Cultural & International

Indigenous Peoples' Day

Event Type

Ceremony/Service

Sponsor

Native American House

Location

Spurlock Museum of World Cultures (600 S Gregory, Urbana)

Date

Oct 14, 2024 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

Contact

David Eby

E-Mail

davidme2@illinois.edu

Views

Originating Calendar

Native American House General Events

See the full schedule at https://nah.illinois.edu/events/indigenous-peoples-day

October 14, 2024
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures
600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October 2021. In 2021, President Joe Biden formally commemorated Indigenous Peoples’ Day with a presidential proclamation, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. This day is meant to encourage reflection, recognition, and celebration of the ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples. Additionally, it is a day to gain some understanding of the diversity of Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Peoplesʼ Day Programming Theme

Thirty years ago, Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) coined the legal term intersectionality. Intersectionality acknowledges the interconnected nature of social categories such as gender, disability, race, class, and more. The concept also emphasizes the importance of examining how different forms of oppression and privilege intersect and shape unique experiences for individuals with multiple marginalized identities.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day programming will center on intersectionality and how this framework can help us understand several aspects of identity and a diverse set of issues relevant to Indigenous communities. “Intersectionality, as such, is not and does not aim to be neutral. Instead, it is oriented towards exploring diverse forms of political struggles and justice” (May, 2015, p. 28). To this end, intersectionality will be undertaken as a point of departure to examine shared histories of survival, gendered realities, and Indigenous academic identity development.

References

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139–167.