West Chester University: November Is Native American Heritage Month

Press release from West Chester University:

November 10, 2021

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.

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.

Prairie Rising: Indigenous Youth, Decolonization, and the Politics of Intervention Standing With Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement

Find more information on the graduate program in Transformative Education & Social
Change (TESC) here.

This press release was produced by West Chester University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.