The Native American Studies Program at West Virginia University will host the 2013 Peace Tree Ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24 with guest of honor Klane King of the Blackfeet Nation, Blood tribe.
That evening, King will present “Traditional Medicine for Modern Problems” at 7:30 p.m. in room G11 of the Life Sciences building on the downtown campus. During his presentation, King will discuss how Native American traditions and education are helping tribes address contemporary challenges. The ceremony and lecture are both free and open to the public.
Originally from Canada, King is a tribal historian and Blackfeet language instructor who has worked as a spiritual caregiver to Native patients in Montana hospitals. He is a member of the esteemed Crazy Dog Society and was recently honored with induction into a sacred Buffalo Horn Society in Alberta, Canada.
King has studied history and communication, working for various cultural and tribal organizations to chronicle now-historical events of tribal life on video. He was the scriptwriter for the 1982 National Film Board of Canada documentary, “The Last Mooseskin Boat,” honoring the history of the Dene people of the Mackenzie River area in Canada’s Northwest territories. The boats, made of dried moose hides stretched over a wooden frame, were used for generations to transport people and trade goods from the mountainous regions down to trading centers.
During his two-week stay, King will deliver numerous classroom lectures; a luncheon colloquium at the College of Education and Human Services; a children’s storytelling event for the Morgantown Public Library; his talk “Grandmother, Grandfather, iPod, Xbox: Kinship and Culture Shock” for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WVU; and a brown bag discussion, “Looking at Trees through Blackfeet Eyes” at the Arts Monongahela gallery in Morgantown.
The Peace Tree is located between Martin and Elizabeth Moore halls on the downtown campus. This year’s ceremony marks the 21st anniversary of the planting of WVU’s first peace tree on Sept. 12, 1992. It was planted by Chief Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, and Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree.
The peace tree events are co-sponsored by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences WVU Division of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion The Department of History and the College of Education and Human Services Office for Diversity & Global Initiatives.
In the event of rain, the Peace Tree ceremony will be held in the Vandalia Lounge in the Mountainlair.
For more information, visit nas.wvu.edu, or contact NAS Coordinator Bonnie Brown at (304)-293-4626 or at bonniem.brown@mail.wvu.edu.
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GM/10/16/13
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