Photo Gallery
Growing Community: Shelby Middle School Oral Histories (40 Photos)
The "Growing Community" project is supported in part by a Common Heritage grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. A collaboration among GVSU, El Centro Hispano de Oceana County, and the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society, its goal is to collect stories and digital copies of photos, letters, scrapbooks, and related materials that will tell the history of Oceana's agricultural communities for the first time.
Launched in January 2016, project team members spoke with Shelby Middle School students about their memories growing up in Oceana County in April 2016. Many thanks to Penny Burillo, Eva Berumen, Courtney Sherwood, Kassie O'Brien, Bri Luginbill, Kevin Joffre and all of the community members, students, teachers, and staff who made this event such a success.
Upcoming events include an all-day Community History Harvest event on Saturday, June 18 in the Hart Community Room and Hart Public Library.
Our Asian Pacific American Community Exhibit Opening (106 Photos)
On Monday, April 25, 2016 we celebrated the opening of the Asian Pacific American Community exhibition and archive by thanking the individuals and families who so generously shared their stories and portraits. The event was held in Herrick District Library's Auditorium. This project was a collaboration among GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History, GVSU's Meijer Campus in Holland, Herrick District Library, Holland Museum, the City of Holland, Latin Americans United for Progress, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, with assistance from Integrated Fabrics, LifeQuest Church, and the Cambodian Fellowship Christian Reformed Church.
7th Annual Local History Roundtable (316 Photos)
Held on Thursday, March 24, 2016 in GVSU's Mary Idema Pew Library and Kirkhof Center (Allendale, Michigan), the 7th Annual Local History Roundtable focused on the theme "Changing Communities." More than 600 people participated in the events held throughout the day, making it the largest Roundtable event to date. Highlights included presentations by Professor Todd E. Robinson (Department of History, UNLV) and author of Grand Rapids' 2016 "book of the year," Mr. Tim Gleisner, head of the Grand Rapids Public Library's Local History Department, and Professor Delia Fernandez (Department of History, MSU) as well as panel discussions on changing communities in Holland and Grand Rapids. Tours of the Mary Idema Pew Library and GVSU's Special Collections were offered in the afternoon. An evening dinner and business meeting was held for local history professionals.
Todd Robinson Community Discussion at LINC Up (127 Photos)
Held at LINC UP on Thursday, March 24, 2016, Professor Todd Robinson, author of Grand Rapids' book of the year, A City Within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan, spoke to a crowd of over 250. This event was organized by the GVSU Kutsche Office of Local History in partnership with LINC-UP, GVSU's College of Community and Public Service, Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and the Community Service Learning Center.
Asian New Year Celebration (92 Photos)
This event, sponsored by the Asian Student Union, took place on Thursday, February 4, 2016 in the GVSU Kirkhof Center. GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History collected stories and oral histories from attendees prior to the event as part of the Our Asian and Pacific American Community Project. Partners in that effort include Herrick District Library, the City of Holland, Latin Americans United for Progress, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, and the Holland Museum.
Nuestra Comunidad Hispana (77 Photos)
Focusing on Holland, Michigan's Latino communities, this project collected nearly 50 oral histories between August and October 2015. Those materials are permanently archived in the Herrick District Library. Everyone who participated in the project received a free copy of their photograph and oral history at a special reception held December 7, 2015 at Herrick District Library. These photos are from that reception.
Campus Dialogue: GVSU and the Urban Native American Experience (24 Photos)
The "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" exhibition concluded its run at GVSU on November 18, 2015 with a campus dialogue focusing on GVSU's role in shaping the 20th and 21st century experiences of Native Americans in and around Grand Rapids. This event was a part of the 2015 Native American Heritage Month celebrations and the Gi-gikinomaage-min Project. It was held in the Multipurpose Room of the Mary Idema Pew Library on GVSU's Allendale campus.
American Indian Community Dialogue (2015) (50 Photos)
On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the Gi-gikinomaage-min (We are all teachers): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit Project team held its second annual American Indian Community Dialogue. As last fall, this meeting was held at the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Pottawatomi Northern Health Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The meeting gave the project team an opportunity to report back to the community about the work they have been carrying out over the past year. Community members provided suggestions to guide the project's work through 2016.
Latin Americans United for Progress Annual Dinner: Nuestra Comunidad Hispana (101 Photos)
"Nuestra Comunidad Hispana" is a bilingual project celebrating Holland, Michigan's Hispanic communities by collecting stories from individuals and families. Launched in August 2015, the project team collected oral histories and portraits through October. Sample boards from the exhibition were shared with attendees at LAUP's annual dinner, November 6, 2015. The full exhibition will be displayed at a reception to honor participants on December 7, 2015 at Herrick District Library. All materials collected as part of this effort can be accessed in the Genealogy Department at Herrick District Library, where they will be permanently archived for use by community members, researchers, and educators.
This project is a collaboration among the City of Holland, Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP), Herrick District Library, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, GVSU's Meijer Campus in Holland, and GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Exhibit Opening: "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" (98 Photos)
The "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" exhibit opened for the first time on GVSU's Allendale Campus, Tuesday, November 3, 2015. This exhibition invites visitors to step into the gaze of a few of the Native Americans who have lived, worked, and studied in the greater Grand Rapids area over the mid-20th and 21st centuries and features contemporary artwork by local Native American artists.
These photos were taken at the opening reception that was held that evening in the Mary Idema Pew Library's Multipurpose Room. The event featured a blessing by George Martin, Ojibwe elder, and talk by featured speaker, Shannon Martin, Director of the Ziibiwing Center for Anishinaabe Culture & Lifeways. The exhibition will remain on display in the Mary Idema Pew Library's Exhibition Hall through November 21. After that time, it will travel to the Grand Rapids Public Library (January 4-22, 2016) and the Grand Rapids Public Museum (dates TBD).
“Walking Beyond Our Ancestors’ Footsteps” grows out of the planning stage of the Gi-gikinomaage-min (We are all teachers): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit project, which was launched in August 2014, as a collaboration among GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Native American Advisory Board, Office of Multicultural Affairs, GVSU Libraries' Special Collections & University Archives, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The ultimate goal of this multi-year effort is to interview American Indian elders to collect their experiences about living in Grand Rapids during the federal relocation period. This effort was supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
