Now booking talks and film screenings for the 2024-25 season! In-person or virtual. BOOK TALKS Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan (MSU Press) - Barb presents her award-winning book about the rich tradition of wild rice in Michigan and its importance to the Anishinaabek people who live here. Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan focuses on the biology, history, and culture surrounding this sacred plant and the efforts to restore and protect Manoomin across the landscape. The story travels through time from the days before European colonization and winds its way forward in and out of the logging and industrialization eras. It weaves between the worlds of the Anishinaabek and the colonizers, contrasting their different perspectives and divergent relationships with Manoomin. Barton discusses historic wild rice beds that once existed in Michigan, why many disappeared, and the efforts of tribal and nontribal people with a common goal of restoring and protecting Manoomin across the landscape.
The Amazing Adventures of a Midwestern Girl (Self published) - From early days in Indiana at her beloved grandparents' house to the caves of Pennsylvania, the great northern reaches of Michigan, glacial bays in Alaska we backpack, kayak, canoe with her as she studies harbor seals, rare endangered butterflies, and befriends Snake, Spider and wild foods. We cope alongside her as she finds a dead body in a swamp, joins a Ranger search for a missing solo backpacker in the wild of Alaska. At home we join her in birdsong, an amazingly old sourdough named Herman. We get a glimpse of the world of severe depression and heartbreaking loss. Barton's storytelling style is superb - picture sitting on a porch in a rocking chair listening for a story to begin. "So, now let me tell you about Tommy..." She brings us home with her, shares a still warm piece of pie as we settle in to hear another tale. Pull on your waders and your black fly headgear, folks. Delightful.