Tag: Munsee

Herberg students across several classes worked on getting the plaque acknowledging the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans as a civics project.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Herberg Middle School students have collaborated to honor the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans in a long-lasting way.

Last week, a land acknowledgment plaque was installed on the school just in time for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The effort stemmed from an eighth-grade civics project and has spanned over a couple of years.

“When students are exposed to unjust history they really want to contribute to reparations.  Additionally, our middle schoolers are civically minded and looking for opportunities to be involved in our local community,” social studies teacher Jen Jaehnig said.

“Last year they collected money for Damar Hamlin’s charitable cause and our local first responders. We look forward to seeing what other causes they want to support in the future.”

About two years ago, a group of about 20 students started on the project while fulfilling a state-required civics project, or “good citizenship hours,” which focuses on the environment, government or social needs. Others have joined in the effort over the last couple of years.

There had been conversations about the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, native to the area, and about the renaming of Taconic High School’s mascot. Last year, the Taconic Braves were renamed Taconic Thunder.

Jaehnig asked an educator from the tribe what would be the best civil action and was told that a land acknowledgment would be favorable. Reportedly, when members of the tribe return to visit their homeland, they don’t see many acknowledgment signs.

The group favored the suggestion and they ran with it, beginning fundraising efforts with a movie night.  They also wrote to the tribe in Wisconsin for approval of the land acknowledgment wording.

It reads:

“We are all on the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans Native American Land. We acknowledge that we…

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The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents Jake Heggie’s ‘Dead Man Walking’, premiering live broadcasted in HD from the Met

Great Barrington— On Saturday, October 21st at 1 p.m., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking”, premiering live broadcasted in HD from the Met. 

Jake Heggie’s powerful work has its highly anticipated Met premiere in a new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, “Dead Man Walking” matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s poignant music and a libretto by Tony and Emmy Award–winner Terrence McNally. 

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere) as De Rocher’s mother.

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents ‘Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking’.

The broadcast is on Saturday, October 21st at 1 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington. Tickets are $25 and $10 for youth age 21 and under. ConnectorCare/WIC/EBT cards are accepted; four free tickets to movies or HD broadcasts per individual.  Content Advisory: Dead Man Walking contains a depiction of a rape and murder, as well as other adult themes and strong language. Tickets and more information can be found online. 

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Stockbridge-Munsee Community presents Indigenous People’s Day workshop at the Mission House Museum

Williamstown— On Monday, October 9th (Indigenous Peoples’ Day) at 11 a.m., to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office presents “Healing Within the Community,” a workshop led by Kim Hoffman, a descendant…

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Chaplains’ Corner: Spiritual richness and sharing our gifts with others – The Williams Record Continue reading

Chris Allen Munsee, 71, of Hare Creek Road, Corry, Pa., died Thursday, Sep. 21, 2023, at his residence.

He was born May 19, 1952, in Union City, Pa., a son of the late Howard and Viola “Mickey” (Pfister) Munsee.

Chris was raised and educated in Corry and graduated from Corry Area High School in 1971. After high school, he worked for Munsee Excavating for many years as an equipment operator and was known for his bulldozing work. In 1996, Chris began working with his son at Cam Tire where he was a manager. He also worked at Munsee’s Market as a produce buyer. Chris was still working with his family until his passing.

He was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church. He enjoyed hunting but mostly loved being with his family and grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, Chris was preceded in death by two brothers, Harold “Harry” and Gary Munsee.

Chris is survived by his wife, Barbara (Durlin) Munsee, whom he married Oct. 9, 1971, in Corry, PA; two daughters, Brenda Whitalker and her husband Dan and Carrie Street; son, Curt Munsee and his wife Gretchen all of Corry, Pa.; three sisters, Zela Munsee of Corry, Pa., Susan Dininny of Canton, N.C. and Annette Harmon and her husband Alan of Wellsboro, Pa.; and two sisters-in-law, Sylvia Munsee and Lucinda Munsee, both of Corry, Pa.

He is also survived by 13 grandchildren, Amanda (Hunter), Nick, Kaylee (Mason), Abigail, Matthew, Jonathan, Emily, Olivia, Alexa, Gavin, Claire, Adalyn and Annelise; five great-grandchildren, Liam, Kinley, Miles, Boone and Owen; and many nieces and nephews.

