Milkweed Editions and Little Free Library launch new partnership

A locally grown collaboration with national impact: Indigenous Library Steward-sustaining Partnership

Photograph by Anna Min

Chris La Tray placing his book Becoming Little Shell into the new Indigenous Little Free Library at Red Lake Nation College in Minneapolis.

Milkweed Editions and Little Free Library are excited to share our new “steward-sustaining” partnership for the Indigenous Little Free Library Program.

What is the Indigenous Little Free Library Program? Little Free Library grants no-cost book-sharing boxes where needed most on tribal lands and in Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada. They work with Indigenous community leaders and members to place book exchanges in locations where book access is important to improving literacy. Learn more here.

Intended to help sustain the library selections for these granted libraries and increase access to and the impact of the books we publish, Milkweed Editions is honored to launch our partnership by donating one copy of Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home by Chris La Tray to each of the current 82 Indigenous Little Free Libraries. We are committed to sending one new book by an Indigenous author to all Indigenous Little Free Libraries annually.

While both Little Free Library and Milkweed Editions are national nonprofit organizations, we are both proudly based in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Grown out of our shared values of building community, inspiring readers, and expanding access to life-changing literature, this partnership is the first of its kind and we hope to inspire other publishers to dedicate resources to becoming “steward-sustaining” partners like this with Little Free Library in the future.

Chris La Tray with copies of his book Becoming Little Shell in our Minneapolis warehouse.