Join us for two discussions in April, based on The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance, including one with award-winning author, Rebecca Clarren, to help us look into our history as American Jews and our role in America’s sometimes challenging legacy.

The Cost of Free Land is author and journalist Rebecca Clarren’s unflinching look at her own family’s history. Growing up, Rebecca Clarren knew only the major plot points of her tenacious immigrant family's origins. Her great-great-grandparents fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, where they received a free 160-acre homestead on offer from the federal government. What none of Clarren's relatives ever mentioned was that this free land had been cruelly taken from the Lakota. 

With deep empathy and clarity of purpose, Rebecca Clarren investigates the personal and national consequences of our country's legacy of violence and dispossession. Guided by both rabbis and Indigenous elders, Clarren grapples with the central question: What does it mean to survive oppression only to perpetuate and benefit from the oppression of others? By shining a light on the people and families tangled up in this country's difficult history, The Cost of Free Land invites readers to consider the ways they themselves have benefited from the taking of Native lands and what, now, can be done.  

Please join us for one or both programs! 
Register below and indicate if you plan to attend in person or via Zoom.
Open to the community – CBI members and non-members.

Registration – Contact Information

Book Discussion
Sunday, April 6 
3:00 – 4:30 PM | CBI Social Hall and via Zoom
Come at 2:45 PM for refreshments!

Please join us for a free community book discussion to help us arrive at a broader understanding of our history as American Jews and our role in America’s sometimes challenging legacy. 

Video Conversation with author Rebecca Clarren
Sunday, April 27 
10:30 – 11:45 AM | Harry M. Tonkin Memorial Chapel and via Zoom

On April 27, we’ll have an opportunity for further discussion and learning with Rebecca Clarren, who will join us by video to share her experiences, perspectives, and additional background on her family’s story.

Suggested Contribution
There is a suggested contribution (from $5 to $18) for the April 27 event to help offset the costs and support the committees bringing this program to you. Thank you.