All programs are free and open to the public. Please register for the programs by calling 716-934-3468, stopping by the library, or visiting our website at www.andersonleelibrary.org, and clicking on the events tab. All programs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings start at 6 p.m. and Saturday programs begin at noon.

– Thursday at 6 p.m.: Bill Crouse, Seneca, Hawk Clan: “The Cultural, Spiritual and Historical Significance of Traditional Music in Native American Communities.” Listen and learn about Iroquois Social Dance Music, intertribal songs, and Native American flute music from singer and recording artist Crouse.

Crouse is a faithkeeper, singer, and speaker of the Coldspring Longhouse. As a member of the Allegany River Indian Dancers, he has traveled and performed all over the U.S. and Canada as well as Rome, Italy and Germany. He has worked with the American Indian Dance Theater as a choreographer and consultant and was featured in their video “Dances of a New Generation.” His music recordings of Iroquois Social Dance Music, Smoke dance music and “re-mix” are a hit with young and old alike.

As a graphic artist Crouse’s work is displayed at the Seneca Iroquois National Museum, the Iroquois Museum, The Seneca Allegany Casino, and many private collections. Crouse has also illustrated designs for Native Stitches and Seneca Language Publications.

Flip White

– Saturday, Nov. 4 at noon: Leeora Saraphine White, Seneca, Turtle Clan: “Storytelling for All Ages.” All are invited to come and hear the following stories: Turtle’s Race With Beaver, How The Chipmunk Got His Stripes, How Bear Lost His Tail, and Skunny Wundy Tricks Fox!

Says White, “In our culture it is a tradition to orally share stories from the beginning of time to the next generation. It is very important to share these stories to share the significance between our relationship with the land whom we call Mother Earth, and all the animals and birds that were here before mankind.”

White, a graduate of Salamanca City Central School and Jamestown Business College, was inspired by her late Grandfather Duwayne “Duce” Bowen, a well-known Seneca Storyteller, and continues his legacy of storytelling, to keep these stories alive for future generations.

– Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m.: Flip White, Seneca, Wolf Clan: “Resilience in an Unstable World.”

White has previously served as a Tribal Councilor for the Seneca Nation, is the former Director of Career Development at Seneca Gaming as well as a former Education Director for the Allegany Territory. A military veteran, White is now retired and was elected to the Salamanca City Central School Board and continues to work with the non-profit Agwadeyesta’ Do:ge:h which means “We learn together.” 

Leeora Saraphine White

– Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.: Norman Jimerson, Onondaga, Deer Clan: “The Importance of Singing Societies and the Contributions of Native Americans” Jimerson is an Air Force veteran, former construction worker, and lacrosse player. He was instrumental in designing the cultural parts of the Seneca Nation Head Start programs and was the Superintendent of the Indian Village at the New York State Fair for 30 years. In his retirement, Jimerson enjoys traveling, dancing, singing and giving cultural presentations.

– Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.: Rich Sasala, Cayuga, Turtle Clan: “History of the Cayuga Nation.”

– Thursday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.: Rich Sasala, Cayuga, Turtle Clan: “Cayuga Nation Oral History Project”

Sasala earned degrees from Canisius College, SUNY Buffalo, and Buffalo State College in History, Native American Studies, and Social Studies Education, respectively. 

Until 2023, he taught Social Studies for the Seneca Nation of Indians at Lake Shore, Gowanda, and Silver Creek as well as Native American Film and Haudenosaunee Studies classes. He is currently the Nation Historian of the Cayuga Nation, and is undergoing his first year of Oral History fieldwork with elders from across Haudnosaunee Territories and the United States.

Norm Jimmerson

– Saturday, Nov. 18 at noon: Marcie Kane and Bernadette Scott, “Corn Husk Dolls.” All ages are invited to attend this interactive workshop. You will go home with a corn husk doll that you have made yourself!

Kane and Scott, Seneca, Deer Clan, from the Cattaraugus Territory in New York are mother and daughter.

Members of a family well known for their teaching, sharing, and making traditional Seneca (no-face) cornhusk dolls and for Iroquois Social dancing, both women are accomplished artists.

Kane is a lifetime member of the Buffalo Creek Dancers, and has performed all over Turtle Island, including at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, in an effort to share her native culture with everyone.

Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in Audio/Radio Production with a minor in American Indian Studies from SUNY Fredonia and a master’s in American Studies from the University of Buffalo.

Richie Sasala

Currently the Artist in Residency at the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, Scott has won many awards for her braided cornhusk moccasins and dolls and leads demonstrations and workshops throughout the state and Pennsylvania.

– Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.: Terry Jones, Seneca, Wolf Clan: Three Short Films, Soup, and Fry Bread! Jones has a passion for sharing his Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) history and culture through his film works. He strives to find a balance between entertaining and educating his audiences. Terry’s film works have screened all over the world including the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto where his films “Empire State,” “Soup for My Brother,” “[untitled & unlabeled]” and “Ode to the Nine” had their international premieres.

Terry Jones