Whose Land? Community-Based History Project on Land, Boarding Schools, and Elder-Youth Engagement at the Oneida Nation with Professor James Levy April 17-19, 2024.

Members of the Jewish community of greater Madison are invited to spend two days at the Oneida Nation with the Whose Land? Project. We will be engaging with Oneida tribal leaders, elders, and teachers to learn about Oneida tribal history and culture, to reflect on what it means to be an ally and to offer direct support for two ongoing projects at the Nation – one focusing on the history of boarding schools conducted by teachers and high school students at the Oneida Nation High School, the other focusing on digitizing and organizing Oneida historical archives.

The program will also include a cultural training and tribal information session with Oneida leaders and Professor Levy before the trip, several reflection sessions during the trip, and a Jewish values discussion led by Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim after the trip.

Lodging: Hotel lodging will be provided for Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Oneida Nation Radisson Hotel in Green Bay.

Food: We will host hot Breakfast and Conversation meet-ups on Thursday and Friday mornings, lunches on both days, and community dinners on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Transportation: Participants provide their own transportation. The Whose Land? Project will help facilitate carpools as needed. The Oneida Nation is approximately two hours and fifteen minutes from Madison by car.

Schedule: We will begin with a meet-and-greet dinner on Wednesday and conclude on Friday late afternoon. During Thursday and Friday, we will host discussion breakfasts with community members and support Oneida Nation's work on tribal history, community memory, and Elder-teen engagement based at the Oneida Nation High School. We will also host Q&A sessions with community leaders and tour the reservation to learn about several ongoing Oneida projects and important cultural sites.

Pre-trip orientation: Participants are required to join Professor Levy and community leaders for an orientation the week before, which will offer guidance regarding cross-cultural awareness.

Registration: This program is limited to 12 people. We will prioritize those who can make a two-day commitment and register by April 2.

Cost: Registration and program fees are listed on the registration page. We offer scholarships and special discounts (contact us to inquire). The registration fee will cover all lodging, food, and programming.

Reserve your spot: To register, please visit www.whoseland.org/events/jewish-federation-of-madison-archives-trip or email Professor James Levy at levyj@uww.edu to request a spot and seek additional information.

This program is made possible by a Jewish Federation of Madison Community Grant through the Cheryl Rosen Weston Fund.

The Whose Land? Project is a national collaborative history and story sharing program that focuses on histories of land settlement and dispossession and the legacies of those histories on the well-being of communities today. The project’s current focus is Wisconsin and New York, two states that have fascinating yet little-known historical connections. Those connections have played significant roles in Indigenous, Black, and white agricultural and political history in both states. Our coalition includes organizational partners in rural and urban WI and NY. Read more about the project at the The Whiting Foundation, a project supporter, or at the project website.

For more information about the Oneida Nation, visit https://oneida-nsn.gov/, or listen to a four-minute mini-podcast on Oneida traditional corn growers, originally produced by Whose Land? (under its Lands We Share project) and Wisconsin Public Radio for the Wisconsin Life series.