Northern Michigan University will host a panel discussion and opening reception to coincide with the national touring exhibition, “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.” Both events will be held on Thursday, Feb. 18., and are open to the public.

The panel discussion is titled “A Lifetime of Native American Health.” It will begin at 4 p.m. in 1322 Jamrich Hall. Panelists include: Cathy Abramson, Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians council member, chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee and member of the National Indian Health Board; Tony Abramson Jr., supervisor of the traditional medicine program and member of the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Raeanne Madison, program coordinator at the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan Department of Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Services; and moderator Alex Ruuska, associate professor in the NMU Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

An opening reception with food will follow the discussion at about 5:30 p.m. in NMU’s Olson Library in the Learning Resources Center. The exhibition is on display at the library through March 17.

Produced by the National Library of Medicine, the free exhibition explores the connection between wellness, illness and cultural life through a combination of interviews, artwork, objects and interactive media. Olson Library is one of 104 sites nationwide—and the first in the region—selected to host the exhibition in partnership with the American Library Association. For details, visit www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices.

In addition to Olson Library, NMU sponsors of the exhibition include the Center for Native American Studies, the School of Nursing and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.