PORT ANGELES — Studium Generale will open its fall quarter series with the traditional Welcome Celebration, a partnership among the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Peninsula College.

The event is free and open to the public, beginning at 12:35 p.m. Thursday in the Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

A welcome song, presented by the nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕ Song and Drum Group will be followed by a poetry reading by Duane Niatum of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. He will introduce his newest collection of poems, “Earth Vowels.”

Niatum, who has earned a doctorate, writes poems, stories and essays. He has been widely published in the U.S. and abroad and translated into 14 languages. “Earth Vowels” is his ninth book of poems.

The Northwest landscape and legends of his ancestors help shape Niatum’s writings, according to a press release.

He has made a lifelong study of art and artists, including European and American Indian art, literature and culture, and for over 50 years, “He has brought unique insight to his writings and publications,” the press release said.

All are invited to a reception in ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ the House of Learning, Peninsula College Longhouse, directly after the presentation.

Peninsula College recognizes and honors these traditional nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əm lands. The first longhouse built on a community college campus, ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ was named in the nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əm language and is a gathering place to teach, learn, and share cultural traditions, knowledge, and identity. ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ is a place to acknowledge and respect our unique differences and diversity.

This annual Welcome event was founded by Lola Moses of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in 2016, and in the past three years has featured language, culture, arts and education.

For more information, contact Sadie Crowe at longhouse@pencol.edu or 360-417- 7992.