The Department of American Indian Studies is honored to host Janis A. Fairbanks (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) for a special presentation on her memoir, Sugar Bush Babies: Stories of My Ojibwe Grandmother.
Event Details:
- Date: Tuesday, April 7th
- Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Location: Kathryn A. Martin Library Rotunda
Light refreshments will be served.
In anticipation of the event, Fairbanks shares a glimpse into the cherished childhood memories that shaped her storytelling and her deep connection with her Noko:
Mud Pies and Other Small Wonders
There is so much for a child to see in the natural world that carries messages about how to be, how to act, and how to survive later in life. These lessons of nature and how to interact with a natural setting often came in the form of watching my grandmother, or Noko, as I often called her, going about her normal life and daily tasks.
When it was time for me to play, one time she came to my chosen dirt hole playground carrying a metal white with black trim saucer and an old spoon. I was kneeling in the hole, carving out by hand, shelves to hold my mud pie creations. She didn’t say a word, just handed them to me. I took them gladly and began digging little mounds of dirt with which to make mud pies for my insect guests. She returned to her garden chores, allowing me to play for a while. When she called me to help her plant carrots, I washed my hands, put on my straw hat, and went to learn a new skill. I was eight years old and living my best life.
Episodes like these formed the core of my being, and later the core of my storytelling. Writing was not so much a process for me as it was a way of recalling happy times spent learning, playing, and working with my grandmother. It is those memories that keep me strong and grounded in knowing who I am and remembering who she was. She still inspires me.