Native & Indigenous Heritage Month
Native and Indigenous Heritage Month, recognized in the U.S. during the month of November, exists after a long history of Indigenous leaders, including Dr. Arthur C. Parker (Seneca) (1) , Rev. Sherman Coolidge (Northern Arapaho) (2), Red Fox James (Blackfoot Indian Nation) (2), and many others who advocated for the U.S. to honor and celebrate Native and Indigenous history and heritage. It wasn’t until 1976 that the U.S. proclaimed October 10-16th as American Indian Awareness Week. Then, starting in 1990, November was declared National American Indian Heritage Month, or as we know it now, Native and Indigenous Heritage Month.
Macalester College actively works to engage with and advance scholarship around Native and Indigenous people and communities, histories and narratives, ways of knowing and being, and current social justice movements. In 2022, Macalester received a one million dollar Mellon grant to continue and sharpen our longstanding work in this area. To learn more about the Macalester Native and Indigenous (MNI) Initiative funded through this grant, visit Red Lake Nation News: Macalester Native and Indigenous Initiative receives $1 million grant from Mellon Foundation
During this month, we take this time to bring us all together to center Native and Indigenous stories and culture, celebrate community, build awareness and engage with and support local and national Native-owned businesses, artistic endeavors, and scholarship. We also encourage learning about the Native and Indigenous ancestral homelands (https://washmn.org/).
If you would like to have your event and/or program featured please submit it via our online form.
Please note that the events below are coordinated by different organizations and departments at Macalester. Use the links below for further information or directly contact the event host with questions.
Enviro-Thursday with Buffalo Weavers
Thu., Oct. 24 | 12 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | John B. Davis Lecture Hall (Campus Center)
Hosted by: Environmental Studies | esson@macalester.edu
Co-sponsored by: MNI Three Sisters Garden and Institutional Equity
During the upcoming Enviro-Thursday we will be hosting Buffalo Weavers on Campus. The Buffalo Weavers are a collaboration between Ben Weaver and Strong Buffalo. The group’s music and poetry is focused upon nurturing relationships with the land and water. Buffalo Weavers are also engaged with community work focused upon forest protection, using their art to contextualize and heal from the grief we are collectively experiencing as a result of climate change, and monthly urban wildlands events aimed at the cultivation of an anti-racist and ecologically reciprocal culture. During this enviro-thursday Strong Buffalo, (Tatanka Ohitika) and Ben Weaver will perform and share about their work.
Native & Indigenous Heritage Month Luncheon
Thu., Nov. 14 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Weyerhaeuser Boardroom
RSVP Form
Hosted by: Institutional Equity | [email protected]
We invite our MAC Native and Indigenous students, staff, faculty members, and alum to join us for our annual community luncheon. As a space to build community, this year’s luncheon will be an opportunity to have a conversation about how food fosters and continues to build culture and connection. There will be prompted community conversations for people to share their local favorite restaurants or memories of food and shared meals.
To attend, please RSVP.
Traditional Corn and Corn Husk Dolls Workshop with Ella Robertson and Fern Renville
Fri. Nov. 15 | 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Harmon Room (DeWitt Wallace Library)
RSVP Form
Sponsored by: Program Board and Macalester Native and Indigenous (MNI) Initiative
Learn from stories, tasting, and making corn husk dolls.
Ella Robertson, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate “Tate Hdi Najin Win” – Stops the Wind Woman Adjunct Faculty at Sisseton Wahpeton College, Entrepreneur, Dancer, Artist (beadwork, quillwork, seamstress, graphic designer) and Consultant. I own a small business called 13 Moons – the name & logo represents our Dakota Lifeway and encompasses the multifaceted products & services we provide I am an advocate of Traditional Foods.
Fern Naomi Renville is a Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal member based in the Imnizaska homelands (St Paul, MN), a lifegiver, storyteller, theatre artist, and student of traditional Dakota weaving plants and practices.
“Anangong Miigaading (Star Wars): A New Hope” Film Screening in Ojibwe
Sat. Nov. 16 | 6:00 p.m. | John B. Davis Lecture Hall (Campus Center)
RSVP Link (Required)
Hosted By: Center for Community Engagement | cec@macalester.edu
An Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) version of Star Wars: A New Hope has been released in a groundbreaking project that bridges pop culture with Indigenous heritage. oin us for a special campus screening of Anangong Miigaading (Star Wars): A New Hope. The film features alum Ajuawak Kapashesit ’13 (voice of Han Solo). There will also be a Q&A with Ajuawak Kapashesit and Dustin Morrow (voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi). Watch the film trailer.
Dialogue and Dinner with All My Arts Relations
Thu., Nov. 21 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | The Loch (Campus Center)
RSVP Form
Hosted by: Institutional Equity | [email protected]
All My Relations Arts (AMRA) is a program of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI). As a gallery, AMRA is one of the few Midwest hubs for contemporary Native art and an integral place for advancing the careers of Native artists. AMRA is a national platform for the elevation of contemporary Native artists and provides continued support for artists and art professionals.
- Angela Two Stars is a public artist and curator. She is the director of All My Relations Arts, a project of the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis, MN. Angela is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. Angela’s professional arts career began at All My Relations Arts gallery as an exhibiting artist, which then led to further opportunities including her first curatorial role for the exhibition titled, Bring Her Home, Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, a powerful exhibition highlighting the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Angela’s public art graces the shores of Bde Maka Ska and honors the Dakota people of Mni Sota. Angela was recently selected as the finalist for the Walker Art Center’s Indigenous Public Art Commission which will be installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in the fall of 2021.
