Although many in the United States are familiar with Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October and the month of November as National Native American Heritage Month, other celebrations of indigenous people occur throughout the year and throughout the world.
In 2003, the United Nations declared August 9 as International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In Canada, June 21, is National Indigenous Peoples’ Day; in Papua New Guinea, the annual Mount Hagen Cultural Show convenes tribes for a sing-sing (cultural gathering) to showcase their unique traditions; and similar celebrations occur in Norway (Riddu Riddu); Cusco, Peru (Qoyllur Rit’i Pilgrimage also known as the Snow Star Festival), and Borneo, Indonesia and Malaysia (Gawai Dayak Festival).
These days make explicit what should be happening on a regular basis: a deep recognition, respect, honoring, and celebration of indigenous members of our community from nations around the world.
Indigenous rights are human rights.
We encourage all Emersonians to learn more than how to offer land acknowledgements. We must be transparent about rhetoric that shapes our understanding of settler colonialism and how it continues to affect indigenous communities today. Our values of equity, access, and social justice are not just buzzwords. We must all be accountable for doing more, and that can be as simple as approaching new learning with curiosity, humility, and a desire to understand the complexities and nuances of history and humanity.
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Emerson Resources
This past September, ArtsEmerson hosted We Are The Land, where audiences heard directly from Wampanoag elders, artists, actors, and historians telling their story in a way that both honors their ancestors and looks toward the future. Learn more about this incredible performance:
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Events
NOVEMBER 23: NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING PLYMOUTH, MA
Bright Lights Screening Series, Engagement Lab, Emerson Office of Sustainability, Emerson VMA, Independent Film Festival Boston, the Roxbury International Film Festival, and Globedocs co-present Lakota Nation vs the United States, followed by a post-screening discussion with Emerson College professor Adam Spry (White Earth Anishinaabe).
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