Literacy, Culture the Focus of UNO College of Education Events in October

OMAHA – This October, a community engagement project from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Education is bringing together hundreds of Omaha citizens to focus on literacy and culture, across all age groups, with a three-day series of special events across the Omaha area.

From Thursday, Oct. 9, through Saturday, Oct. 11, UNO will host author and storyteller Joseph Bruchac, Ph.D., the author of more than 120 books, including pre-kindergarten stories and young adult novels.

Bruchac will read and discuss his work, which is based on stories of different Native American nations, for approximately 1,500 Omaha Public School (OPS) students and 80 families that participate in the OPS Native Indigenous Centered Education program during his time in Omaha. Bruchac’s speaking events, which are also free and open to public, include:

- Thursday, Oct. 9, at 10 a.m. in the UNO Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center
- Saturday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Bellevue Public Library, 1003 Lincoln Rd.
- Saturday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. in the Omaha Public Library Willa Cather Branch, 1905 S. 44th St.

Each of the presentations will also include sign-language interpretation.

Bruchac holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as an educator includes eight years of directing a college program inside a maximum-security prison for Skidmore College.

Bruchac’s poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices, to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 120 books for adults and children, including “The First Strawberries,” “Keepers of the Earth” (co-authored with Michael Caduto), his autobiography “Bowman's Store” and such novels as “Dawn Land,” “The Waters Between,” “Arrow Over the Door” and “The Heart of a Chief."

Among his many honors are a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.

Bruchac’s visit to Omaha is organized by the Omaha Family Literacy Partnership, housed in the College of Education at UNO. The Omaha Family Literacy Partnership recognizes the power of building a culture of literacy as a community effort to boost early childhood growth and development.

This project was created to promote literacy and understanding in our community through the arts and humanities. Joseph Bruchac’s visit to Omaha is generously funded by Mrs. Carol Gendler and the following sponsors: the Nebraska Arts Council; Nebraska Cultural Endowment; Humanities Nebraska; the University of Nebraska at Omaha, College of Education; and the Omaha Public Schools, Native Indigenous Centered Education Program.

For further information or questions about the events, please email Susan McWilliams at smcwilliams@unomaha.edu.

For media requests, please contact Charley Reed, UNO media relations coordinator, at unonews@unomaha.edu or 402.554.2129.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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