Chicago American Indian Community in Action! The Making of the White Cedar Room, getting to know the new multimedia library
The White Cedar Room will be a multimedia resource center for Chicago families to research contemporary Native culture. It will also beopen to members of the Native American Chicago community, Kateri Center constituents as well as the
public in general. The White Cedar Room is named for Grandma Peggy
Desjarlait (White Cedar), a respected member of the Native American community in Chicago and one of the founders of the Anawim Center, which is now the Kateri
Center.
During the summer of 2011 local tradesmen donated their equipment, talents and time to remodel the basement space of the Kateri Center at 3938 North
Leavitt. Grant funding was secured to support their work and currently, the ceiling has been lifted, redone and painted and the room is ready for the next phase of development.
In addition to finishing the room, the next steps are to develop a White Cedar Room Advisory Board, which will be made up of experts in the areas of film, literacy, media, art, education, religious studies and librarysciences. Also, to build the library database that will be accessible online, creating contracted positions that will promote career pathways in a variety of fields and to continue literary activities, which include the Chi-noodin Writing Group, public readings, book and media clubs, as well as language and literacy programs
American Indian authored media
