Kathy Barri is an enrolled member of
Gaa-miskwaabikaang (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa). Kathy has served as the Library Assistant for the
Ginanda Gikendaasomin (We Seek To Learn) Tribal Library since 2018, seeing the library through major changes like a move to a new building in 2021 and joining the
Northern Waters Library Network in 2022.
When Kathy originally started as the Library Assistant, her job duties were to “answer the phone, put books on the shelf, create a database, and hold four storytimes with elders.” However, Kathy quickly realized that just because the library was open, didn’t mean that people would come. To increase community interest in the library, Kathy partnered with the tribe’s
Early Childhood Center to build a library culture and host storytimes with the young students. Since then, Kathy has become a self-described “collaborating fool,” partnering with tribal members, tribal departments, regional organizations,
UW-Madison’s Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums program, and more to develop services and programs that promote Ojibwe teachings, language, and culture for the whole Red Cliff community.
