June 16, 2025

Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley

Oregon Indigenous historian David G. Lewis combines years of researching historical documents and collecting oral stories, highlighting Native perspectives about the history of the Willamette Valley as they experienced it.

2:00 p.m., O'Brien Memorial Library, Blue River

June 17, 2025

Misinformation and Propaganda: Telling Truth from Fiction

Overwhelmed with messages from politicians, news sources and online media? Distinguish truth from fiction using real-world examples. Become your own “fact-checker!” This workshop presented by Donna Cohen will cover social media posts, propaganda, AI/deepfakes, polls, cconomic data, graphs and charts, and finding good information.

This event is funded by a 2025 Mini Grant for Rural Libraries from Oregon Humanites.

, Lake County Main Library, Lakeview

June 17, 2025

Poetry Reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston

Join Rogue River Library for a poetry reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston. There will be time at the end of the program for a brief Q&A.  Ellen Waterston began her term as the eleventh Oregon Poet Laureate in August 2024.  The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon.

3:30 p.m., Rogue River Library, Rogue River

June 17, 2025

Poetry Reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston

Join Rogue River Library for a poetry reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston. There will be time at the end of the program for a brief Q&A.  Ellen Waterston began her term as the eleventh Oregon Poet Laureate in August 2024.  The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon.

1:00 p.m., Medford Library, Medford

June 18, 2025

Poetry Reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston

Join Rogue River Library for a poetry reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston. There will be time at the end of the program for a brief Q&A.  Ellen Waterston began her term as the eleventh Oregon Poet Laureate in August 2024.  The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon.

5:30 p.m., Ashland Public Library, Ashland

June 18, 2025

Poetry Reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston

Join Rogue River Library for a poetry reading with Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston. There will be time at the end of the program for a brief Q&A.  Ellen Waterston began her term as the eleventh Oregon Poet Laureate in August 2024.  The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon.

1:00 p.m., Jacksonville Branch Library, Jacksonville

June 19, 2025

Conversation Project: Are You Doing Community Wrong?

We all belong to many communities—that is, groups of people with common interests—depending on where we live, the work we do, how we spend our leisure time, political and religious beliefs, and so on. In some communities, finding agreement is easy; in others, especially those that represent many different experiences and points of view, members must work harder to find commonality. It may be easier to find a location for your next book-club meeting than to achieve consensus about a road project at your neighborhood association. In such contexts, are we “doing” community wrong? Are we celebrating diverse points of view and our common effort to find solutions together? If not, why not? What stops us from engaging in more diverse communities?

Register for this free virtual event.

3:00 p.m., Virtual Event, statewide

June 24, 2025

What Matters at Life’s End? Exploring Your End-of-life Wishes

Many of us know we should talk about what matters at the end of our lives, but we don’t always know where or how to start these conversations. Once people start exploring death and dying, they often realize it’s not so scary to talk about after all. It can be comforting and empowering to know more about your options and consider what would be helpful for those who may be making decisions on your behalf. Who do you want with you when you are dying? What environments feel most comfortable? Do you have a preference for what happens to your body and your possessions after you die? How do you want to be remembered? This conversation provides a space and dedicated time for reflecting and exploring your end-of-life wishes.

Register for this free online program.

3:00 p.m., Virtual Event, statewide

June 26, 2025

Reflective Conversation Training (in-person)

During this in-person facilitation training, participants will:

• learn about facilitation and reflective conversation
• have an opportunity to practice new skills and techniques
• reflect on and share your own beliefs and assumptions and listen to beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences different than your own
• design and participate in reflective conversations and debriefs that analyze facilitation tools and choices.

This training will take place in the Oregon Humanities office in Portland (610 SW Alder St., Suite 1111) over the following days:

• Day 1: Thursday, June 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Day 2: Friday, June 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

To register for the June in-person training, click here.

In-person trainings are limited to the first twelve to sixteen people to sign up. Over the course of two days, we’ll spend our time together talking in large and small groups, in small to mid-sized rooms. We’ll provide coffee and tea and a light lunch on both days.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Oregon Humanities, Portland

July 2, 2025

Does Nature Have a Purpose in Our Lives? Exploring Our Relationships to the Land

Oregonians have long struggled to balance cultural, political, and values-based differences tied to our use of land and resources. As we enter an age of accelerating environmental change and scarcity, it is important to understand what drives these differences. In this conversation we will explore our attitudes and assumptions about the purpose of the environment in our lives and consider how those attitudes and assumptions shape our perception of environmental issues and policies.

Register for this free online program.

10:00 a.m. Pacific, Virtual Event, statewide