Celebrate Native American Heritage Month 2022 with Nonotuck

This November we will be celebrating Native American Heritage Month. We hope you will join us in learning and connection as we honor the voices of Indigenous People.

Nonotuck to Host Artist Nayana LaFond – Tuesday, November 15^th at 1:00 pm

The event will take place via Zoom and can be accessed here – Join Zoom Meeting

Nayana Lafond has been selling her art around the world since the age of 14. She has owned and run a cafe, a record label, as well as working as a curator for over 15 years in galleries and museums all over Western Massachusetts. She has also published several articles on art and culture.

LaFond, an artist of Anishinaabe, Abenaki and Mi’kmaq descent, has received widespread acclaim for her series of portraits of missing and murdered Indigenous people, their family members and community activists. She does the art for free (and does not accept monetary donations) in order to ensure she isn’t profiting from the community’s suffering, but rather highlighting its stories and providing healing. Nayana lives in Central Massachusetts with her teenage daughter. More information is available on Nayana’s website.

Keep my Memory with Alexis Raeana – Wednesday, November 16^th at 1:00 pm

The event will take place via Zoom and can be accessed here – Join Zoom Meeting

Alexis possesses a voice to start and stop a revolution. Alexis Raeana (She, Her, Hers) is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She is the CEO of Alexis Raeana, LLC where she offers elite entertainment, makeup artistry, modeling, environmental and indigenous advocacy /education services. Alexis received her B.S. in Environmental Science in 2019 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She is a former Miss Lumbee, received a Golden Ticket on ABC’s American Idol, opened for Patti LaBelle, released an award winning music video highlighting Missing Murdered Indigenous Women #MMIW, is a current ambassador for the United States, a published model and makeup artist, as well as an environmental/ indigenous organizer for the great state of North Carolina. She continues to break through glass ceilings while exuding confidence as an indigenous woman, and continues to be a voice for all indigenous people.

Listening and Learning Event – Thursday, November 17^th at 1:00 pm

The event will take place via Zoom and can be accessed here – Join Zoom Meeting

Our hope this month is that each of us will take time to learn about the history and culture of Native Americans. We will be hosting a Listening and Learning event to share pieces of art, literature, history and culture that move us, inspire us, and make us think. We are calling on our community for submissions to be shared at this event. For example if there is a book written by a Native American author that you love, you can submit an excerpt of the audio book for us all to listen to. If there is an Indigenous athlete that you look up to, you could submit a short video that you found about their life. If there is a documentary about Native American culture that you want to share, we could watch a clip together. Our intention for this event is not to center ourselves as we learn, but to create a space for sharing and amplifying Native American voices. Get creative and let us know if you need help! Please send submissions to Jannelle at robinson@nonotuck.com by Monday, November 14^th.