Title: Nipmuc Language and Cultural Conference
Conference dates: September 5, 2009
Location: American Legion Post 184, 9 Houghton St. (off School St.), Webster Massachusetts… “Home of the Nipmuc Indians”
Time: 1-6pm
Phone: 413-273-327
Email: historicalnipmuctribe@hotmail.com

Historical Nipmuc Tribe Presents the Nipmuc Language and Cultural Conference on September 5, 2009 from 1-6pm. Join us for an exciting day of Native American culture and tradition, along with Guest speakers touching on various topics concerning the goals and issues facing Native Americans today! In addition we will be serving a delicious dinner for all who attend and holding special raffles!!! Admission fee- $7.00 (under 12 free, Dinner included). Open to the Public!

Events include and Topics of discussion are:

• Overview and history of the Nipmuc Tribe along with current goals of the Nipmuc people. (Larry Spotted Crow)
• Native American Drumming and Dancing exhibitions by the Quabbin Lake Singers
• Nipmuc Artist, Angel Nighthawk will have a table along with Native beadwork and Wampum demonstrations.
• Nipmuc Youth Council Presentation & baked goods table
• Nipmuc Language Restoration Project and the work that we are doing with our language Also how it was used in the major PBS mini series “We Shall Remain”(David Tall Pine)
• Undoing Native Stereo types , a perspective from a Taino woman ( Michelle Kellaway)
• Project Mishoon with Cheryl Watching Crow Stedtler. The work to retrieve Nipmuc Canoes (Mishoons) from the bottom of Lake of Quinsigamond which are over 3 centuries old.
• Western Massachusetts Commissioner of Indian Affairs Troy Phillips, Issues on Protection of Native American Graves. (NAGPRA)
• Nipmuc Flute Music by Strong Eagle Daly

LaPointe, Wis. - The first Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26, 2009 at LaPointe, WI. The gathering will focus on sharing and reflecting on the Island's importance to the Anishinaabeg. Through an exchange of stories and historical information and visioning for the future, participants will consider ways to maintain cultural continuity through the next seven generations. Key presenters include: Winona LaDuke, Joe Rose Sr., Tobasonakwut, Dr. Rick St. Germaine, Robert VanZile, and Henry Buffalo Jr.

The sharing sessions on Friday will begin with a morning ceremony at Ojibwe Memorial Park by Leo LaFernier, outdoor presentations under the tent by tribal elders, historians and leaders, a lunch provided by the LaPointe Community, and end the day with a traditional feast and celebration dance in the evening with M.C. "Amik" Larry Smallwood. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota is bringing a live rehabilitated eagle to participate in the Gathering.

On Saturday, the Madeline Island Museum will have an open house with special programs including book signings by Dr. Thomas Vennum and the showing of the film, "Mikwendaagoziwag - They Are Remembered,” about the Sandy Lake Tragedy. The weekend events are free and open to the public, though groups of six or more must make a reservation by contacting the information number below. Anishinaabeg people will receive reduced passenger ferry tickets for the event, and camping is available on the Island.

Background:
Moningwanekaaning Minis (Madeline Island), one of the 22 Apostle Islands in Lake Superior near Bayfield, Wisconsin, has been the sacred center of the Anishinaabeg people for centuries. Moningwanekaaning Minis, place of the golden-shafted flicker, is mentioned as the prophesied seventh stopping place of the long Ojibwe migration from the East in Eddie Benton Banai’s, The Mishomis Book. Because the Island was a major Anishinaabeg settlement, the American Government signed the 1842 and the 1854 Treaties with the Chippewa there and held annunity payments at LaPointe each summer. Bezhike, (also known as Chief Buffalo) headman of the LaPointe Band, successfully traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with President Millard Fillmore to object to the 1850 Removal Order and the Sandy Lake Tragedy. Bezhike is buried on the Island along with
Chief Oshaga and other historic Ojibwe leaders.

Today, mostly summer residents and a few hardy year-round folks inhabit the Island. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa still retains title to a small amount of land (55 acres) on Amnicon Point at the far northeastern tip of the 14-mile long island. Though tribal members mostly left the Island after the 1854 Treaty and settled on the newly established Bad River Reservation and the Red Cliff Reservation, many Anishinaabeg people return to the Island on an annual basis. Many come on the important dates of Memorial Day and on Sept. 30, which is the anniversary of the signing of the 1854 Treaty. These are the main dates of ceremonies at the Chippewa Memorial Park and individual visits in honor of the ancestors who walked this land.

