The Common Reading Program kicks off its event series with a screening of the 2020 documentary Gather on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 4:30 p.m. in CUE 203 on the Pullman campus. The film follows the stories of Indigenous people on the frontlines of a growing movement to reconnect with spiritual and cultural identities that were devastated by genocide. Each of the three stories depicted — an Apache chef, a high school researcher in South Dakota, and a group of Yurok young men in Northern California — shows how reclaiming and recovering ancient food ways is a way forward for Native Americans to bring back health and vitality to their people.
This event is the first in a year-long series focused on topics inspired by this year’s WSU Common Reading book, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. An unlimited, downloadable e‑copy of book is available to all WSU students, staff, and faculty through the WSU libraries, and a teaching guide for the book has been recently completed. Links to the book and to the guide, as well as information about future events, can be found at CommonReading.wsu.edu.
