"“Akiinziitookw - Let's Read Together!” Collaborative Interpretation of Moravian Munsee Lenape Manuscripts and Ancestral Voices at Harvard’s Houghton Library" with Anca Wilkening, Velma Noah-Nicholas and Ian McCallum

The final 2024-2025 Indigenous Learning Forum will take place May 08, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET on Zoom. This talk will be given in English with Spanish translation.  

This event is open to all but registration is required.

Anca Wilkening is a Ph.D. candidate in the Study of Religion (North American Religions) with a secondary concentration in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University. She is originally from the Swabian region of Southwestern Germany. Anca’s doctoral research integrates Queer Theory, Indigenous and Colonialism Studies, and Early American and Atlantic History, centering on the intersections of religion, intimacy, and kin-making among Mohican, Lenape, European, and African actors in early Moravian communities. She is committed to the ethics and ongoing learning of community-engaged research as a non-Indigenous scholar on Native land,  collaborating with Indigenous leaders and community members to examine how research can be conducted in good relation with Indigenous sovereign nations and how it can support Indigenous futures, including cultural revitalization efforts.

I am known as Velma Noah-Nicholas, but my real name is Medweanakwedokwe. I am of the Turkey clan from Eelunaapeewi Lahkeewiit. I currently serve as the cultural coordinator within my community. My work includes archival, documentation, and repatriation duties, as well as providing relevant cultural programming for community growth and education. I have been an Ontario-certified Teacher for 17 years and have worked in all areas and levels of Education. I began my language-learning journey as a college student and haven’t looked back since. I graduated from Lakehead University with a Native Language Instructors Diploma in 2009. Following this, I attended Queen’s University to complete a Diploma in Education. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences, majoring in Indigenous Studies. Currently, I am a Masters student in Language Revitalization Program at the University of Victoria.

Ian McCallum is a member of the Munsee-Delaware First Nation. He works with his community promoting culture, and history and is an educator working with the Munsee language. As a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto, Ian is currently researching strategies to support Munsee language revitalization. His most current work looks at connections between the Munsee language, the Thames River and the Carolinian Forest ecosystem. Ian is an Education Officer in the Indigenous Education Office for the Ministry of Education in Ontario. He has worked in the field of education for more than 20 years in the capacity of classroom and resource teacher as well as supporting teacher candidates as a seconded faculty of education member.

An abstract for this talk will be provided closer to the event date.