Portland-based Karen Kitchen (Osage Nation) will offer two Native Story Hours at the Coos Bay Public Library Tuesday, November 21 at 6:00pm and Wednesday, November 22 at 10:00am. The special story hours will feature songs that showcase American Indian music and feature Native traditional stories. Both programs are free and open to all ages. Karen Kitchen is a prek-12 educator with over three decades of service in urban Title VI Indian Education programs. Karen hosts Multnomah County Library’s Native Story Hour, where she promotes Native authors, illustrators and publishers, and engages children and their families through story and song. Karen enjoys performing tribally-specific songs to inspire and educate Native and non-Native audiences about Indigenous history, contemporary issues, and the diversity and beauty of American Indian music. She also loves telling traditional stories. Karen is proud to be a citizen of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma. In September 2021, her duo, The Prairie Blossoms, performed at the grand opening of the First Americans. Museum in Oklahoma City and shared music from their CD, “Till the Star Rises Here.” Through story and song, Karen promotes themes of healing, nurturing our relationships with the natural world, and feeling gratitude for life’s many gifts. For additional information about programs being offered by the Coos Bay Public Library please contact the library by calling (541) 269-1101 x3606 or by visiting the library’s website at https://www.coosbaylibrary.org.