Organizing the Gathering is a committee of Anishinaabeg community members, representatives from the Bad River and Red Cliff Bands of Ojibwe, town of LaPointe businesses, entities, and organizations like the Madeline Island Museum, MI Chamber of Commerce, St. John’s United Church of Christ, and others. Grants have been received from the Forest County Potawatomi, the Apostle Islands Community Fund and the Wisconsin Humanities Council. Numerous donations have been received from the Town of LaPointe, Madeline Island Museum, and many Island businesses.

The Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering event will be the first time that Anishinaabeg and community members will come together to examine the significance of this sacred place in their history, present day lives, and for the future. It is an opportunity to expand community friendships, partnerships, and connections across cultures to create a joint vision for a strong healthy future of this Island and her people. The intention is to organize an annual two-day event that welcomes Anishinaabeg people again to the Island to honor and renew their connection to this place.

Title: 2009 Native American Art Studies Association (NAASA) Conference
Conference dates: October 21-24, 2009
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Website: http://naasa.wordpress.com/

The program will open with a welcoming reception on Wednesday evening, Oct. 21, and conclude with a banquet on Saturday night, Oct. 24, offering three full days of conference sessions, evening activities, and late night sessions.

Our local hosts include the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, together with the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa. They are teaming up to arrange many opportunities to experience the diverse art and culture of Oklahoma, with distinguished speakers, an artist panel, and visits to campus museums. Optional pre- and post-conference tours will facilitate visits to museums and tribal cultural centers around the region.

The Embassy Suites hotel is serving as conference headquarters.

The registration fee for the conference is $110, with an early bird rate of $95 available until September 15. Registration materials will be sent to members and posted on the website once costs for ancillary events are set, allowing participants to sign up for all events at once.

The conference will conclude with a banquet on Saturday night, which will be held at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. This is an optional event ticketed separately from the registration fee.

ST. SCHOLASTICA RECEIVES $1.28 MILLION
GRANT FOR AMERICAN INDIAN TEACHING PROGRAM -
APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR FALL ENROLLMENT FOR FALL 09 OR SPRING 10

DULUTH, MN - The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN, has received a new four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support
its Ojibwe Language and Culture Education (OLCE) program. Only 11 such grants were awarded nationally in 2009.

The $1.28 million grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education. It will support 12 American Indian students who are interested in teaching and working in the American Indian community. Students will major in elementary or secondary education and in Ojibwe language and culture education. The grant will provide students with tuition support as well as a monthly living stipend.

Applications for participation in the project are being accepted for Fall 2009 enrollment.

The project is open to undergraduate students with previous postsecondary education. Students will earn their bachelor’s degrees and receive teaching licensure within three years.

“The purpose of the project is both to increase the number of fully licensed American Indian teachers available to serve schools with Native populations, and to prepare them to provide high quality education to American Indian youth,” said Valerie Tanner, OLCE program director and
assistant professor of education at St. Scholastica.

Eligible students will be enrolled in an American Indian tribe or are descendants of an enrolled member. As a condition of their participation in the project, students will work in schools with high Native populations following graduation.

Major project activities include classes focusing on American Indian and multicultural education; teaching resources supporting the integration of American Indian culture; history and language into the K-12 curriculum; and field placements and student teaching in schools with high Native enrollments.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Gigashki’ewizimin ji gikenjigeyang (We Are Powerful When We Have Knowledge) Consortium, which is dedicated to promoting American educational access, achievement and success. Consortium members will meet regularly throughout the grant period and will help with field placements, cultural components, recruitment and program evaluation.

The new grant complements a 2007 five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition for a similar project that supports 10 Native and non-Native teachers interested in teaching in Native communities. Another grant, awarded in 2006 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education, supports the Native Teachers for the Seventh Generation program, which allows Native students the opportunity to earn a bachelor of arts in education with a K-12 licensure from St. Scholastica.

