Xwi7xwa Library

X̱wi7x̱wa (pronounced "whei wha") Library began as a small collection of Aboriginal materials in a mobile home. The collection was maintained in conjunction with the University of British Columbia's (UBC) NITEP Indigenous Teacher Education Program. In 1993, the library became the First Nations House of Learning Library, part of a longhouse for Indigenous students and scholars. The university's senate later established a X̱wi7x̱wa librarian position in 1995, The library became a branch of the UBC Library in 2005. It is the first First Nations branch of a Canadian academic library. As of 2015, the library held over 15,000 items, consisting primarily of Indigenous materials, including those produced by First Nations peoples, organizations, schools, and tribal councils. == Building ==

The primary donor and namesake for the library building was William Bellman; he was named X̱wi7x̱wa by Squamish Elder and Chief, Koot-la-cha. The library building's design is inspired by buildings of the Interior Salish nations. Its primary structure is called a Kekuli in the Chinook jargon, a S7istken in Ucwalmicwts (Lil’wat nation), and a pit house in English. The library building is integrated into the library's logo, which was created by Tsimshian artist Glen Wood. This logo represents the Raven transforming the university. The windows are decorated with the names of approximately eight hundred donors to the library. == Classification and cataloging ==

The X̱wi7x̱wa Library uses First Nations House of Learning (FNHL) Subject Headings, a local taxonomy that remedies many of the shortcomings of the Library of Congress Subject Headings with regard to First Nations materials. This classification system arranges First Nations geographically and refers to them by their own names (autonyms), rather than alphabetically by their European names. The library also records a subjective measure of suitability of materials that may be used to teach Indigenous children. This practice rejects dominant conceptions of cataloging as "objective". It recognizes the frequent misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples by mainstream European-Canadian and American cultures. == References ==