Talk on Wednesday complements traveling exhibit on Wisconsin farming, culture, history

“The Lands We Share,” a cultural traveling exhibit highlighting the farming and history in five Wisconsin communities, is on display through Dec. 13 in the West Hall Museum of Ripon College.

A related talk, “Land, Farming and Identity: The Oneida Nation in Wisconsin,” will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 6, by Stephen Kercher of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Department of History. The talk will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Bear Auditorium, Farr Hall of Science.

“The Lands We Share” traveling exhibit and public dialogue tour focuses on the intersection of farming, land, ethnic culture and history in Wisconsin. It features stories, histories, artifacts, images and sounds of five culturally and regionally distinct farms and farm sites.

These sites include the Allen Family Farm, established by white settlers in Winneconne in the mid-19th century, that works closely with migrant and immigrant workers of predominantly Mexican and Hmong descent.

The exhibit is a product of the Wisconsin Farms Oral History Project, a collaborative initiative by faculty and students at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, UW-Whitewater, UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. It comes to Ripon College through the support of a sustainability grant.

“The Lands We Share” aims to bring together people and groups from diverse backgrounds who are often separated despite living and working in close proximity. Visitors are encouraged to identify common interests and to discuss shared community visions by drawing on shared personal or family experiences on the land, in farming or with food.

For more information, visit the website.

(Photo: The Allen Family Farm near Winneconne)