The University of Idaho has several events planned to celebrate Indigenous communities during November’s Native American Heritage Month.
These events, coordinated and sponsored by the Native American Student Center, the Native American Student Association, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Tribal Relations will be held throughout the month of November to provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to learn more about the heritage and culture of Native individuals. All events except for the vigil will be held over registration-only Zoom sessions available on UI’s information page for Native American Heritage Month.
Dakota Kidder, the program coordinator of the Native American Student Center, hosted the opening ceremony and following Q&A. The ceremony featured Dr. Hailey Wilson of the Nez Perce Tribe presenting “Fostering Native Wellness,” a webinar educating on the meaning of wellness, its components and its application to Native individuals in the context of healing, resilience, culture, family and humility.
“Being in tune with your culture is powerful,” Wilson said. “It’s a great tool for wellness. All of the four different realms of wellness can actually be impacted by cultural participation and practices.”
On Nov. 9, a panel titled “Beyond Awareness: Panel of Experts on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People” explored the epidemic of violence against women and all Indigenous individuals as the first part of the “Voice for the Voiceless” series.
The panel featured Karee Picard, director of the ‘Uuyit Kimti – Women’s Outreach Program,
Bernie LaSarte, executive director of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal STOP Violence Program,
Lisa Brunner, co-curricular director and adjunct faculty of the White Earth Tribal & Community College, former legal assistant and crime mapper Lauren Chief Elk and Natasha Anderson, staff attorney of the Nez Perce Tribe Office of Legal Counsel.
A traditional games workshop titled “Reintroducing Family Values Through Hand Game: A Cultural Education Perspective” was hosted by Orlando Avery of the Cheyenne River Lakota and Grant Weston of the Oglala Lakota on Nov. 10.
Avery is a K-12 educator, artist, singer, community organizer and traditional arts instructor with Oglala Lakota College (while) Weston is a community organizer, singer, song composer and traditional games instructor from the Pine Ridge Reservation, according to UI’s informational preview of the event.
There are still several events to look forward to this month to celebrate Native American heritage.
The “Beyond Awareness Keynote Address” featuring Winona LaDuke originally scheduled for Nov. 16 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. as the second part of the “Voice for the Voiceless” series has been cancelled. LaDuke is a Native American land rights activist, environmentalist, economist, politician and author who has spent her career working on a national level to advocate, raise public support and create funding for environmental groups, according to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
An in-person vigil honoring “stolen siblings” of Indigenous tribes will take place on Nov. 16 from 6:45-7:45 p.m. at the ISUB Summit/Vandal Lounge, concluding the “Voice for the Voiceless” series. Masks and social distancing are required for attendance.
The last event of the month will be another keynote address titled “RESILIENCE” featuring Marcie Rendon of the White Earth Ojibwe. The event will take place from noon to 1 p.m. on Nov. 17.
According to UI’s informational page, Rendon will share her writing and speak on the topic of resilience in Native American communities. She is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, author, playwright, poet, freelance writer and community arts activist supporting native artists, writers and creators to pursue their art.
“While we take time throughout this month to celebrate our Native people, we as Indigenous people know that our history, our language and our traditional ways of being and knowing goes beyond a day, a week or even a month,” Kidder said. “Our identity is who we are every day, and we take pride in that.”
Katarina Hockema can be reached at [email protected].