The Native American Studies program at West Virginia University welcomes the public to its annual Peace Tree Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This year’s guest of honor is poet, professor, and Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) language expert Margaret Noodin. Noodin will deliver remarks on peace and perform a song on hand drum at the ceremony. She will be recognized at a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by her 6 p.m. presentation where she’ll share Ojibwe music, poetry and storytelling. The reception and presentation will take place at G9 White Hall on the downtown campus.
All events are free and open to the public.
“Dr. Noodin's considerable work with the Anishinaabe language is truly inspiring,” said Bonnie Brown, WVU Native American Studies program coordinator. “Like many who strive to preserve Native languages and culture, she works extensively with children and young people, instilling in them the confidence and skills to use their language on a daily basis, conversing with their peers and family members, singing, and storytelling.”
Noodin is on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she also serves as the Director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education.
“In the United States and elsewhere, numerous indigenous languages are in danger of extinction and many are no longer spoken, so Dr. Noodin's exceptional commitment to her ancestral language can have a far-reaching positive impact,” Brown said.
The Peace Tree is located between Martin and Elizabeth Moore halls on the downtown campus. The Aviation Conservation Center of Appalachia and Mother Earth Beat Singers will participate.
This year’s ceremony marks the 24th anniversary of the planting of WVU’s first peace tree by Chief Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, and Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree.
During her time in West Virginia, Noodin will also make a public presentation on Oct. 5 at Potomac State College of WVU.
Noodin’s visit is funded in part by the Carolyn Reyer Endowment for Native American Studies and co-sponsored by WVU’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the WVU Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics and Potomac State College of WVU.
