We hadn’t had any rain in weeks, and it looked like the sky was going to open up and let loose just as the long standing traditional outdoor program of Indigenous Peoples Day was about to start with an open mic for Indigenous speakers on the South Terrace of the Arkansas Union.
The rain held off; the speakers took to the podium; and then more than 50 of us who were gathered for the event walked together for about a mile from the Arkansas Union to the Trail of Tears marker at Martin Luther King Junior Blvd. and Stadium Drive.
Summer Wilkie, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and youth coordinator for the U of A Indigenous Food & Agriculture Initiative, kicked off the event with a Land Acknowledgement and explanation of the event.
“As a land grant institution, the University of Arkansas, even to this day, continues to benefit from the dispossession of Indigenous lands, and over 180 different Indigenous Tribes and Bands have been impacted by our Land Grant,” Wilkie said. “This holiday historically has been in celebration of the history of the Colonization of the Americas, but we are flipping the script today to turn it into a celebration of Indigenous People’s resilience…”
She then invited anyone who identified as Indigenous to the Americas to the microphone. Jessica Walden, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and president of the Native American Student Association (NASA), was among those who spoke to the crowd.
“I know there are many people who think this day is Columbus Day, but I would like to say it is not,” Walden said. The comment drew cheers from the gathered crowd.
The University of Arkansas’ Multicultural Center, NASA and the City of Fayetteville co-hosted this year’s 18th annual observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, which was held on Monday, Oct. 10.
“This annual recognition is one of the oldest observances of Indigenous Peoples Day in the United States,” said Bryan Hembree, director of arts and culture at the U of A Center For Multicultural & Diversity Education.
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan could not make it to this year’s event, but shared a proclamation that he has made annually on behalf of the City of Fayetteville since 2009. That proclamation was read to those gathered at the marker site by NASA President Jessica Walden.
Native American flautist Gaby Nagel, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, played a couple of songs, as she has for many of the past Indigenous Peoples Day commemorations.
“Happy Indigenous People’s Day,” Nagel said before playing her flutes. “I just hope my music inspires you somehow.”
After the brief ceremony we all walked back to the Union at our own pace for refreshments and conversation.
The U of A first recognized Indigenous Peoples Day in 2004, based upon the recommendation of Dick Bennett, professor emeritus and founder of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology.
As part of this year’s Indigenous Peoples Day observance the Multicultural Center also accepted donations of feminine products to distribute through the Kwek Society, whose organizational goal is to end period poverty for Native American students.
Photos by Shane White
