The Southwick Public Library has three events in April that will be fun and educational, including an appearance by The Machine Jesse Green, famous for his chainsaw sculptures.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
SOUTHWICK — The Southwick Public Library will host three events in April, one of which will teach about the “Dangerous Art of Chainsaw Sculpture,” and another that tells the history of Indigenous people in the region.
“We haven’t hosted any of these presenters before, but we are excited to be able to welcome them to Southwick and offer a great variety of programs this month,” said Public Library Director Lynn Blair.
The first event occurred on Monday, April 13, a discussion about the Continental Arsenal at Springfield and its significance to the Continental Army’s ability to wage war against the British.
The next event is on Wednesday, April 22, from 6-7:30 p.m. On that night, participants will take a “super-interesting, fun, interactive and engaging journey” through the career of world-famous master chainsaw sculptor, Dr. “The Machine” Jesse Green, who is the star of “American Chainsaw” on the National Geographic channel, ESPN/Disney, and streaming on Amazon, Apple TV and other services.
Sculpting wood for over 20 years, Green has been commissioned to create large-scale art for celebrities, rock stars, corporations, the military and art collectors. His online work has gone viral several times, according to his website.
This larger-than-life character earned a degree from UMass Dartmouth and was bestowed an honorary doctorate in arts by Keene State College. He sings and plays harmonica for the cover band Fevah Dream, and was the official chainsaw sculptor of Husqvarna USA.
“Through an incredible series of photos, the process of creating gigantic, death-defying works of art from trees is brought to life in a big way. Attendees will be able to ask questions throughout and fully participate in the discussion. You’ve never seen anything like it,” Blair said, adding that registration is required for this program.
Finally, Blair said, the library will welcome Dr. Margaret Bruchac in an event co-hosted with the Southwick Historical Society on Recovering Histories of Indigenous Presence in the Kwinitekw (Connecticut River Valley) on Wednesday, April 29, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the library.
For many millennia, Native people lived along the Kwinitekw in Western Massachusetts, sustained by local flora and fauna, and supported by reciprocal trade and diplomacy with their Native neighbors.
During the 1600s, Native leaders in Agawam (now Springfield), Woronoco (now Westfield), Nonotuck (now Northampton and Hadley) and Pocumtuck (now Deerfield and Greenfield) invited English colonists to establish trading posts and small settlements.
Sachems like Chickwalloppe, Mashalisk, and Umpanchela negotiated diplomatic and trade relations with English colonial settlers and attempted to preserve, in written deeds, Indigenous rights to hunt, fish, gather, plant and live here in perpetuity.
During the late 1600s and into the 1700s, colonial conflict and warfare violated these agreements and fractured these relations.
This talk offers glimpses into colonial relations, while also reflecting on the lives of Native families who remained highly visible — literally “hiding in plain sight,” in the aftermath of warfare and displacement, utilizing long-standing Indigenous skills, kinship networks, and ecological knowledges to make a comfortable living, while supplying their white neighbors with medicinal, material and practical assistance.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Southwick Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass. Cultural Council, a state agency. Bruchac is a professor emerita of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Registration is required for each of these events. The library welcomes anyone interested in signing up to call at 413-569-1221 or register online at tinyurl.com/swkevents.
