Coffee Table Talk: The Work of Remembering

Join Indigenous and Jewish cultural workers for a powerful exploration of how communities impacted by genocide preserve cultural memory and rebuild traditions. Join panelists including Dr. Sarah Bunin Benor, scholar of Jewish languages, Sarah Podemski (Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi) multidisciplinary artist from Toronto, and Virginia Carmelo (Tongva/Kumeyaa) cultural leader and tradition bearer, for an exploration of how language, story, and cultural expression serve as tools of resistance, remembrance, and healing.

The Ebell’s Coffee Talks offer a unique opportunity to connect with inspiring Angelinos. Enjoy coffee, pastries, and extraordinary stories of life experiences, meaningful activism, women’s empowerment, and more.

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Virginia Carmelo was born in Orange County, California. Her paternal side is Gabrielino/Tongva and Digueno/Kumeyaay tribes. Virginia received her B.A. from CSU, Fullerton, in Ethnic Studies. During that time, being influenced by and involved in the social movements of the sixties, she began dance studies that led her to study indigenous dance with two prominent masters in the Los Angeles area. Currently, they take part in preserving and sharing the Tongva culture. The family endeavors to revitalize Tongva tribal song, dance, and regalia.

Sarah Podemski is an Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. From her first role in the German TV series 'Blue Hawk' at the age of 11, to her award winning performance in the TIFF selection 'Mekko' (directed by Sterlin Harjo), Sarah has been passionate about recreating the Indigenous narrative that has been misrepresented since the beginning of cinema. Sarah has won an Independent Spirit Award for her work on the Emmy award nominated series 'Reservation Dogs' created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi and her other credits include CBC’s ‘The Coroner’, Syfy’s ‘Resident Alien' and the upcoming feature film, 'Floaters'. Most recently Sarah has ventured behind the camera, Writing, Producing and Directing, ‘Six Miles From the Grand’, a short Docu-Series hosted by her and her husband James Gadon. With more projects in development, Sarah is excited to use her thirty years of experience in the industry to continue creating content that elevates Indigenous and Jewish voices.

Sarah Bunin Benor is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College and Adjunct Professor in the University of Southern California Linguistics Department. She received her B.A. from Columbia University in Comparative Literature in 1997 and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Linguistics in 2004. She is the author of Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism (Rutgers University Press, 2012) and Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps (Rutgers University Press, 2020), as well as many articles about Jewish languages, Yiddish, and American Jews.

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