Students, staff and faculty are invited to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day campus events on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16. Indigenous scholars and leaders will share tribal knowledge and educate the campus community about issues and priorities that matter to regional, national and international Native and Indigenous communities.
An attorney and advocate for Native Hawaiian identity and culture and a Southern Cheyenne Nation scholar and activist whose work centers on racial equity and tribal sovereignty will keynote an Indigenous Peoples Day plenary session and community lunch at the University Memorial Center on Oct. 14.
The celebratory opening session titled 鈥淚ndigenous Peoples Day Reframed: Toward an Intersectional, Decolonial and Transnational Vision for Indigenous Sovereignty鈥� is among Indigenous Peoples Day events at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder this month that are free and open to the campus and local communities. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥淩eciprocity. Relevance. Recovery. Reclamation.鈥澨�
Makalika Destarte Naholowa鈥檃
Autumn BlackDeer
听If you go
Event sponsors include the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS), the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), the Center for Inclusion and Social Change (CISC) and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (OSVC-DEI).
Visit the听2024 Indigenous Peoples Day website for more information about registration (RSVP required), public parking and other event details.
Visit the听CISC website for more information about how to volunteer for and attend the Sept. 28 fall powwow, the first at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder in 23 years.
Makalika Destarte Naholowa鈥檃, the recent past president of the National Native American Bar Association and executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and Autumn BlackDeer, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver, will keynote the plenary session. in advance, as the session will include a community lunch.
抖阴旅行射 Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz will welcome the keynote speakers and attendees during opening remarks.
鈥淚 am honored to take part in a campus event that celebrates the legacies and resilience of the Native American and Indigenous peoples in Colorado and across the United States,鈥� Schwartz said. 鈥淎s an institution of higher education, we are uniquely positioned to help preserve Indigenous languages, histories and traditions. We are committed to supporting programs that achieve these goals and to collaborating further with tribal communities to ensure the success of Native American students.鈥�
On Oct. 16, a panel discussion at UMC 386 titled 鈥淟and Back, Language Back,鈥� which is also open to students, staff, faculty and community members, will focus on Indigenous sovereignty, social and environmental justice and civil rights. Panelists will include tribal leaders and academic experts from 抖阴旅行射 Boulder, Oakland University and Colorado State University.
鈥淚ndigenous Peoples Day provides abundant opportunities for academic discussions, educational workshops and celebrations that foster a campus culture of learning, advocacy and community building鈥攁ll of which are critical to competently engage in culturally responsive allyship in solidarity with Native and Indigenous humans,鈥� said David Humphrey, assistant vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity,听 Equity and Inclusion.
Colorado, and the land on which the university was established, is part of the traditional territories and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Ute and dozens of other tribal communities with millennia-deep connections to the state and the broader Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains regions.
鈥淭he Indigenous Peoples Day plenary session and the 鈥楲and Back, Language Back鈥� panel discussion and workshops are part of actionable follow-through on the university鈥檚 commitment to Native and Indigenous staff, faculty and students,鈥� said Rennea Rojo-Mart铆nez Donovan, diversity, equity and inclusion program and engagement manager for the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
鈥淭he content of these events has been informed by input from folks from tribal communities and are intended to uplift the historic and contemporary legacies of resistance and resilience among Native and Indigenous peoples. This annual programming is essential to ensuring visibility and awareness of Native communities, both in Boulder and globally," Rojo-Mart铆nez Donovan said.
Adopted in 2022, the campus land acknowledgment affirms 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 commitment to:
- Recognize and amplify the voices of Indigenous students, staff and faculty and their work
- Educate, conduct research, support student success and integrate Indigenous knowledge
- Consult, engage and work collaboratively with tribal nations to enhance the university鈥檚 ability to provide access to Native students through culturally sensitive support
- Recruit, retain and graduate Native students in a climate that is inclusive and respectful
The sponsors for this year鈥檚 signature Indigenous Peoples Day campus events include the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS), the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), the Center for Inclusion and Social Change (CISC) and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (OSVC-DEI).
2024 Fall Powwow
In addition to Indigenous Peoples Day collaborations, CISC, CNAIS, the Oyate Native American and Indigenous student group, the Native Graduate Student Group and the Theatre and Dance Department are partnering with campus and community entities to stage the first powwow at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder in 23 years.
The powwow will take place on Farrand Field on Sept. 28, and organizers invite all students, staff, faculty and community members to attend. The outdoor event will include tribal dancing, drumming, music, food and a celebration of Native American communities from Colorado and across the nation.
More information about how to volunteer for the fall powwow is available on the听CISC website. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt and food, organizers said.
