people on the planet: librarians. 

Encounter Culture host Charlotte Jusinski goes directly to the source. She chats with Eli Guinnee, New Mexico State Librarian, and the incomparable Jean Whitehorse, Outreach Librarian, Tribal Libraries Program in Crownpoint, NM, on the Navajo Nation. Eli provides background on the state library’s programs and initiatives while Jean educates listeners on everything else. That’s not hyperbole; Jean is an astonishing font of information, determination, and wisdom behind the circulation desk.

The New Mexico State Library is a vital hub, offering career training, financial literacy, computer competency, and infrastructure advocacy programs. Jean’s approach to librarianship mirrors her approach to life––examine systems, identify the inequities, and take action. “There’s always another way,” she says, referencing the creative problem-solving spirit that her father passed down to her.

Jean’s macro-micro sensibility has garnered her invitations to speak around the world. She’s even addressed The United Nations’ Permanent Committee on Indigenous Issues. But no matter how far afield she travels, Jean remains rooted in Navajo Nation. “I grew up in a hogan with a dirt floor. I'm the daughter of a Navajo Code Talker,” she says, pride mingling with a bit of impatience. There’s still so much she wants to accomplish. 

Here’s hoping we’ll find Jean behind the circulation desk for another 25 years.

Visit the New Mexico State Library to learn more about its programs and initiatives.  If you’re in Santa Fe, drop by the library at 209 Camino Carlos Rey for research and browsing. Don’t live in Santa Fe? Submit your questions to a librarian via the New Mexico State Library reference desk! All inquiries receive a response within two business days. 

You can view a trailer for Amá, the film featuring Jean Whitehorse’s story of forced sterilization, at dartmouthfilms.com/ama.

Visit https://newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours and more.

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Charlotte Jusinski, Editor at El Palacio Magazine

Technical Director: Edwin R. Ruiz

Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Executive Producer:  Daniel Zillmann

Show Notes: Lisa Widder

Associate Editor: Helen King

Theme Music: D’Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture

For more, visit podcast.nmculture.org