Kivajat Finnish dancers perform at International Night 2008

The Kivajat Finnish Dance group performs a Finnish folk dance during International Night, sponsored by Michigan Tech's International Club on April 5 at the Rozsa Center. Kay Seppala directs the local group of youth dancers. (Video clip by Michele Bourdieu)

Kivajat Director Kay Seppala plays a milkmaid churning butter while Hal Seppala tries to charm her in this humorous Finnish folk dance they performed during International Night, April 5, in the Rozsa Center. (Video clip by Michele Bourdieu)

Watch for more video clips and photos of International Night, coming soon ...

Carnegie Museum to host three exhibits about Isle Royale

A peaceful, scenic view of Duncan Narrows on Isle Royale. (Photo © 2007 and courtesy John Vucetich)

HOUGHTON -- Beginning Apr. 12, the Carnegie Museum in Houghton will be celebrating Isle Royale with three exhibits about the island.

An opening reception for the first exhibit, "Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Fifty Years of Research," will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 12. John Vucetich, Michigan Tech University assistant professor of wildlife ecology, Rolf Peterson, MTU professor of wildlife ecology and George Desort, filmmaker, will introduce this exhibit about their work on Isle Royale. The exhibit tells about the longest study of any predator-prey system in the world.

Rolf Peterson, MTU professor of wildlife ecology and world-renowned researcher, speaks about his Isle Royale wolf-moose research on March 20 during MTU's Earth Week. Peterson will attend an opening of the exhibit, "Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Fifty Years of Research," on Apr. 12 at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu)

The second exhibit, "Above and Below: Shipwrecks of Isle Royale," features underwater photographs of Isle Royale shipwrecks, accompanied by historic newspaper accounts of the accidents. An opening reception with photographer Bill Reynolds will be held in late April.

The museum will also host a selection of artwork from the Isle Royale National Park's Artist-in-Residence Collection. A reception for some of the artists will be held in May.

The Carnegie Museum is on the corner of Huron and Montezuma in historic downtown Houghton. Hours are Tuesday 12 noon - 7 p.m., Thursday 12 noon - 5 p.m. and Saturday 12 noon - 4 p.m.

Nordic Film Series to present Norwegian film Apr. 10

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University Nordic Film Series continues Thursday, Apr. 10, with the Norwegian film Elling. Showings will begin at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock.

After two years in a psychiatric hospital, Elling and his somewhat denser roommate, Kjell Bjarne, return to the so-called real world. As their confidence grows, they find unusual ways to cope with society; and they strike up the most peculiar friendships in the most unlikely places.

Elling, released in 2002, won multiple international film awards. It was an Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film.

The film is in Norwegian with English subtitles. It is unrated. If you have questions about its content or need more information, please call 906-487-7302.

Updated: Guatemalan human rights leader to speak Apr. 10, 11

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) is sponsoring a presentation on Guatemala by Jerónimo (pronounced Heh-RO-nemo) Osorio Chen at 7 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 11, following a 6 p.m. potluck at Little Brothers, 527 Hancock Street, Hancock.

Jerónimo Osorio Chen (holding paper) chats with a fellow Guatemalan. Osorio will speak on resource use and development in Guatemala. (Photo courtesy NISGUA, Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala)

Osorio represents the grassroots Ixcán Referendum Commission, which supports the struggles of the indigenous Maya people of Guatemala to determine their own resource use and development in the face of overwhelming pressure from international corporations. A human rights leader from rural Ixcán, Quiché, Guatemala, Osorio has worked for more than a decade to promote indigenous rights, cooperative economics and citizen participation in the face of threats from corporate-led development schemes, including mega-projects and free trade.

A former elected official in the local government, Osorio has played a key role in organizing and doing follow-up work on a 2007 referendum in which people in the Ixcán voted against the Xalalá hydroelectric dam and oil exploration in the region.

Citizens of Santa Maria Tzeja, Guatemala, vote in a referendum about the proposed dam project at Xalalá. (Photo © 2008 and courtesy Kim Kern)

Osorio is an Achi Maya from Río Negro, where the Guatemalan government committed several massacres in the 1980s against communities that opposed the building of the Chixoy dam on their lands. He will speak about people’s struggles to oppose the Xalalá Dam and the importance of avoiding a repeat of the Chixoy tragedy, including the repression, loss of lands and damage to the ecosystem associated with massive dam projects.

Children of Ixcán express their opposition to the dam project with signs. (Photo courtesy NISGUA)

Call 482-6827 for more information.

Osorio to speak at Michigan Tech Apr. 10

Osorio will give a similar presentation on resource use and development in Guatemala at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 10, in Room 641 of the Dow Building on the Michigan Tech campus. Anyone interested in the topic may attend either presentation.

"The topic is relevant to those who are interested in water resource management policies and sustainable future initiatives and, in general, to those interested in the issues of the development of the 'third world' and how this affects small communities," said Rudiger Escobar Wolf, Ph.D. student in Michigan Tech's Department of Geological Engineering and Sciences.