Mohawk storyteller Kay Olan shared Iroquois tales with students Tuesday in Cole Hall.

Olan — whose Mohawk name is Ionataiewas — is a public school teacher with 33 years of experience, a professional story teller, and is soon to be featured on a documentary of the powers of storytelling. The event was held to shed light on the tradition of storytelling in a modern and digital world.

Olan opened the event with a traditional greeting. She said some call the greeting the Thanksgiving address and others call it the words that come before all else. Sometimes the greetings can take up to two hours while other times they can be as simple as someone saying “hello.”

Olan gave thanks to the elements that provide for humanity. She thanked “Mother Earth,” which she called “our supporter,” and all the things it provides for humanity:” trees, grass, medicine plants and more.

After sharing her greeting, Olan told a tale of three young boys who managed to save a village from the strongest bear the village had seen. After they killed the bear, its blood fell on leaves, changing their colors to auburn and yellow.

“[It was an] interesting look at Mohawk tales and how the explain things like the color of the leaves,” said Jonothon Dickey, freshman pre-nursing major.

The other tales Olan shared contained morals, things for the audience to learn from. Olan ended the session asking that the students “share our stories.”