All are welcome to attend a free virtual Abenaki speaker series this spring, hosted by the Community College of Vermont (CCV).
The series invites the community to hear “three accomplished members of Vermont's Abenaki community” in the program, according to President Joyce Judy.
According to a news release, the series represents CCV's ongoing effort to honor the Abenaki people, who originally stewarded the land on which the college's 12 academic centers are located.
“Our hope is that these conversations will help to illuminate stories that have been overshadowed and open the door to constructive dialogue in our college and local communities,” Judy said.
Speaking in the series:
• Jesse Bowman Bruchac, “Abenaki Creation Story, Language, and Culture,” Thursday, Feb. 18, 5 to 6 p.m. Bruchac is a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe. He is a traditional storyteller, musician, and Abenaki language instructor, he works as co-director of his family-run education center Ndakinna, in Greenfield Center, N.Y., where he teaches Native American life ways, martial arts, and the Abenaki language.
Bruchac has lectured at Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Princeton, and he is also the director of the School of Abenaki, which is part of Middlebury Language Schools. He has written and published several bilingual books and recordings in the language.
• Don Stevens, “History of Abenaki in Vermont, Sovereignty, and Recognition,” Thursday, March 18, 5 to 6 p.m. Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk - Abenaki Nation, is an award-winning leader, entrepreneur, writer, and lecturer. He has been featured in magazines, books, TV shows, and documentaries.
Stevens was appointed by then-Gov. James Douglas in 2006 for two terms to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, where he served as chair. He led the fight to obtain legal recognition for the Abenaki People in Vermont. He was able to acquire tribal land for the Nulhegan Tribe, which had been absent for over 200 years.
He has more than 26 years of experience in successfully developing information technology, logistics, and manufacturing strategies for multi-million-dollar companies. An Army veteran, he graduated from Champlain College with a degree in computer information systems.
• Melody Walker Brook, “Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Healing, and the Path Forward,” Thursday, April 15, 5 to 6 p.m. An Abenaki educator, activist, and artist, Walker Brook is a citizen of the Elnu Abenaki Band and has previously served as the vice chair and chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs.
She received her master's degree in history from the University of Vermont and has been an adjunct professor at both Champlain College and Johnson State College, where she taught Native American History and Culture, Abenakis and Their Neighbors, and Native American Spirituality.
Within her community, she has focused on cultural revitalization and concepts of personhood. She is a fingerweaver, beadworker, and traditional tattoo artist, and she interprets belts.
All events will be held on Zoom. For more information and to register, visit ccv.edu/speakerseries.