Holland Talks Visionary Speakers + Community Conversation
The Holland Talks lecture series invites nationally and internationally recognized experts to lead community conversations about timely and provocative ideas that challenge and broaden understandings of a wide range of topics, including science, technology, the arts, ethics, and philosophy.
Each event in the ongoing lecture series will convene diverse audiences for a ticketed lecture event, alongside programming in the community to expand the conversation and elevate Omaha as a home for cultural and civic discourse.
Inaugural Speaker
ROBIN WALL KIMMERER
Friday, December 6, 7:30 PM
Robin Wall Kimmerer
On Friday, December 6 Kiewit Luminarium is honored to welcome Robin Wall Kimmerer – author and world-renowned botanist – as our inaugural Holland Talks speaker. Wall Kimmerer’s work explores Indigenous and scientific practices of sustainability, ecological restoration, and plant ecology. An enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Wall Kimmerer is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has been on the New York Times best-seller list for the past three years and was selected as Omaha Public Library’s 2023 Omaha Reads book.
Wall Kimmerer’s work weaves together traditional and contemporary paths to knowledge, celebrating the deep connections between humans and the natural world. Her teachings challenge us to see the earth as alive and intelligent, inviting us to cultivate a more reciprocal and respectful relationship with all living beings. This promises to be an evening of profound insight and inspiration.
Photo credit: Credit John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Learn More
Coming Soon: The Serviceberry
In her forthcoming book The Serviceberry (November 2024) Robin Wall Kimmerer offers a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
As Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
Learn MoreThanks to the Generous Support of the Holland Foundation
Holland Talks is made possible through a generous grant from the Holland Foundation. The late Dick Holland established the Holland Foundation to support the arts and education in Omaha. The Foundation funded the original Holland Lecture Series from 2005 through 2017, setting the stage for thought-provoking dialogue in our community.