GREENFIELD — River Stories, a series launched by the Nolumbeka Project to share the voices of indigenous people from the Connecticut River Valley, is wrapping up Saturday with a webinar called “We Are the Story, We Are the Land.”
The virtual event, scheduled for Sept. 19, from 2 to 4 p.m., will include music, storytelling and presentations from four Native American speakers lasting 15 to 20 minutes each, followed by a question and answer session.
The presenters are Nipmuc writer, cultural educator and tribal drummer/dancer Larry Spotted Crow Mann; internationally acclaimed jazz artist Lee Mixashawn Rozie; Western Massachusetts’ representative to the state Commission on Indian Affairs Rhonda Anderson; and Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines Jr., an activist and cultural steward of the Nipmuc tribe.
Saturday’s program will begin with tribal and indigenous music infused with other genres, including jazz and contemporary, performed by Rozie. Mann will also present music and stories, partially in the Nipmuc language. Anderson and Gaines will follow with spoken presentations.
Co-organizer Diane Dix explained that River Stories originally included live concerts, conferences and lectures. Many have been postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We planned an entire series along the Connecticut River to celebrate and honor the tribes in the Connecticut River Valley,” she said.
The final event of the series was scheduled to take place at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, Conn. When the pandemic stopped large in-person gatherings, organizers replaced the final event with this webinar.
“It would have been a very festive and upbeat event,” Dix said. “We are trying to duplicate that as best we can.”
According to David Brule, chair of the Nolumbeka Project and co-organizer of the series with Dix and Kate Albrecht, River Stories was a long time in the making for the volunteer-run nonprofit, which works to preserve and create educational opportunities about local indigenous history and culture.
“We wanted to set up a program in 2020 that would give voice to the indigenous voices, of people who have persisted and persevered,” Brule said. “Underserved voices.”
Brule said people who attend Nolumbeka Project presentations usually already have some knowledge about local indigenous culture. Still, he said that for some, Saturday’s webinar will be a realization that tribal cultures have not disappeared. He described the significant damage that this lack of knowledge has had on up-and-coming indigenous generations.
“They have been taught that they don’t exist, that they are not valuable members of the community,” he said.
“The focus of the entire series is that the tribes along the river are still here,” Dix said. “Their culture is still alive.”
To register for the free Zoom webinar, visit bit.ly/3ktbidB. The event can accommodate up to 100 participants.
If the event is at full capacity, visit facebook.com/nolumbekaproject for a livestream. A recording will also be posted afterward at nolumbekaproject.org.