ONLINE: Maadagindan! (Start Reading!) Literature for Young People about the Great Lakes and Ojibwe Culture

media release: As fall leaves continue their colorful turn and cooler winds blow, it’s a perfect time to curl up with a good book—and encourage the young readers in your life to do the same.

Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks” continue on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 7-8 p.m. with a literary theme. The evening’s presentation will be “Maadagindan! (Start Reading!) Literature for Young People about the Great Lakes and Ojibwe Culture.”

The virtual event, held on Zoom, is open to all. Registration is required. (Register for this event now.) The hour includes time for audience questions.

It will feature a trio of speakers:

• Hannah Arbuckle, outreach coordinator for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
• Morgan Coleman, a summer 2021 Wisconsin Sea Grant intern who focused on Great Lakes literacy and Ojibwe culture
• Anne Moser, senior special librarian and education coordinator, Wisconsin Water Library and Wisconsin Sea Grant

All who are interested in books for young readers are welcome at this event, including—but not limited to—parents, librarians and educators.

Attendees will learn about a related book club, also free and online, that will launch in spring 2022 and further explore the topics discussed. The book club will mainly center on books for children from birth through age 12.

As a summer intern, Morgan Coleman was sponsored by Wisconsin Sea Grant and placed with GLIFWC, where she worked on a book club discussion guide. Coleman will discuss how and why she created it. A recent graduate of UW-River Falls, she is now pursuing graduate studies in English at the University of St. Thomas.

Hannah Arbuckle, who helped mentor Coleman, will talk about the role of GLIFWC and some of the publications it produces, which range from a quarterly newsletter to the book for young readers, “Growing Up Ojibwe.” Formed in 1984, GLIFWC represents 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and their hunting, fishing and gathering rights according to their treaties with the U.S. government. The commission provides natural resource management expertise, conservation enforcement, legal and policy analysis, and public information services.

Anne Moser, librarian of the Wisconsin Water Library since 2008, works to ensure that it maintains a broad and diverse collection, from water quality reports to children’s books that reflect diverse perspectives. Said Moser, “I’m eager to talk about what we know about effective strategies for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for young people, and how diversity is key to many of the approaches.  Black, Indigenous and children of color have not received enough attention either in children’s publishing or in science education.” Moser presents frequently at libraries throughout Wisconsin and provides curricular support to educators statewide.

After this event, one more fall Lake Talk remains: a Dec. 9 event, also on Zoom, with Minnesota-based poet Moheb Soliman, for whom the Great Lakes are an important subject and source of inspiration.

For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for the Nov. 11 presentation now.

For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.