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Nov
22
Monday
Nov
22
Mon
Education :: Book Reading
The Big Read
12:00 PM
Lewis and Clark Library
The Big Read Description:
As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in Lewis & Clark county, all our programming for the NEA Big Read will be virtual only.

Go to https://www.lclibrary.org/306/The-Big-Read to access Zoom links and register for each program individually.

Free copies of An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo can be picked up at any Lewis & Clark Library branch in Augusta, East Helena, Helena, Lincoln or on the Bookmobile.

PARTNERS
Lewis & Clark Library Foundation
Helena College
Helena Indian Alliance
Montana Historical Society

KICKOFF
When the Light of the World Was Subdued Our Songs Came Through: Celebrating Native American Poetry
Wednesday, 11/3 at 7 PM
Poets Jennifer Elise Foerster, Mandy Smoker Broaddus-- Co-Poet Laureate for Montana--and Heather Cahoon read from their own works as well as the anthology When the Light of the World Was Subdued Our Songs Came Through for our NEA Big Read kickoff.


WORKSHOPS
Poetry Workshop with Melissa Kwasny (Co-Poet Laureate for Montana)
Saturday, 11/13 from 2-4 PM
In this generative workshop, we will explore forms of figurative language that can add surprise and depth to your writing as well as imaginative play to your daily life. Through in-class writing prompts and the sharing of innovative examples by contemporary poets, participants will come away with an assortment of writing tools as well as the start of a handful of new poems.

Assonikinakii Cowl Knit-A-Long
Sundays, November 7, 14, 21, & 28
2-3:30 PM
Join us in celebrating the Big Read with a month-long knit-a-long. We'll be knitting the Assonikinakii Cowl available from Sisters United in Great Falls. We will meet virtually every Sunday in November from 2-3:30 p.m. to knit, converse, and answer questions. Please sign up for this program by October 20 to ensure pattern availability.

LECTURES
Storying and Living our Relations with Native Food Systems with Marissa Spang (Esevona’e) M.Ed.
Saturday, 11/6 at 1 PM
This presentation will discuss Native Food Systems of Montana (primarily Northern Cheyenne and Crow) through a two-pronged approach of Indigenous story/theory and lived/applied Indigenous knowledge. It is the goal of this presentation to not only provide a larger, storied understanding of Native food relatives, but to also offer some practical methods or skills for how to live in to or practice a kinship-based relationship with Native food relatives. This presentation is for all knowledge levels.

Living the Now in the Presence of the Past through Joy Harjo's An American Sunrise with Dorothea (Dottie) Susag
Tuesday, 11/9 at 6:30 PM
Dorothea Susag will present an interactive discussion using poetry, multimedia resources, and discussion to experience Joy Harjo's world of trauma and hope.

Race as a Colonial Concept
Thursday, 11/18 at 6:30 PM
Using Harjo’s An American Sunrise as a jumping-off point, Ferguson will discuss how the use of blood quantum to determine tribal enrollment status has eroded tribal sovereignty, fractured tribal communities, and impacted Native people’s identities.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
An American Sunrise with Joy Harjo
Monday, 11/22 at 7 PM
United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will be in conversation with Mandy Smoker Broaddus who is the Co-Poet Laureate of Montana. In 2019 Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, was appointed the 23rd US Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold the position. She has written nine books of poetry and two memoirs, Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior which just came out in 2021. Harjo has won numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Ruth Lilly Prize from the Poetry Foundation for Lifetime Achievement. Her book, An American Sunrise is our NEA Big Read pick for 2021.

BOOK DISCUSSIONS
Premier Book Group
Thursday, 11/4 at 7 PM

With Helena College
Wednesday, 11/17 at 6:30 PM

Book Discussion with Diane Potter
Friday, November 19 at 1 PM
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YA4A Book Group discusses Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Tuesday, 11/23 at 6:30 PM
Young Adult books for Adults book group is for adults who read young adult (YA) fiction. We’ll discuss our NEA Big Read companion read, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.

Book Discussion at the Montana Historical Society
Tuesday, November 30 at 12 PM

COMPANION READS:
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith for our Little Read
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis with Traci Sorell for our Middle Read
The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley for our Teen Read

ADVENTURE LAB:
Explore the world around you in a whole new way with Geocaching Adventure Lab® outdoor scavenger hunts! Community-generated scavenger hunts let you uncover hidden gems, learn local trivia, discover landmarks, and everyday treasures through an interactive, outdoor, and contactless experience.
To begin an Adventure, download the official app for your iPhone or Android phone. Signing up is simple. From the app, find the Helena in Poetry Adventure. The app will then guide you through the process of finding clues, solving puzzles and completing the Adventure one location at a time. Get a completion button at the Library when you have finished!
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Age Group: Adults
Venue: Lewis and Clark Library
Address: 120 South Last Chance Gulch Helena, MT 59601
Phone: 406.447.1690

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