Sustainability Fair: “Braiding Cultures” Irish & Odawa Jam Session with Song, Storytelling, Drumming & Dance

Description

The evening begins at 7:00 PM with Spirit Lake Songs, Drums, and Jingle Dancers, followed by welcome remarks from Tara’s Meadow Director Seamus Norgaard, Beaver Island Irish Heritage Group President Kitty McNamara, and historian Robert Cole, including a poem and penny whistle performance. Afterwards, Seanachie storyteller, Jane McDaniel, and Dr. Nichole Biber will lead us into  “Braiding Cultural Stories: Irish & Odawa Sacred Land, Water, & All Our Relations.” The evening concludes with a final Spirit Lake Songs, Drums, and Jingle Dancers.

This concert is a part of the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair. For more information on additional events this week, please visit https://www.tarasmeadow.org/bisf

About Nichole Biber

About Robert Cole

Robert Cole is a 5th generation Beaver Islander, poet, and historian steeped in the lore of the Beaver Island archipelago. Following years of work in educational and health and wellness settings on the East Coast he returned to Beaver Island, where he has been involved in various aspects of community service professionally and as a volunteer. A poetry/song collaboration based on his work has been performed at Carnegie Hall, with a new collaboration due for stage premiere in the next year.

About Jane McDaniel

Jane McDaniel is a seasoned storyteller with a rich background in Celtic lore and storytelling. Born in Limerick, Ireland, she moved to Texas in 1993, bringing with her a wealth of Celtic stories.  McDaniel has been a five year national champion in Irish Storytelling, and honors her craft by telling and collection stories on Achill Island, Ireland, each summer. She has been involved in various storytelling events, including workshops at the Milwaukee Irish Festival and a storytelling tour in southern Germany. McDaniel’s storytelling workshops are available for private and corporate events, folklife festivals, birthday parties, schools, libraries, and retirement homes across Texas, Ireland, and Germany.

About Melissa Wiatrolik

Melissa Wiatrolik has served as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians since 2017, leading efforts focused on historic preservation, cultural resource protection, repatriation, and the stewardship of culturally significant and ancestral sites throughout northern Michigan and the Great Lakes region. The role includes collaborating with tribal communities, government agencies, historians, and archaeologists to preserve Indigenous heritage and strengthen public understanding of Odawa history and cultural traditions. In 2024, Melissa was also named Visitor Services Director for the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society, further expanding a longstanding commitment to education, history, and community engagement.

About Spirit Lake Drummers

The Spirit Lake Drummers are a Native American drumming group known for providing music and spiritual enhancement to various events, including anniversary Masses at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish and community awareness events. They often perform to honor traditions and share culture.

About the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair

The annual Beaver Island Sustainability Fair showcases the progress, successes, and “champions” of the three sustainability pillars of the Beaver Island Sustainability Initiative (BISI): local foods, clean, smart energy, and ecological & cultural resilience. We honor what Islanders and our mainland partners have been doing—and what plans are in the works—to create and support these key facets of sustainability.

About the Tara’s Meadow

Tara’s Meadow is a 30-acre retreat and educational center on Beaver Island, Michigan. For over twenty years, they have hosted educational workshops, classes, and events that foster a healthy sense of self, community, and place, and that further environmental and cultural awareness, wisdom and eco-literacy. Tara’s education efforts enhance our students and guests sense of place, awareness of “land as community,” and understanding of the native concept “all my relations.” The retreats offer a place of respite, good counsel, and rejuvenation of the spirit. They also provide opportunities for field studies and immersive educational experiences for school groups, teachers, and college students, as well as other organizations aligned with our mission. This serves their larger vision of “Earth Peace” – bringing more harmony to our human interface with the planet.