Honors students: We are happy to announce the annual Peace Tree ceremony, coordinated by the Native American Studies program, to be held on the downtown campus on Tuesday, October 14. Please read the full release below . . .

Peace Tree ceremony and lecture to be held on downtown campus

Morgantown, W.Va., October 3, 2008: On Tuesday October 14, the Native American Studies program will host the annual Peace Tree Ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the WVU Peace Tree site, located between Martin and E. Moore Halls on WVU’s downtown campus. Jamie Jacobs a member of the Tonawanda Seneca, Turtle Clan, will preside, telling the story of the coming of the Peacemaker to the Iroquois.

That evening, Jacobs will present “Honoring the Sacred Past, Planning for Seven Generations”. His lecture will take place at 6:00 p.m. in room G21 of Ming Hsieh Hall.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Since 2006, Jamie Jacobs has served as a collections assistant for New York’s Rochester Museum and Science Center. He has expertise in Iroquoian culture, ceremony and history. Jacobs is proficient in Seneca and other Iroquoian languages. His work aims to enhance the physical and intellectual integrity of the Seneca and Iroquois communities through research, publication and professional and public programming, including exhibitions.
Jacobs has worked on grant projects on Seneca and Iroquoian culture related to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), including processing burial items for repatriation. He is currently working on a project to identify and treat objects contaminated by organic and inorganic pesticides and compounds.
This year’s Peace Tree events are sponsored by the Carolyn Reyer Endowment for Native American Studies, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, WVU’s Native American Studies Program and the Milan Puskar Leadership Studies Program. The West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center will also participate.
The WVU Peace Tree was planted on September 12, 1992, to commemorate the University’s commitment to the study of the heritage and culture of America’s native peoples. Chief Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, and Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree, a musician, artisan and storyteller, were invited to plant and bless the tree. On August 8, 1996, vandals cut down the Peace Tree. A second Peace Tree was planted by Mohawk Chief Jake Swamp on October 19, 199

The full flyer is attached below.
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