Services will be held privately by the family.

Arrangements are under the care of Bracken Funeral Home, Inc., 315 N. Center St., Corry, PA 16407.

To sign the guest book…

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EGREMONT, Mass.— Celebrating local biodiversity during a time of unprecedented global biodiversity loss, the 14th Annual Berkshire Biodiversity Day (also known as Berkshire BioBlitz) welcomes community members of all ages to join biologists, naturalists, and environmentalists to identify as many plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms as possible during a 24-hour period. 

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from noon on Saturday, Sept. 23, to noon on Sunday, Sept. 24, at Greenagers’ April Hill Education and Conservation Center, 62 N Undermountain Rd, South Egremont. Participants may take part at any time during this period to record a survey of their findings and experience first-hand the importance of a healthy, active ecosystem in their community. 

This year’s program will have guided walks, presentations, and demonstrations led by experts. Presentation topics include: leaf-mining insects from Charley Eiseman, fungi and mushrooms from John Wheeler, and arachnids from Joseph Warfel. Aliza Fassler will present about native bees and lead a wild bee walk. Professor Tom Tyning will lead an amphibian and reptile walk that will involve checking under cover boards—a common surveying method used by herpetologists. Rene Wendell from Hoffmann Bird Club will lead an owl prowl and early morning bird walk, and Ben Nickley of Berkshire Bird Observatory will also conduct a bird banding demo. 

This year’s event is organized by Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) and Nature Academy of the Berkshires. It’s co-sponsored by Greenagers, Hoffmann Bird Club, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Panera, Nature Academy of the Berkshires, and BEAT. 

Biological surveys and expert-led walks will be conducted in Bow Wow Woods—a 50-acre parcel of land just off Rte 41 on Bow Wow Rd—which was recently acquired by…

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Three Virginia congresswomen are pushing for federal recognition of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe, whose presence in present-day Stafford and King George counties can be traced back to the 1300s and was noted in some of European colonists’ earliest records. 

“Our community has always been here, and we have been a strong part of the fabric of our Virginia home,” said Patawomeck Chief Charles “Bootsie” Bullock in a statement. “We are not only descendants of many centuries of our ancestors, but today we are neighbors, colleagues, friends, and proud Americans — and our heritage deserves to be recognized by the federal government like other Indigenous communities.” 

The Patawomeck Indian Tribe won state recognition from Virginia in 2010 and today has over 2,600 enrolled members, most of whom live in Stafford County. 

Legislation co-sponsored by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Prince William, Jennifer Wexton, D-Loudoun, and Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, seeks to secure federal recognition for the tribe, which would extend sovereignty rights to the Patawomeck while also allowing them to access federal benefits, services and protections. Among those is the right to federal consultation, or the requirement that federal agencies seek input from tribal officials in developing regulations or policies that might impact Indigenous nations. The tribe announced it was seeking federal recognition through legislation in January 2022. 

As of February, 574 tribes in the U.S. had received federal recognition, including seven in Virginia: the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, Eastern Chickahominy Indian Tribe, Monacan Indian Nation, Nansemond Indian Nation, Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Rappahannock Tribe and Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe. 

But while Virginia’s tribes are among the first Indigenous nations recorded by European colonists, none were able to achieve federal recognition until 2016; six won it through federal legislation rather than the typical administrative review process overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

The tough road to…

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TROY – Three-time Grammy award-winning musician Bill Miller of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, will return to his ancestral homeland at Freedom Square as The Sanctuary for Independent Media celebrates its ninth StoryHarvest on Saturday, September 23rd. This free event will take place outdoors at Freedom Square in Troy from 2-5 PM, offering music, food, and more.

In his works, Miller focuses on spreading the message of healing through song, art, and storytelling. Miller will incorporate these themes throughout this year’s StoryHarvest, while also bringing the community closer together through food – specifically corn. Corn will be a large source of food, games, crafts, and jokes throughout the day as it is one of the few grains native to the Americas.

Activities will include corn arts & crafts, face painting, and a bicycle-powered mill, and attendees are also welcome to participate in playing corn hole, joining in on the in the CORNy joke open mic, and of course, eating corn!

