All programs are free and open to the public. Please register for the programs by calling 716-934-3468, stopping by the library, or visiting our website at www.andersonleelibrary.org, and clicking on the events tab.

All programs start at 6 p.m. and will run from one to one and a half hours.

¯ Tuesday and Thursday — Flip White: “Our Cultural Foundations, Parts 1 and 2.”

White, Seneca, Wolf Clan, has previously served as a Tribal Councilor for the Seneca Nation, is the former Director of Career Development at Seneca Gaming as well as a former Education Director for the Allegany Territory. A military veteran, White is now retired and was elected to the Salamanca City Central School Board and continues to work with the non-profit Agwadeyesta’ Do:ge:h which means “We learn together.”

Lafayette Williams

¯ Tuesday, Nov. 8 — Rich Sasala: “Thanksgiving, Stereotypes, Misinformation and Ogweoweka (The Indian Way).”

Sasala, a citizen of the Cayuga Nation Turtle Clan, is a graduate of Canisius College, SUNY Buffalo, and Buffalo State College. He is currently a Social Studies Teacher in the Lakeshore School district, where he teaches courses in Native American Film and Haudenosaunee Studies.

¯ Thursday, Nov. 10 — Lafayette Williams: “Experiences of a Native American Actor.”

Williams, Seneca, Beaver Clan, is a professional actor, speaker and writer. He will share his personal life experience of his introduction to acting as an extra and how he progressed to a professional level in television, movies, and live theater.

In addition, Williams will speak of his immersion in Iroquois Culture during his time at Buffalo State College and at home on the Seneca Nation Cattaraugus and Salamanca Territories.

Rich Sasala

¯ Tuesday, Nov. 15: Norm Jimerson: “Native Culture: Agriculture, Dance, Family, and Sports.”

Jimerson, Onondaga, Deer Clan, is an Air Force veteran, former construction worker, and lacrosse player. He was instrumental in designing the cultural parts of the Seneca Nation Head Start programs and was the Superintendent of the Indian Village at the New York State Fair for 30 years. In his retirement, Jimerson enjoys traveling, dancing, singing and giving cultural presentations.

¯ Thursday, Nov. 17, Elliott Tallchief: “Thomas Indian School Survivor.”

Tallchief, Seneca Nation, Wolf Clan, was forcibly placed at the Thomas Indian School at the age of 5 in 1945 and lived there until it closed in 1957. After graduating from Gowanda schools in 1959, Tallchief enlisted in the Navy and served for 10 years. Tallchief also worked for Ford Motor Co. for 22 years.

¯ Tuesday, Nov. 22: Marcy Kane and Bernadette Scott: “Haudenosaunee Women”

Flip White

Kane and Scott, Seneca, Deer Clan, from the Cattaraugus Territory in New York are mother and daughter. Members of a family well known for their teaching, sharing, and making traditional Seneca (no-face) cornhusk dolls and for Iroquois Social dancing, both women are accomplished artists.

Kane is a lifetime member of the Buffalo Creek Dancers, and has performed all over Turtle Island, including at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, in an effort to share her native culture with everyone.

Scott earned a B.S. in Audio/Radio Production with a minor in American Indian Studies from SUNY Fredonia and a M.A. in American Studies from the University of Buffalo. Currently the Artist in Residency at the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, NY, Scott has won many awards for her braided cornhusk moccasins and dolls and leads demonstrations and workshops throughout New York and Pennsylvania.