November Is Native American Heritage Month
This year, the WCU Dowdy Multicultural Center (DMC)’s November programming in honor
of Native American Heritage Month includes both in-person and virtual events. This
commemorative month aims to provide a platform for the indigenous people in the United
States to be honored and recognized for their culture, traditions, and ways and concepts
of life. Campus events have been taking place throughout the month.
These three events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Dowdy Multicultural Center: 610-436-3273 or multiculture@wcupa.edu.
The Lenape Peoples: Past, Present, and Future presented by Daniel StrongWalker Thomas and Katelyn Lucas
Wednesday, November 17, 6 p.m. Virtual. Register for Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/NAHMSpeak21
Katelyn and Daniel will present an overview of the history of the Lenape (a.k.a. Delaware) peoples, and discuss the state of the multiple federally recognized Lenape sovereign Nations today whose homelands encompass eastern PA, NJ, DE, and parts of NY. Their presentation will focus on the impacts of settler-colonial violence, land grabs, broken treaties, and other key historical events that resulted in centuries of forced removals of the Lenape people. Daniel will define and discuss the ongoing issue of corporations posing as indigenous nations, and how it impacts Lenape Nations today. Katelyn will also touch on her work as a Tribal Historic Preservation Assistant for Delaware Nation, overviewing topics such as museum ethics, land acknowledgments, and efforts of reconciliation. Presented by the Dowdy Multicultural Center and the WCU 150th Anniversary Diversity Speaker Series.
Celebrate! with Wampanoag Nation Singers & Dancers
Saturday, November 20, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Virtual. Register for link: https://tinyurl.com/celebrateNAHM
The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers have shared their history, culture, and traditions with audiences from around the world. Their performances, led by Wampanoag tribal members, involves a mix of stories, crafts, music and dancing. These people have inhabited present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years. Presented by John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, whose Celebrate! series, appropriate for family audiences and children ages five and up, highlights America’s rich cultural diversity through the arts.
Indigenous Activism Inside and Outside the Academy: Perspectives from a WCU Alum
Tuesday, November 23, 6 to 7 p.m.
Virtual. Zoom Meeting ID: 938 0727 9718
Password: Activism
A discussion with Indigenous rights activist Kelsey Rose Kahsonnanowro Diabo, a May ’21 graduate who majored in WCU women’s and gender studies major. In this Q&A style discussion, Kelsey will share her reflections on the lived realities of what social justice work can look like, both from her time as a student and now as an alum. Indigenous activism has had a critical role intersecting in all facets other life, ranging from academics to athleticism, and Kelsey will reflect on her time at WCU, offering perspectives on continuing justice-centered work after graduating. Presented by the Women’s and Gender Studies Department and the Dowdy Multicultural Center.
The DMC has also designed these in-person programs specifically for students.
- The Native American Heritage Month Social Justice Education Conversation Series takes place weekly on Mondays from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the DMC (Sykes 003). These programs bring attention to Native American communities’ resistance and involvement with social justice issues: environmental justice, violence against Native American and Indigenous women, and decolonizing Thanksgiving. They are designed to engage students in discussion after they analyze videos on these topics. The last program in the series (decolonizing Thanksgiving) takes place Monday, November 15. Information: multicultural@wcupa.edu.
- On Tuesday, November 30, the DMC will host a Native American Heritage Month Lunch & Learn. Up for discussion will be an episode of a fictional television series on the lived experiences of four teenage Native American boys. There are only 15 s[pot available and attendees must register in order to access the location. Students register here: https://tinyurl.com/NAHMLunchLearn. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
In addition, the University’s graduate program in Transformative Education & Social Change (TESC) hosts the third program in its fall Race, Class & Gender in Education Series on Wednesday, November 10, 6 to 7 p.m. Register at: https://bit.ly/tescfall2021
Reflections on Indigenous Youth, Colonial State Violence, and Building a Movement for Decolonization with Jaskiran Dhillon, a first-generation anti-colonial scholar and organizer who grew up on Treaty Six Cree Territory in Saskatchewan, Canada. Her work spans the fields of settler colonialism, anthropology of the state, environmental justice, anti-racist feminism, colonial violence, political ecology, and youth studies. She is the author of Prairie Rising: Indigenous Youth, Decolonization, and the Politics of Intervention (2017) and co-editor of Standing With Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement (2019). She is associate professor of global studies and anthropology at The New School in New York City.
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