Winona LaDuke to deliver 37th annual E.F. Schumacher lecture
Great Barrington — On Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m., the Schumacher Center for a New Economics will present the 37th annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. “Choosing the Path That Is Green” will be delivered by activist, community economist, author and member of the Ojibwe Nation of the Anishinaabe peoples Winona LaDuke and followed by a panel discussion led by Nwamaka Agbo, a member of the Schumacher Center’s board of directors and the Innovation Fellow at the Movement Strategy Center in Oakland, California.
LaDuke is an Anishinaabekwe (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg. She lives and works in northern Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation. She is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, whose mission is to regain the Anishinaabeg people’s original lands from federal, state and county governments. She is also the executive director of Honor the Earth, a grassroots environmental organization focused on Indigenous issues and environmental justice, which she co-founded in 1993. She serves as co-chair of the Indigenous Women’s Network, a North American and Pacific indigenous women’s organization, and was a founding member of the community land-rights group Anishinaabe Akeeng and of IKE, a Native women’s craft marketing collective. She is a former board member of Greenpeace USA and ran twice as vice-presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party.
LaDuke’s books include “The Militarization of Indian Country,” “Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming,” “All our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life,” and a novel “Last Standing Woman.” She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in rural economic development and received her master’s degree in community economic development from Antioch College.
Tickets are $40 or 40 BerkShares. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Mahaiwe box office at (413) 528-0100.
–E.E.
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The Mount to present ‘Put in the Mood for Ghosts’
Lenox — On Sunday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 6 p.m., the Mount will welcome storyteller Tom Lee for the program “Put in the Mood for Ghosts.” Lee will tell traditional ghost stories from England and read from Edith Wharton’s tales.
Lee has told stories professionally for 30 years. He is a frequent guest artist at the Metropolitan Opera education conference, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Yale Center for British Art. He was a featured teller at the 2014 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and returned in 2015 as teller-in-residence.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and free for Mount members. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Mount at (413) 551-5111 or info@edithwharton.org.
–E.E.
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Hoffmann Bird Club releases book on Berkshire birds
Pittsfield — The Hoffmann Bird Club has announced the publication of its first book, “An Annotated List of the Birds of Berkshire County, Massachusetts,” which consists of descriptions and historical records for every known bird ever recorded in Berkshire County. The book also includes a history of the club and its namesake, Ralph Hoffmann. The book is not a guidebook, but a catalogue of local birds and their sightings through history. The book is 160 pages long and includes indexes of common and scientific bird names. The book is currently available for purchase at Wild Birds Country Store and the Bookloft in Great Barrington; Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary and the Bookstore in Lenox; the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield; the Williams College bookstore in Williamstown; and the Petersburgh Public Library in Petersburgh, New York. For more information, contact the Hoffmann Bird Club at hoffmannbirdclub@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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‘Bringing Heritage to Life in the Berkshires’
Pittsfield — On Thursday, Nov. 2, at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will present “Bringing Heritage to Life in the Berkshires” with Dan Bolognani, executive director of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, at Congregation Knesset Israel.
Housatonic Heritage is a program that serves 29 communities in the Housatonic River watershed region. Created by Congress and funded through the National Park Service, the program supports culture, history and natural resource organizations throughout Berkshire and Litchfield counties. The group has been working in Berkshire neighborhoods for over 15 years supporting youth education, natural resource conservation and historical societies, as well bringing creative programs to the region’s downtown areas.
The program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10.
–E.E.
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Artist R.J. Rosegarten to exhibit at Berkshire School
Sheffield — Artist R.J. Rosegarten’s “Lost and Found: Compositions in Mixed Media” will debut at Berkshire School’s Warren Family Gallery with a reception Friday, Nov. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will run through Saturday, Dec. 16.
Rosegarten creates his works in his Copake, New York studio, where he and his wife, author Doreen Rappaport, have resided for 18 years. Rosegarten did not begin exploring his artistic side until after a Manhattan advertising career and stint as mayor of Great Neck Plaza, New York. A self-taught artist, he began with painting but became intrigued by the concept of lost and found creations after a visit to an antique show in 2000.
In addition to the exhibition, Berkshire School students will learn more about Rosegarten’s approach to artistic expression via a gallery talk and hands-on art sessions. For more information, contact Berkshire School at (413) 229-8511.
–E.E.
