On Nov 1, speakers and students gathered at the German Club to celebrate the start of Native American Heritage Month with a flag raising. Kenneth Notarino-Jeffrey, assistant director at the Myatt Center for Diversity and Inclusion, led the celebration.
“Today we come together to honor, acknowledge, and celebrate our Native American Heritage Month,” said Notarino-Jeffery. “As a community we’ve come a long way and have moved away from celebrating ideas regarding the colonization of this indigenous land.”
Throughout November, the history of Native American heritage is celebrated across the country to honor the achievements and sacrifices of iIndigenous people. The celebration dates to 1916 in New York, where “American Indian Day” was declared. New York was the first state to dedicate a day to celebrate the original group of people in America. Fast forward to 1990, George H.W. Bush and the U.S. Congress dedicated the month to Indigenous people, and called it “National Native American Heritage Month”.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day was created in 1992 to counter Columbus Day. Only in 2021 did Pres. Joe Biden formally commemorated the holiday with a presidential proclamation, said Notarino-Jeffery.
Notarino- Jeffery along with speakers such as Barbara Lawrence, the school’s vice president of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging (DEIAB) strategic initiative, used this event to acknowledge the part that Indigenous people had on this land before colonization. Smith read a new version of the Land Acknowledgement statement created by Prof. Cliff Dudley. This statement recognizes the tribes who occupied the land before us.
“We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land and aspire to uphold our responsibility to them according to their example,” said Smith.
“Let us boost their voices and stories, it is crucial to recognise that their place in this world should not be dictated by a constitution, but by the love and resilience of their community” said Dora Crespso, the recently appointed vice president of community advocacy and diversity in the university’s Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA). “Their identities are deeply rooted in an unwavering connection to their land, their culture, and their communities. In a face of systematic racism and oppression they rise above the silence presenting truths that many choose to ignore.”
Destiny Raye, the former president of Pride, an alumni, and a member of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation said, “As we reflect on the profound impacts of colonialism and ongoing challenges our community face let’s also celebrate their resilience and strength of indigenous people, our history is not just tales of sorrow, their stories of survival, healing, and hope.”
Crespo, Raye, and Notario-Jeffery raised the flag together at the end of the ceremony.
The Myatt Center, which is located in Gerber Hall, provides education about different cultures, heritages, and groups of people through the different history months. For more information on celebrations and events hosted by the Myatt Center, stop by the center or check on Charger Connection.
