U of I Native American House celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day

URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The Native American House will celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with a full day of events featuring Native American literature and media, spirituality and food.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Oct. 14, Mayor of Urbana, Diane Marlin, and Will Kyles, Deputy Mayor of Champaign, will deliver a reading of the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation at the Knight Auditorium within Spurlock Museum in Urbana .

The Native American House said that following the reading, there will be a presentation on spirituality, land, belonging and Indigenous dispossession of land. After the presentation, the next session will center around how Indigenous women use media to inform others about violence towards Native women, while also celebrating positive experiences in the Indigenous communities. Clips from the 2023 film Fancy Dance will be shown.

A “community feed” will take place from 12-1 p.m. According to the Native American House, many Indigenous Peoples view feeding the community leads to greater connections. The meal will take place at the Core Gallery.

After the meal, a panel discussion will be held. It will focus on Indigenous undergraduate and graduate students and their experiences with belonging and identity.

Those interested in reading books centered around Indigenous Peoples will have the chance at a pop-up library at the Native American House from 3-4:30 p.m. María Emerson, Student Success Librarian, curated the collection and will be able to share more about library resources and services available on campus.

At the same time as the pop-up library, F&T Desserts, a Native American-owned business that’s based locally will be serving a free treat for the event. Their food truck will be parked in front of the Native American House on Nevada St.

To finish up the day, University Housing will serve Indigenous food at Illinois Street Residence Halls from 4:30-8 p.m.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been formally recognized in the United States since 2021 when President Joe Biden commemorated the day with a presidential proclamation.

For more information on Indigenous Peoples’ Day events, click here .

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