Cornell Indigenous Leader to Speak At MCLA

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Wahieñhawi "Hawi" Hall, Assistant Director of Counseling and Psychological Services and Community Liaison for Indigenous Students at Cornell Health, will present "Nature, Well-Being, and Indigenous Perspectives on the Interconnectedness of People and Creation" as part of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Green Living Seminar Series on Wednesday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m.
 
An Indigenous Mohawk and Cherokee woman raised within the Onondaga Nation in New York, Hall will share Haudenosaunee perspectives on nurturing relationships with the natural world through reciprocity, interdependence, and stewardship, stated a press release.
 
Her presentation will explore what the Haudenosaunee have identified as their "original instructions" regarding the role of Indigenous peoples as part of Creation, and offer insights into adopting a practice of thanksgiving.
 
Hall, a licensed clinical social worker, combines her cultural connections and lived experiences within Indigenous community with her professional expertise as a mental health provider. She is committed to promoting decolonization in systems, equity, and inclusion for historically marginalized groups, stated a press release. Central to her work is the foundational belief that our relationship to the natural world is one of reciprocity, interdependence, and stewardship.
The presentation will be delivered remotely with in-person viewing at MCLA.
 
All presentations take place Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121 and will be recorded as podcasts available at mcla.edu/greenliving.
 
The event is free and open to the public.
 
MCLA's Green Living Seminar Series brings environmental experts to campus throughout the academic year to engage students and community members in conversations about sustainability, climate change, and ecological responsibility.
For more information, contact Dr. Elena Traister at elena.traister@mcla.edu or (413) 662-5303.

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MCLA STEM Week Brings Hands-On Science to Berkshire Students

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — From exploring the night sky in an inflatable planetarium to measuring the copper content of pennies in a college chemistry lab, students from across Berkshire County visited MCLA for a hands-on opportunity to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts
 
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts welcomed elementary, middle and high school students throughout the week of Oct. 19 through 23 as part of the state's STEM week. 
 
The college serves as the regional center for the Berkshire STEM Network, a state-funded partnership that aims to broaden efforts to expand science education through partnerships with local schools, museums and community organizations, said Ann Billetz, Berkshire STEM network coordinator and MCLA biology teacher. 
 
The week's activities benefited both local students and the college community by providing hands-on learning experiences for younger students while giving MCLA students opportunities to apply their classroom knowledge by interacting with them, Billetz said. 
 
Throughout the week, MCLA welcomed students from Abbott Memorial Elementary School in the town of Florida and Clarksburg Elementary School, and from Hoosac Valley Middle School in Cheshire for hands-on activities exploring astronomy, biology, chemistry and marine science, along with opportunities to interact with college students. 
 
The excitement among younger students was evident throughout the week, Billetz said, recalling a seventh-grade physics activity in which a student correctly identified Galileo during a discussion of Newton's work and later excitedly shared the moment with her teacher.
 
"To see them excited about what they're doing, to have them be able to go home and talk about the experience they had at MCLA is phenomenal," Billetz said. 
 
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