StoryHarvest is also a part of the Sanctuary Eco-Art Trail project, which works to celebrate the special Mohican soils along with connecting the indigenous legacy to environmental justice. The trail embeds art, ancestral history, culture, and both local and indigenous artist presentations, and is located on a block-wide environmental campus in North Central Troy.

StoryHarvest is also co-sponsored by The People’s Health Sanctuary along with The Honest Weight Food Co-op, with further support from an “Our Town” Creative Placemaking grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which partners with The Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Tribe).

Join in on the community-centered fun and come experience the diverse activities that StoryHarvest has to offer.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:
What: StoryHarvest ft. music by Bill Miller.
When: Saturday, September 23, 2023, 2:00-5:00 pm
Where: Freedom Square, 35 5th Ave, Troy, NY 12180 (corner of 101st Street and…

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The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives opens Homeland: Stockbridge-Munsee Artists’ exhibit featuring artists Rebecca Burr, Reva Fuhrman, and Terri O’Connor

Stockbridge— On Friday, September 8th, the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives opens “Homeland: Stockbridge-Munsee Artists” exhibit featuring artists Rebecca Burr, Reva Fuhrman, and Terri O’Connor.

Rebecca Burr is exhibiting her oil on canvas paintings. Burr’s work covers a variety of styles and subject matter. Commissions for home and office have included landscapes, abstracts, modern art, and Native American art. Burr is a member of the Mohican tribe and a self-taught artist since age 12. Growing up on the Red River in Wisconsin, which is where she lives today, she developed a personal connection with Mother Earth that resonates throughout her work. Inspiration for her mountain themes comes from the time when she lived in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where her son was born.

By Rebecca Burr. Image courtesy of Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives.

Reva Fuhrman, is an enrolled member of the Stockbridge Munsee Tribe, retired, and living on the Stockbridge Munsee reservation. Reva has been seriously beading for 23 years, first starting at age16. She is also part Iroquois and does the raised Iroquois beadwork as well as flat beadwork which was customary for the Mohican/Lenape people. She has studied beadwork from many tribes over the years. She creates her own base patterns and looks at images of historical beadwork and then creates her own rendition which is pleasing to her eye. Fuhman has several items in collections in the New York State Museum and also in Phillipse Manor Hall State Historic Site in Yonkers, N.Y. She was chosen by the Wisconsin Arts Board to teach apprentices how to bead from 2016 – 2019.

By Reva Fuhrman. Image courtesy of…

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‘Rise Together for Safety & Justice’, Elizabeth Freeman Center’s (EFC) annual fall fundraiser

Berkshire— Starting on Monday, September 11th, Elizabeth Freeman Center’s (EFC) annual fall fundraiser, “Rise Together for Safety & Justice”, will take place across the county.

EFC is the county’s frontline agency providing free, confidential services to almost 4,500 survivors (and their children) of domestic violence and sexual assault annually. Violence prevention programs are offered to another 600 youth and staff in schools across the county.  EFC services are accessible 24 hours a day every day via the toll-free hotline, 866-401-2425. Other services include: shelter, emergency transportation, counseling, court advocacy, Safe Pet, supervised visitation, and specialized services for immigrants, LGBQT+ persons, disabled people, and rural survivors. Offices are located in North Adams, Pittsfield, and Great Barrington.

To support the work of the center, six walks are scheduled across the county as follows: 

In Pittsfield on Monday, September 11th, meet at Persip Park at the corner of Columbus Avenue and North Street. In Lenox on Thursday, September 14th, meet at Roche Reading Park next to Lenox Library on Main Street. In North Adams on Tuesday, September 19th, meet at City Hall on Main Street. In Great Barrington on Wednesday, September 20th, meet in front of Town Hall on Main Street. In Lee on Thursday, September 21st at 5:30 p.m., meet on the green next to Town Hall on Main Street. In Williamstown on Wednesday, September 27th meet in front of Tunnel Street Café on Spring Street. All walks start at 5:30 p.m, except for the walk in Great Barrington which starts at 4:30 p.m.

Visit EFC online to make a donation or register as an individual or as a team. Invite your friends, families, and colleagues to support you as you walk to ensure safety and justice for all Berkshire residents. For more…

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