Community Day: Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum & Block Museum

Details:

Join us for a festive day exploring the Block Museum of Art and the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum in celebration of exhibitions Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak / Chicagoland and Living Stories: Contemporary Woodland Native American Art. Shuttles will run between each museum from 12-5pm, so that attendees can easily attend events at both museums. Enjoy open galleries, storytelling, coloring/scavenger hunt activities, and more. A gallery talk with exhibition artist Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe) will take place at the Block's Woven Being as well as a talk from muralist Sergio Ceron at the Gichigamiin on the new ceiling mural in their library. The Aloha Center, located next door to the Gichigamiin, will also be offering family programming, with ukelele, hula dance, and craft workshops in the afternoon. 

Co-presented with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum.  

RSVP

Programs are open to all, on a first-come first-served basis. RSVPs are not required, but are appreciated. 

Full schedule of activities:

Free shuttles between the Block and the Gichigamiin depart from each museum every 30 minutes at 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, and 5:00 pm. There is also free parking on Northwestern’s campus and at the Gichigamiin. 

At the Gichigamiin (open 10am-5pm)

The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum is located at 3001 Central Street in north Evanston.  

10:30 am-11:30 am: Storybook reading by author Maria DesJarlait (Arikara)

Maria “White cedar woman” Des Jarlait is an indigenous woman from the Arikara tribe of Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota and Ojibwe from Red Lake, Minnesota. She was raised on the reservation in North Dakota and went on to college in Chicago, IL where she earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and English as a second language. She teaches preschool in Illinois, where she has seen the need for books that represent Native American children as people of today. She writes her books based on her experiences as a child with her grandmother and her two daughters' experiences with their adventurous grandmother Peggy as well. She hopes to inspire more Native American children to dream big. 

1:00 pm-2:00 pm: Artist talk by muralist Sergio Ceron (Otomi-Pame)

Sergio Ceron is from Elgin,IL. He comes from the Otomi-Pame peoples of central Mexico.  He is a powwow singer, beader, painter, tattoo artist and bone carver. 

At the Block (open 12-5pm)

The Block Museum of Art is located at 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208.

12:00 pm-1:00 pm: Storybook reading with Terra Foundation Woven Being Fellows, Teagan Harris (Cherokee) and Marisa Cruz Branco (Isleta Pueblo/Portuguese)

3:00-4:00 pm: Artist talk by Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe) 

Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, born 1947) was trained as a photographer and videographer. She works in multiple mediums to create artworks that document the stories of Indigenous elders and to connect with cultural practices related to harvesting birch bark and wild rice. Nora has been an active member of Chicago’s Native American community for decades. 

At the Aloha Center:

The Aloha Center is located in the annex building next door to the Gichigamiin, at 3009 Central Street.

1:00 pm-1:30 pm: Haki Kino hula class

1:45 pm-2:15 pm: Powere Uke lesson

2:30 pm-3:00 pm: Keiki 'Ohe Kapala children's workshop

Lead support for "Woven Being" is generously provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Major support is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts , The Joyce Foundation, and by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. 

Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu