Beverly, Lynnfield, Peabody Libraries Host Indigenious People Program

LYNNFIELD, MA — Three North Shore libraries are combining to present an interactive program on "Decolonizing Contributions by Indigenous People" with professional educator and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree next month.

The presentation from the Peabody, Lynnfield and Beverly public libraries will be on Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lynnfield Meeting House at 617 Main Street in Lynnfield. The program is free and open to the public.

Registration is required here because space is limited.

The presentation is intended to help connect the dots from the past to the present about how Indigenous ingenuity is part of the story of contributions to what is now known as the United States. Claudia Fox Tree will also speak a little bit about the Indigenous perspective on Columbus and Thanksgiving.

A middle school special education teacher for more than 35 years, she has also taught professional development and social justice courses at the college level for Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for all Students (IDEAS) and presented about decolonizing anti-racism initiatives at numerous national and local conferences.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts (Boston), teaching certification in elementary and special education from Fitchburg State College, and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northeastern University in educational research.

She is currently a doctoral student at Lesley University.

This program is presented by the Peabody Institute Library, The Friends of the Lynnfield Library, and the Friends of the Beverly Public Library.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)