Earlier this year, members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi asked local readers to share a single story focused on the majesty and beauty of the area the Native American tribe has called home for centuries.

Organizers with the 2017 One Story (Ngot Yajmowen) program assembled at the Dowagiac Area History Museum Tuesday morning to finalize plans for the upcoming series of events, which will take place from February through May next year. Like in previous years, the series of lectures and activities will focus on themes loosely tied to a book the community is asked to read.

Next year, the community is asked to read a book about another place near and dear to their hearts — Dowagiac.

For next year’s program, the One Story committee — comprised of leaders with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, City of Dowagiac, Dowagiac Area History Museum, Southwestern Michigan College and the Dowagiac District Library — selected “Images of America: Dowagiac,” a 2005 nonfiction book featuring photos from Dowagiac’s storied history, co-authored by local museum director Steve Arseneau and former director Ann Thompson.

“We are really excited to feature a photo essay book for the 2017 program,” said Kristie Bussler, the educational resource specialist with the Pokagon Band and lead organizer of the One Story program. “We think it will be interesting to all our readers, from youth to the elderly. In fact, some readers may even recognize their ancestors in some of the photos.”

Next year will mark the fourth anniversary of the One Story program, which was inspired by a national shared-reading program called the Big Read. For the 2016 program, organizers selected Simon Pokagon’s novel “Queen of the Woods” as the centerpiece work, offering several programs based around themes presented in the story.

As Pokagon — the son of the local tribe’s founder, Leopold — set his story in the Michiana area, One Story organizers wanted to select another book showcasing the local area for the next rendition of One Story, Bussler said.

On top of reading the selected book, participants in the upcoming program will again be asked to share their own personal stories about the place they consider home. People can weave these tales in several different ways, including writing, photography, video or audio, Bussler said.

“We are encouraging everyone to participate in this program,” she said. “We want people to know that they do have a story to tell, and we want to hear it.”

Information about next year’s events will be posted on the One Story project website, onestoryread.org. People will be able to pick up copies of “Images of America: Dowagiac” from the Pokagon Band headquarters, the Dowagiac District Library, the Dowagiac Area History Museum and Southwestern Michigan College.