Galen Leonhardy, professor of English at Black Hawk College, will be featured at the Volunteer Miller event on Thursday, March 21 at the Windmill Cultural Center. Starting at 6:00pm, Professor Leonhardy will share his experiences of living within the Native American Nez Perce culture.
For this presentation, Galen will recount his interactions with Nez Perce tribal members and sing several traditional songs of this northwestern tribe. Although not an enrolled tribal member, Leonhardy does speak some native language and collect traditional medicines. He has lived on or near the reservation, drummed at powwows, and participated in the sweathouse ceremonies. Even though he no longer lives in the Northwest, Galen still visits and devotes much time to maintaining extended family relationships with the Nez Perce natives.
The Nez Perce tribe, known as the Plateau Indians, inhabited portions of what is today Washington, Oregon, and Idaho between the Rocky Mountains and coastal mountain region.
Professor Leonhardy has taught at Black Hawk College since 2002. Previously, he taught English or Humanities at several universities in the state of Washington. He has written or contributed to at least eight publications.
Join us to learn more about the Nez Perce history and culture. All programming is sponsored by the Volunteer Millers of de Immigrant Windmill with financial assistance of a grant from the D.S. Flikkema Foundation. The presentation will be held at 111 – 10th Avenue in downtown Fulton, IL. This event is free and open to the public. The facility is accessible to persons with disabilities. Light refreshments will be served following the program. For more information, visit the Windmill Cultural Center and de Immigrant Windmill Facebook page, Fulton Illinois Tourism Facebook page, www.cityoffulton.us website or call 815-589-3925.