- Josie Hoffman (Grand Portage Ojibwe) is a multimedia, interdisciplinary artist whose work is deeply rooted in movement and expression. As a visual artist, powwow dancer, and aerialist, her practice explores themes of environment, body politics, mental health, community, family, and cultural history. Josie’s journey into curation began during her studies at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, where she interned in the Native Art department at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. This experience ignited her passion for curatorial work, leading her to curate her first display case at the institute. Currently, Josie is dedicated to fostering connections within the artistic community, collaborating with fellow artists who inspire and challenge her. With a commitment to amplifying diverse voices and narratives, Josie is poised to create impactful exhibitions that reflect the richness of cultural histories and contemporary dialogues. (josephinelynne.com/)
- Adrienne Benjamin, or Amikogaabawiikwe, (She/Her/Hers) is an Anishinaabe multi-faceted artist, equity advocate, and cultural educator. She utilizes the lessons of her life mentors and community elders to create meaningful, current, socially relevant, and culturally significant work that intersects with her Anishinaabe values, history, and life ways. She is a cultural artist first and foremost, creating jingle dresses and an array of other regalia and garments in Anishinaabe style. She is known for her work as the Reconciliation Advisor for Minnetonka Moccasins and has led their efforts to better relations and right wrongs of the past with Native people through public relations, art, and action. She has also worked with and educated other US companies on best practices for Native art and business. Adrienne is passionate about and vibrantly champions social justice and equity initiatives in the arts and education systems in her local community of Mille Lacs, statewide in Minnesota, and beyond. Adrienne is also an accomplished arts administrator, having created and lobbied two successful arts and language based youth initiatives within her tribe; the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. (yoadrienneb.net/)
Twin Cities Connections: All My Relations Arts
Sat., Nov. 23 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
RSVP Form
Hosted by: Institutional Equity | [email protected]
Institutional Equity will be providing transportation to All My Relations Arts (AMRA). Currently on exhibit is “Niimiwin: Bijiinag igo ingii-azhegiiwe gaa-niimi’iding” by Emerging Curator Institute Fellow Josie Hoffman . For logistical information and details please review the RSVP form.
Previous Events and Programs
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Fall 2023 Honoring the Earth
Wed., Nov. 1 | 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Kagin Hill Ballroom
Hosted by: [email protected]Macalester College and Honor the Earth panelists will talk about the future of Indigenous Environmental Justice. Panelists will also share strategies and outcomes to help educate and illuminate the path moving forward.
Honor the Earth is an Indigenous Women led organization committed to organizing at the intersections of landback, racial, environmental, and Indigenous justice.
For the People at The Guthrie Theatre
Thu., Nov. 2 | 7:30 p.m. | The Guthrie Theatre
Sponsored by: Institutional Equity and the Community Engagement Center | [email protected]“A world premiere comedy by Native voices”
The division of Institutional Equity invites you to attend a performance of For the People at The Guthrie on Thu., Nov. 2nd at 7:30PM.
Co-written by Larissa FastHorse & Ty Defoe and featuring local Native performers, For the People is the first Native-written play to be performed at The Guthrie. For the People centers April Dakota who has returned home to Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis and her dreams of building a wellness center for her Indigenous community.
Dakota Spirit Walk
Sat., Nov. 4 | 11:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary
Hosted by: Institutional Equity | [email protected]In recognition of Native and Indigenous Heritage Month, Institutional Equity at Macalester College invites you to join us for the Dakota Spirit Walk, a permanent augmented reality public art installation at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary (Downtown St. Paul, MN). This opportunity is a joint effort with partners at Carleton College and St. Olaf College. Institutional Equity will provide transportation to and from campus.
The Dakota Spirit Walk was designed by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota) and Todd Boss (Revelo AR Artistic Director). Visitors will walk through the sacred land of the Dakota village of Kaposia and learn about Dakota nature spirits through geolocation, audio, and 3-D animation.
All three colleges will return to Macalester for lunch from Pow Wow Grounds and a debrief session. This event is open to all students, staff, and faculty.
Native & Indigenous Heritage Month Luncheon
Tue., Nov. 7 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | DeWitt Wallace Library – Harmon Room (133)
Hosted by: Institutional Equity | [email protected]Institutional Equity will host a luncheon for Native & Indigenous students, staff, faculty, and alumni. This is an opportunity to build connections and community across campus.
A Conversation with Eve Tuck & K. Wanye Yang
*Event was postponed to Spring 2024
Wed., Nov. 29 | 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Kagin Ballroom
Hosted by: Educational Studies | [email protected]This year’s 11th Annual Kurth-Schai Education & Advocacy Lecture at Macalester College will feature a conversation with decolonial scholars Eve Tuck & K. Wayne Yang.
Eve Tuck is Unangax̂ and is an enrolled member of the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Alaska. She is a scholar in the field of Indigenous studies and educational research. Currently, she is the Professor of Critical Race Theory at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
K. Wayne Yang is a professor and scholar of community organizing, critical pedagogy, and Indigenous and decolonizing studies. He is a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego and Provost of John Muir College. He writes about decolonization and everyday epic organizing, often with his frequent collaborator, Eve Tuck.
- Bavis, Barbara. Research Guides: National American Indian Heritage Month: A Commemorative Observances Legal Research Guide: History and Overview. https://guides.loc.gov/national-american-indian-heritage-month/history-and-overview. Accessed 20 Oct. 2023.
- Congress, The Library of, et al. National Native American Heritage Month. https://www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/about.html. Accessed 20 Oct. 2023