The Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church will host El’nu Abenaki educator and activist Rich Holschuh for a free community dinner and conversation Friday, Nov. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Holschuh, from southern Vermont, is the founder of the Atowi Project, an initiative that affirms Native relationships to the land, raises Indigenous voices and fosters inclusion and understanding. He will join attendees for a meal featuring vegetarian chili, cornbread, pumpkin pie and other traditional Indigenous foods before leading an open discussion.
Topics will include place-based knowledge, with a focus on what it means to be indigenous to a particular place and how the Peterborough community can better understand its own connections to the land. Holschuh will also speak about local history and the Abenaki language as a teaching tool.
The conversation will explore how stories of the past can help envision a different future, break down divisions and support recognition of the continued presence and sovereignty of Indigenous lands, communities and nations.
The event will be held in the downstairs dining hall at the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, 25 Main St., with entrance through the rear accessible doorway. For more information, contact Helen Fields at hgreenefields@gmail.com.