Programs

Past Indigenous Chicago Programs

Indigenous Chicago Adult Education Class

Tuesdays, 2-4pm

September 24 – November 19

Taught by Rose Miron, in person at the Newberry Library

Discover more of Indigenous Chicago in this curator-led class based on our new exhibition.

Native American Dance and Regalia

September 28, 1-2:30pm

Newberry Library, Ruggles Hall

Join us for performances by the Black Hawk Performance Company and learn more about Potawatomi regalia.

Quillwork and Beadwork Workshop for Native Youth

October 5, 11am – 2pm

Newberry Library, Rettinger Hall

Led by Madalene Big Bear and Noelle Garcia

Native students are invited to participate in a two-and-a-half-hour long workshop led by local Indigenous artists, with lunch provided at the Newberry Library. No experience necessary.

Madalene Big Bear will introduce the process of quillwork and lead the group through a demonstration to make their own earrings/quill fringe. After lunch, Noelle Garcia will share the history of beadwork and contemporary examples of the practice. She will teach the Peyote stitch, which students will learn through creating their own bracelets.

This event is for Native youth and advance registration is required.

Indigenous Chicago Newberry Teacher Consortium Seminar

October 8, 9:30am – 3:30pm

Taught by Rose Miron, Meredith McCoy, and Analú María López, in person at the Newberry Library

This session will provide attendees with an overview of the six-module curriculum; demonstrate how the modules connect with other aspects of the Indigenous Chicago Project (digital mapping resources, an exhibition, and oral histories); and lead teachers through an interactive exploration of one of the modules.

Indigenous Artists and the Archives

October 10, 6-7pm

Hybrid – Newberry Library, Ruggles Hall and Zoom

Join Indigenous artists whose works are featured in our Indigenous Chicago exhibition as they discuss how their research in the Newberry archives informed their art.

Watch a recording of this program on the Newberry’s YouTube channel.

Mapping Indigenous Chicago
(D’Arcy McNickle Distinguished Lecture Series)

October 17, 6-7:30pm

Online – Zoom

Take a deep dive into the process of creating the many multifaceted and interactive maps for the Newberry’s Indigenous Chicago project, with scholars who helped to conceptualize and build them.

Watch a recording of the program on the Newberry’s YouTube channel.

Indigenous People and the Chicago Portage

November 21, 6-7pm

Hybrid – Newberry Library, Ruggles Hall and Zoom

Join us as John William Nelson, Eric Hemenway, and Raphael Wahwussuck discuss the critical importance of Chicago’s regional waterways to Indigenous history.

Watch a recording of the program on the Newberry’s YouTube channel.

From the Old Wood Forest: A Play by Sierra Rosetta

January 11, 2025

11am – 1:30pm

Dancing Pony Productions will present a reading of Sierra Rosetta’s original play, From the Old Wood Forest, which won the 2024 Yale’s Young Native Play Competition. The script will be published as part of an anthology marking ten years of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program’s Young Native Playwrights Conference, as part of the celebration of the YIPAP’s tenth anniversary.