The Otselic Valley Fishing and Heritage Association (OVF&HA) Reading Series will present, 'America's Fight for “Liberty and Justice for All,” a three-part program is built around three books: "The Oneida Creation Story" by Demus Elm and Harvey Antone, "Daniel Shay's Honorable Rebellion" by Daniel Bullen, and "My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler" by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. (Submitted photos)

OTSELIC VALLEY - The Otselic Valley Fishing and Heritage Association (OVF&HA) Reading Series will present, 'America's Fight for “Liberty and Justice for All.’”

The three-part program is built around three books: "The Oneida Creation Story" by Demus Elm and Harvey Antone, "Daniel Shay's Honorable Rebellion" by Daniel Bullen, and "My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler" by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.

The series opens with a kickoff event at the Otselic Valley Public Library on July 14 at 6 p.m. Books will be handed out, and Brian Lee, of the Four Counties Library System, will lead a workshop on how to conduct ancestry searches using several databases. Participants will be encouraged to conduct and share the results of their genealogical searches, especially those that locate Revolutionary War soldiers.

The second session will be held at the Methodist Church in South Otselic on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. Author Daniel Bullen will discuss Shays' Rebellion and the process of writing his book.

The final session will take place at the Loomis Barn, on the campus of the Chenango County History Museum, on Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon. Oneida Indian Nation expert and elder Ron Patterson will tell the Oneida creation story. Polly Cooper commemorative coins will be distributed.

Participants who read all three books in the series will be gifted a 2026 commemorative $1 Polly Cooper coin, which features Cooper's journey to Valley Forge to instruct the Continental Army on how to prepare and cook Indian corn. The coins will be awarded at the Oct. 10 meeting. The Oneida Indian Nation were America's first allies in the Revolutionary War.

Two field trips are also being planned, with dates and times to be announced. The first is to Hamilton College to view the Grace Brown collection, including her famous love letters, and the journals and personal items of Samuel Kirkland, an early and important missionary to the Oneida Indian Nation and the founder of the college.

Participants will also tour the cemetery where Kirkland and Chief Shenandoah are buried together. The second trip is the final leg of a three-part journey through the eastern section of the Mohawk Valley, with specific stops to be announced.