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November is Native American Heritage Month

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During the month of November, the United States celebrates Native American Heritage Month. A number of opportunities exist on Notre Dame’s campus for students, faculty, and staff to expand their knowledge and understanding of Native and Indigenous communities.

 

On November 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. in DeBartolo Hall, the Institute on Race and Resilience will host a Native American Heritage Month Dance and Drum Performance. The program will feature songs and dance styles of Potawatomi and other Great Lakes region tribes in the spirit of sharing culture, celebrating heritage, and strengthening connections.

Other campus opportunities to learn more during November and beyond include:

  • David Martin is the Initiative on Race and Resilience artist-in-residence for the 2023-24 academic year. Martin, a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, plans to focus his artistic energy into depicting Pokagon scenes and people from the past with a unique eye toward the present and future of his people. He will be available to meet with students, visit classes, offer workshops, and plans to open his studio space to visitors. Martin will also have open studio hours each week showcasing his beadworking (Wednesdays from 2-4pm in 301 O' Shaugnessy) and oil painting (Thursdays from 2-4pm in 204A Riley Hall).

  • Native American Initiatives (NAI) at Notre Dame was created to foster intellectual knowledge of and cultural respect for the Native American and Indigenous experiences and to learn from Native communities as part of our learning goals at the university. Created in response to growing interest in Native American studies and topics across campus, NAI provides a number of resources for students and others on campus.

  • The Native American Alumni of Notre Dame (NAA of ND) is an affinity group of the Notre Dame Alumni Association serving Notre Dame alumni, students and faculty of Native American heritage. The NAA of ND was established in the fall of 2003. Our mission is to develop, maintain and celebrate our tribal cultures and to enrich the experience of the Notre Dame family. Your support, and participation in NAA of ND activities, will help to increase the visibility of Native Americans in the Notre Dame community. Your involvement will also help to highlight the crucial role that the Native American community has had in the history of the University of Notre Dame.

“During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize the invaluable contributions of Native peoples that have shaped our country and honor the hundreds of Tribal Nations who continue exercising their inherent sovereignty as vital members of the overlapping system of governments in the United States,” U.S. President Joseph R. Biden wrote in A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2023.

For additional information about Native American Heritage Month, please see the following resources: