Our Place in Walla Walla: Michelle Jamison Adams
|
Feature by: Noah Leavitt, College Liaison for Community Affairs
|
|
|
Michelle Jamison Adams (Totsmul) lives in Walla Walla with her family. She is of Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and Nez Perce descent and grew up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Adams is a key member of the Planning Committee for the Pasxapa Powwow.
She and I recently spoke over a delicious breakfast at The Maple Counter Cafe.
|
|
|
|
How are you involved in the Walla Walla community?
I wear a few hats. First and most important is as a mother. Then for my paid work I am a legal assistant to the Walla Walla County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. I also dedicate a lot of volunteer hours to bringing back Native American culture to our community and also advocating for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis.
Tell me more about the MMIP crisis.
I attended a training with Washington State prosecutors about how to navigate through a MMIP case when dealing with tribal members. For good reasons, a lot of tribal members don’t trust the government. So, when someone is missing or murdered it can be difficult for a typical victim advocate to come in and talk with a MMIP-connected family member. They don’t understand us, understand our culture, taboos. That training helped me understand why there’s such a crisis about MMIP and how hard it can be for law enforcement to navigate all aspects of all of it with these cultural and legal differences. Even just figuring out who has jurisdiction over the case! For me, advocating on this issue is important for the work I do in the prosecutor’s office and so if a case comes up in our area I can be an effective liaison for law enforcement and the victim’s family which will hopefully lead to justice being fairly and swiftly served.
Read more.
|
Beyond the interview:
Michelle Jamison Adams will be available for questions and further conversations on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at noon in Reid Campus Center, room 207. The Career and Community Engagement Center will provide lunch for the first 10 students in attendance. Questions or ideas? Please contact Noah Leavitt at leavitns@whitman.edu.
|
|
|
Opportunities for Support
|
The Office of the Chaplain will host several events this week to provide support for those looking for a respite from the fear, suffering and tensions around the world. Unless otherwise specified, these events take place in the All Faiths Room in Reid Campus Center.
Monday, October 7:
|
- 12:10–12:50 p.m. - This week’s grieving@whitman group will focus on the tragic loss of life in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and throughout the region.
- 2–4 p.m. - Drop-in conversations with Interfaith Chaplain Adam Kirtley.
- 7 p.m. - Stop by a table near the library and tennis courts to light a candle to honor lives lost to war and violence around the world.
|
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Drop-in conversations with Interfaith Chaplain Adam Kirtley.
|
- 9–11 a.m. - Drop-in conversations with Interfaith Chaplain Adam Kirtley.
|
Thursday, October 17 (next week):
|
- 5–5:45 p.m. - A meditative reading of the children’s book “Old Turtle and the Broken Truth” at Kimball Theatre in Hunter Conservatory.
|
|
|
Professor’s Composition To Be Performed by the Walla Walla Symphony
|
A composition by Visiting Assistant Professor in Theory and Composition Sam Wu will be performed by the Walla Walla Symphony in their first concert of the season, on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in Cordiner Hall. The composition, titled “Hydrosphere,” is inspired by the water cycle and reflects on how important water is for shaping our planet and keeping life going.
|
Flu Shots Available This Week
|
The Welty Student Health Center will have free influenza vaccinations available for students, faculty and staff on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Supplies are limited.
|
Meet the Staff Advisory Council
|
Staff are invited to get involved, share their Whitman experience and meet the members of this year’s Staff Advisory Council (SAC)—a peer-elected group that advocates for and promotes the interests of staff. The SAC identifies opportunities to improve staff experience and equity, and works to resolve challenges on behalf of all staff. Drop-in hours will be held throughout the fall semester at various campus locations to talk with staff, hear what excites them and listen to any concerns they may have. Next up:
|
- Wednesday, Oct. 9 from Noon–1:30 p.m.
Reid Campus Center Coffeehouse
Meet with Nadir Ovcina ’17 and Mónica Hernández Williams.
|
|
|
The current exhibit in Stevens Gallery in Reid Campus Center features the works of many different community members and accompanies the installation of “All the Rare Birds,” a new sculpture by Daniel Forbes, which was created in memory of Kyle Martz ’07. The large sculpture is installed above the entrance to the Young Ballroom.
|
|
|
|
|
Open Meeting for Faculty and Staff
|
|
|
|
|
Movement That Matters: Pilates
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
|
|
|
|
|
Drop-In Conversations with the Interfaith Chaplain
|
Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
|
|
|
|
|
Open Meeting for Faculty and Staff
|
|
|
|
|
Outside Cleveland Commons
|
|
|
|
|
Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 106
|
|
|
|
|
Near Penrose Library and the Tennis Courts
|
|
|
|
|
Drop-In Conversations with the Interfaith Chaplain
|
Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
|
|
|
|
|
Movement That Matters: MELT
|
|
|
|
|
Welty Student Health Center
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Queer Resource Center (216)
|
|
|
|
|
Information Session: Safer Sex & Birth Control
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Basement
|
|
|
|
|
Cordiner Hall [community event]
|
|
|
|
|
Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio Theatre
|
|
|
|
|
Drop-In Conversations with the Interfaith Chaplain
|
Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
|
|
|
|
|
Movement That Matters: Strength & Stretch
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Basement
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center Lawn or Sherwood 114
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Basement
|
|
|
|
|
Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio Theatre
|
|
|
Thursday (October Break - No Classes)
|
|
|
|
|
North Fork John Day Wilderness
|
|
|
|
|
Movement That Matters: Step Aerobics
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom [community event]
|
|
|
Friday (October Break - No Classes)
|
|
|
|
|
Movement That Matters: Yoga
|
|
|
Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
|
|
|
Produced by the Office of Communications, Whitman Today is emailed to Whitman College staff, faculty and students each weekday during the academic year and twice a week during breaks. An archive of previous issues is available online.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other Whitman content to share, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
|
|
|
Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
|
|
|
|
