The Vineyard Haven library welcomes Wôpanâak citizen and lifelong educator Brad Lopes for a presentation on the Wôpanâak history of the Island. Nôepe (also known as Martha’s Vineyard) is Wôpanâak homelands, and has been for thousands of years. Participants will engage with Island history from the Wampanoag perspective, and gain an introductory understanding to Wampanoag continuance in this place and space. This presentation aims to dispel myths and misunderstandings of land ownership and use, Wampanoag history, continued existence, and more.
Brad Lopes is currently working within the traditional homelands of his people, the Wampanoag nation. He currently serves as the education manager for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department and as the education and public programs manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center, an Aquinnah Wampanoag museum. Prior to this, Lopes went to the University of Maine Farmington, located in Wabanaki homelands, and graduated with a degree in secondary education before spending five years teaching Social Studies to students in grades seven to 12. In his time in education, Brad has sought to decolonize the pedagogies, content, and ways of understanding education, including the ways in which public education can reinforce stereotypes and harmful understandings of indigenous people.
June 23 at 6 pm at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, 51 Spring St., Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required. For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or 508-696-4211.