Drew Lopenzina, author of “Through an Indian’s Looking-Glass: A Cultural Biography of William Apess, Pequot,” speaks about the concepts of hospitality and settler colonialism as they relate to Indigenous American history. A two-session book group in Amherst will focus on Lopenzina’s book.

Drew Lopenzina, author of “Through an Indian’s Looking-Glass: A Cultural Biography of William Apess, Pequot,” speaks about the concepts of hospitality and settler colonialism as they relate to Indigenous American history. A two-session book group in Amherst will focus on Lopenzina’s book.
For the Recorder/Ella Adams


Stolen Beam Series starts Oct. 31

AMHERST — A five-session class focused on the discussion about reparations for African-Americans, being held via Zoom, begins later this month.

The Stolen Beam Series is sponsored by the Jones Library and developed by members of the Reparations Committee of the Jewish Community of Amherst, who will also co-facilitate the class when it starts Oct. 31.

The goal of the series is educational engagement with a narrative of U.S. racial history, focused on the legacy of African enslavement, what was stolen, what may be owed and historical examples of reparations.

People who participate will study and reflect on writings of prominent thought leaders on the topic of reparations for African-Americans as a path to restorative justice.

Each class will run on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:50 p.m., through Dec. 5.

Online registration, which is required, closes at noon on Tuesday. For more registration information, go to www.joneslibrary.org/stolenbeam, and with questions, contact Janet Ryan, head of programming and outreach at the library, at ryanj@joneslibrary.org.

Two-session book group to discuss ‘Through an Indian’s Looking-Glass’

AMHERST — As a 10th and final event in the South Congregational Church’s bicentennial, and part of the ongoing Arts and Social Justice Series, a two-session book group will focus on Drew Lopenzina’s “Through an Indian’s Looking-Glass: A Cultural Biography of William Apess, Pequot.”

The reading of the book about Apess, born in Colrain and a Native rights advocate and celebrated author in the 19th century, takes place Wednesday and Nov. 6, both at 7 p.m., at the 1066 South East St. church.

Apess was an indentured servant, a War of 1812 soldier and a Methodist preacher, whose life story provides a lens through which to understand the dynamics of Indigenous survival and resistance during the early years of the United States. Native people of the Northeast were largely erased from the American settler narrative after King Philip’s War in 1675 and 1676.

The discussion will be facilitated by Bruce Penniman and Dixie Brown. The book can be purchased at Amherst Books, reserved through the Jones Library or ordered on Kindle.

People should sign up for the book club by sending an email to the South Congregational Church office at office@amherstsouthchurch.org or by calling 413-253-2977.

‘The Man Who Loved Trees’ author giving talk

AMHERST — Annaliese Bischoff, author of “The Man Who Loved Trees” and a longtime faculty member at the Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Program at the University of Massachusetts, will speak about her book on the life of Frank A. Waugh on Friday.

Bischoff’s talk is part of the Amherst Historical Society’s History Bites lecture, which starts at 12:30 p.m. in Room 101 in the Bangs Community Center.

Waugh was a professor of landscape architecture and a pioneering advocate of native planting design, urging people to enjoy nature in the way that they enjoyed music or painting or sculpture. In the last eight years of his life, Waugh created at least 223 etchings, many portraying trees, though few have been viewed by the public.

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