To apply for enrollment under the new grant, or for more information about the OLCE program, contact Valerie Tanner at (218) 723-6014 or
(800) 447-5444, ext. 6014 or vtanner@css.edu. Program information can be found at http://www.css.edu/OLCE.xml. Application for program can be
found online.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences, an international learned society located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, invites applications for its 2010-2011 scholar-in-residence program. Preference will be given to untenured junior faculty, but qualified post-doctoral scholars are also urged to apply. The Academy seeks proposals that relate to its research areas: Science & Global Security, Social Policy & American Institutions, Humanities & Culture, and Education. Projects that address American cultural, social, or political issues from the founding period to the present are welcome, as are studies that examine developments in public policy. Candidates should consider the relationship of their work to archival, library, and other intellectual resources in the Boston area. In addition to conducting individual research, Visiting Scholars are expected to participate in conferences, seminars, and events at the Academy.

The stipend is $40,000 for post-doctoral scholars; $60,000 for junior faculty (not to exceed one half of salary). The postmark deadline for applications is 16 October.

Title: The Anschutz Distinguished Fellowship in American Studies, 2010-2011 (Princeton University)
Deadline: November 13, 2009
Location: New Jersey, United States
Website: http://www.princeton.edu/ams/anschutz/current_search/

The Princeton Program in American Studies, founded in 1943, sponsors teaching, research, and public discussion about the history, literature, art, and culture of the United States, in ways that span the traditional disciplines.

The Anschutz Distinguished Fellowship, created through an endowment by the Anschutz family, will be awarded in the academic year 2010-11 to a writer, critic, journalist, musician, artist, or other contributor to the arts, letters, public service, or commerce. The fellowship holder need not be an academic scholar. However, the selection committee will place great weight on indicia of the candidate’s teaching ability as well as the rigor, innovation, and interdisciplinary emphasis of the proposed seminar course. The Anschutz Fellow is expected to teach one interdisciplinary undergraduate seminar course for the American Studies Program either in the fall or the spring semester. The seminar will be composed of no more than 15 students, and it will meet for three hours weekly over a 12 week teaching semester. The Fellow will also deliver one public lecture to the University. The Fellow will enjoy full access to Firestone Library and to a wide range of activities throughout the University. A computer-equipped office on campus will be provided for the semester.

A Fellow who elects to reside on campus will receive a salary of $50,000, plus benefits. A Fellow who elects to commute from elsewhere will receive $32,000, plus benefits.

Event: Mooningwanekaaning Minis Anishinaabeg Maawanjiiding - Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering
Dates: Sept. 25 & 26
Speakers: Winona LaDuke, Tobasonakwut Kinew, Dr. Rick St. Germaine, Henry Buffalo, Jr, Robert Van Zile and Joe Rose, Sr.

Come to honor and renew the Anishinaabeg relationship to the Island in the past, present and visioning for the future.

Contact: 715-747-2415 or email MIgathering2009@aol.com.

This event is free and open to the public (all ages). See flyer.

Title: Peabody Museum Exhibit—Story Walls: Murals of the Americas
Date(s): Open through December 30, 2010
Website: http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/ & http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/exhibits/current?q=node/284

Remembering Awatovi book wins 2009 IPPY Independent Publisher Gold Award
Hester A. Davis’s Remembering Awatovi: The Story of an Archaeological Expedition in Northern Arizona, 1935–1939 has won the 2009 IPPY Independent Publisher Gold Award for Best Regional Non-Fiction.

Remembering Awatovi is the engaging story of a major archaeological expedition on the Hopi Reservation in northern Arizona. Centered on the large Pueblo village of Awatovi, with its Spanish mission church and beautiful kiva murals, the excavations are renowned not only for the data they uncovered but also for the interdisciplinary nature of the investigations. In archaeological lore they are also remembered for the diverse, fun-loving, and distinguished cast of characters who participated in or visited the dig.

Hester Davis’s lively account—part history of archaeology, part social history—is told largely in the words of the participants, among whom were two of Davis’s siblings, artist Penny Davis Worman and archaeologist Mott Davis. Life in the remote field camp abounded with delightful storytelling, delicious food, and good-natured high-jinks. Baths were taken in a stock tank, beloved camp automobiles were given personal names, and a double bed had to be trucked across the desert and up a mesa to celebrate a memorable wedding.

To explore Awatovi further, visit the Peabody Museum’s Storied Walls: Murals of the Americas exhibit, open through December 30, 2010.