Near the end of each semester, the Native American House invites individuals to recall, reflect on, and narrate their student experiences in higher education. Speakers address topics such as adjusting to campus life, factors contributing to a sense of belonging, and accessing the right pathways toward degree completion. Speakers conclude their storytelling by emphasizing the value of higher education and offering encouragement for the Native student higher education community at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Food is first come, first served. All are welcome!
Keynote Speaker: Tara Houska
- Date: April 18, 2025
- Time: 5:30 p.m.
- Location: Illini Union, Room 314A (1401 W. Green St., Urbana)
Tara Houska Biography
Tara Houska is a citizen of Couchiching First Nation, a tribal attorney, land defender, environmental and Indigenous rights advocate, and founder of the Giniw Collective, and Indigenous women, two-spirit-led frontline resistance to defend the sacred and live in balance. Houska was active in resisting the Line 3 oil pipeline, the Dakota Access pipeline, and is heavily involved in the movement to reclaim Land Back and in defunding fossil fuels.
She is a TED speaker, the recipient of the 2021 American Climate Leadership Award and the 2019 Rachel's Network Catalyst Award. Houska served as an advisor on Native American affairs to Senator Bernie Sanders, and co-founded Not Your Mascots, a non-profit committed to promoting positive representation of Native Americans in the public sphere. She has written for the women-led climate anthology "All We Can Save," the New York Times, CNN, Vogue, and Indian Country Today.
Houska earned a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota.