Event box

ILLUMINATION Exhibit Opening Celebration In-Person
We welcome all in the community to show up with your friends and families to support this new collection, the extraordinary work of this team, and to elevate the history, voices and sovereignty of our American Indian and Alaska Native community. Enjoy Native storytellers, musicians and refreshments at the Springfield History Museum at 6th and Main Street in downtown Springfield.
Featured guests include Brent Florendo, Esther and Shannin Stutzman, Fish Martinez and Kunu Bearchum. Salmon chowder will be served, lovingly prepared and provided by Chifin Native Youth Center community of Springfield Public Schools.
ILLUMINATION is an ongoing celebration of community sourced narratives that reflect the plurality of voices in Springfield, Oregon. We use interviews, photographs and personal objects to share stories that illuminate the intersectionality of our Springfield identity.
This year our talented team includes Kunu Bearchum (Northern Cheyenne, Ho-Chunk), Princess Mason (Klamath, Western Shoshone) and Megan England (Siletz) with exhibit advisory Dr. David Lewis (Grand Ronde). They have worked with the community to explore the American Indian and Alaska Native experience and history here in the land we now call Springfield and rural east Lane County, Oregon. Special thanks to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz for support of our team with access to historical resources and content review for accuracy.
The project team has collected oral history video interviews and taken photographs of the following local Native community members: Derek Kimbol (Klamath Modoc), Sheena Puls (Assiniboine, Gros Ventre and Arapaho), Leilaini Sabzalian (Alutiiq), Esther and Shannin Stutzman (Coos, Komemma Kalapuya, Siletz), and Leo White Horse (Sicangu Lakota).
This project is made possible in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as support from:
- Springfield Utility Board
- Springfield Arts Commission
- The University of Oregon Many Nations Longhouse and Home Flight Scholars Program
- City of Springfield
- Springfield Public Library Foundation
- Friends of the Springfield Public Library and History Museum
- Comunidad y Herencia Cultural
- Chifin Native Youth Center of Springfield Public Schools
We also extend our deepest gratitude to all of the individuals who have come together in community at our gatherings, meetings and other events with curiosity and creative ideas that have informed every step of the project so far. We are truly stronger together!
- Date:
- Friday, December 13, 2024
- Time:
- 5:00pm - 7:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Pacific Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Museum
- Audience:
- Community Events for the Whole Family