ELY – As part of the Native American Justice Project, “Awareness…Then Change,” the local groups working on the collaboration are encouraging the community to participate in One Community, One Read.
The effort, sponsored by The American Association of University Women-Ely Branch in collaboration with Ely EMPOWER, included the recent presentation by Minnesota State Senator Mary Kunesh on the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Task Force.
As the project continues, community members are encouraged to read the novel, “In the Night of Memory,” by Linda LeGarde Grover, then participate in one or more of the scheduled events related to the book.
“‘In the Night of Memory’ is a moving story of loss and recovery in Native American communities,” said Linda Sutton, chair of the AAUW Public Policy committee. “Fiction can be a powerful tool to help understand issues in our communities today. There are few who are more expert than Linda LeGarde Grover when it comes to exploring the effect of centuries of injustice in our Native American communities.”
A reading and book signing is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 21, from 1-3 p.m. at Piragis Northwoods Co. The award-winning author will also introduce her new book of essays, “Gichigami Hearts,” in which she interweaves family and Ojibwe history with stories from Misaabekong (the place of the giants) on Lake Superior.
On Monday, Nov. 22, a community writing workshop with Grover will be held at the Ely Folk School. The workshop runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and will include a light meal. The workshop, “Writing from a Sense of Time and Place,” is an interactive writing workshop. Participants will begin a creative writing project in the form of essay, poetry, fiction or memoir (or a combination of any of these). The concepts of time and place will be examined from diverse individual and community worldviews. At the end of the workshop, some participants may have a completed piece, some may have the foundation for work that may be developed further. Registration for the event is through the Ely Folk School website.
Grover will also provide workshops in several area schools, sponsored by Story Portage, the Ely Indian Education Program and the Brunfelt-Sainio Fund.
One Community, One Read will wrap up with a reading and presentation at Tuesday Group at noon on Nov. 23, followed by a discussion of “In the Night of Memory” for those in the audience who wish to stay after Grover’s presentation.
Copies of “In the Night of Memory” and many of her other published works are available at Piragis Northwoods Co. and the Ely Public Library.
Linda LeGarde Grover, professor emeritus of American Indian Studies at UMD, is a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and author of fiction, poetry, research articles, newspaper columns and essays. She is a recipient of the UMD Albert Tezla Teaching and Research Award for her work in integrating her research into her courses and of the UMD College of Liberal Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. Linda’s book publications include The Dance Boots, The Road Back to Sweetgrass, The Sky Watched: Poems of Ojibwe Lives, and Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year.
“Our intent in the Native Justice project is to bring awareness into our Ely community so that we can be better allies to our Native American neighbors,” Sutton said. “The goals of the justice project are to increase understanding, honor the heritage of the area, and to set the stage for supporting policy and social action to reduce the risks for and support the resilience of Native American women and children.”
Additional local activities will be scheduled in 2022 and specific details of those will be made available soon. Following the first six months of activities, EMPOWER and AAUW will evaluate the project and determine next steps for continued awareness and action to promote equity, according to Sutton.
The project, Awareness…Then Change, features Survivor II by Shaun Chosa, an acclaimed local Native American artist.
“We are so grateful to Shaun for allowing us to use his image for our project,” she said. “Survivor II powerfully illustrates the impact of generations of historical trauma on our Native American friends and neighbors.”