About the Library

Woodenlegs Library is located in Lame Deer, MT, a small town on the Northern Cheyenne Nation in southeastern Montana. The library is located on the campus of Chief Dull Knife College and serves as the academic library for students and faculty in addition to serving the community in a public library capacity.  Our collection has been developed to support the needs of this unique community.  Library users are of all ages and come in with many varied interests which we strive to accommodate with our vast fiction and children’s sections in addition to a variety of newspapers and magazines. The collection and databases supports research that students are performing on campus. WL houses the tribal archives and maintains the Cheyenne Special Collection that focuses on providing and preserving information that is specific to the Cheyenne people. There is also an emphasis on providing resources that can support or offer insight into the many prevalent issues that face Native American communities, including sovereignty, health, and economy.

Mission Statement

Dr. John Woodenlegs Memorial Library provides professional information access services to the residents of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and surrounding communities. It maintains sensitivity to the culture, language and resources that are uniquely Northern Cheyenne. The library has three, interconnected roles:

1. To support college goals, programs, and curricula.

2. To serve as the community library for the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

3. To preserve uniquely Northern Cheyenne materials.

(Woodenlegs Library Policy Manual, 2019).

Libraries serve humanity by:

  • Respecting all forms by which knowledge is communicated
  • Using technology intelligently to enhance service
  • Protecting free access to knowledge
  • Honoring the past and creating the future
  • Provides a center for intellectual, cultural, social, and economic
  • enhancement
  • Nurtures a community of learners

Staff

  • Library Director | Adrienne Violett
  • Library Assistant/ILL | Morgan King
  • Library Assistant/Cataloger | Thelma Peppers