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The Native American Support Program (NASP) cultivates an environment supportive of positive experiences for Native American and Indigenous students at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Learn about NASP initiatives and programming, and get updates on upcoming events and resources both on the UIC campus and within the greater community.
4. Indigenous Events

blog posts

  • The Coalition of Identities under Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI)

    The Coalition of Identities Under AAPI

    A panel discussion exploring the AAPI Identity featuring panelists:Karen Su, Mark Martell, Chasidy Clark, and Momal Khan

    Presented by the UIC Law School's Office of Diversity, Equity, and InclusionCo-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) at UIC, the South Asian Law Students Association, and the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center

    Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021 from 12-1pm

    Zoom link

  • WHOSE LAKEFRONT

    In 1914, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sued Chicago for land along the lakefront. As co-signers of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, they had been forced to give up their land in Illinois up to the shore of Lake Michigan. Since then, the city had created land beyond the shore, including Streeterville, Lincoln Park, and Grant Park, some of the most valuable property in the city. The Pokagon Band argued for the return of this unceded land or payment for its value. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where, predictably, the Potawatomi lost.

    A procession led by Native people with non-Native allies will mark the boundary of this unceded territory with a line of red sand along Michigan Avenue downtown, tracing the original shoreline of Lake Michigan. 

    Saturday, October 2, 2021

    Kickoff at 12:00PM noonCorner of Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt RoadRoute goes north to 401 N. Michigan Livestream on https://www.facebook.com/whoselakefront 

  • Powwow Flyer

    It's Almost Powwow Time! American Indian Center - Chicago

    Interested in a group rate discount? Contact us at powwow@aicchicago.org for more detail.

    Are you interested in the Volunteer Opportunities for our 68th Annual Chicago Powwow? Click the following link to sign up! https://forms.gle/vhcoCifGmUK2YVnw9

     ** CALLING ALL DANCERS, DRUMS, VETERANS, EAGLE STAFFS, COLOR GUARDS, AND ROYALTY... WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!! ****

    VENDOR SPACES STILL AVAILABLE, BUT GOING QUICKLY **APPLICATIONS ONLINE WWW.AICCHICAGO.ORG

    HOST HOTELS ARE LIVE, PLEASE MENTION THE AIC POWWOW TO RECIEVE THE RATES, LINKS BELOW https://www.marriott.com/event.../reservation-link.mi...https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/sm15i8...

  • Powwow Volunteers Needed, American Indian Center Chicago

    Please see the included flyer for additional details. 

  • Education Day, American Indian Center

    Please see the included flyer for additional details. 

  • LAND-GRAB UNIVERSITIES: OWNING THE TRUTH AND SHARING THE PATH TO MAKING AMENDS

    In partnership with The Ohio State University’s Humanities Institute and funded through generous support from The Ohio State University’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme Grants Program

    KEYNOTE ADDRESS BYTRISTAN AHTONE & ROBERT LEECO-AUTHORS OF THE LAND-GRAB UNIVERSITIES REPORT 

    ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS:

    Tsianina Lomawaima (Arizona State U) & Kelly McDonough (U of Texas): Co-Editors of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Special Issue on Land-Grab Universities

    Theresa Ambo (UC San Diego): The Complicity and Complacency of Land-Grant Universities

    Michael Roberts (First Nations Development Institute): Connecting Universities with Leaders of Tribes Whose Land was Taken and Sold to Fund Land-Grant Institutions

  • What's Cooking: Continuity and Change in What We Eat

    Please see that included flyer for additional details.

  • Indigenous Peoples Day

    Please see the included flyer for additional details. 

  • Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Black-Indigenous Youth Advancing Social Justice

    How are Black-Indigenous youth working to advance social justice? This Indigenous Peoples' Day program highlights youth of blended Black and Native heritage who use art, activism, and policy to advance Black and Indigenous solidarity and affect positive change in their communities. Moderated by Amber Starks (African American and Muscogee [Creek]) she/her. Panelists include Joy SpearChief-Morris (African American and Kainai Blood Tribe), Kyle T. Mays (Black and Saginaw Chippewa) he/him/his, and Autumn Rose Williams (Black and Shinnecock). Learn more about the panelists here

    The program is free, but advance registration is required. A direct link to view the program will be emailed to registrants 24-48 hours before the program. The program will be available on demand after it premieres.

    This program is part of the Youth in Action: Conversations about Our Future series, which features young Native activists and changemakers from across the Western Hemisphere who are working towards equity and social justice for Indigenous peoples. 

     

     

    When: Monday, October 11, 2021, 1 – 2 p.m. EDT

    Location: Online

    Cost: Free | Registration required

    Accessibility: Captioning

  • Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, Northwestern University

    Please see the included pdf. for additional details.

  • Indigenous Artist in Residence, Wayne Valliere, Northwestern Center for Native American and Indigenous Research

    Please see the included flyer for additional details. 

  • Urban Young Native Women

    Please see the included flyer for additional details. 

  • American Indian College Fund, CONNECT Update (Networking - Internships - Jobs)

    • LEDA Scholars Program
    • Presidential Fellows Program
    • Next Gen Radio Training
    • AAUW Fellowships & Grants
    • Ford Foundation Fellowships
    • AFRL Scholars Program
    • FBI Cyber Internship
    • STEM Internship Opportunities
    • Public Health Informatics Fellow
  • Join the College Fund and Special Guests for a Self Care Event! -American Indian College Fund

    Join our team on WED, OCT 6 at 12pm MDT as we check in on great ways to maintain self-care, mindfulness, health, and wellness at our 'Checking in on Self Care' event.

    Register and WIN GREAT PRIZES at bit.do/Self-Care-Event

  • Champions for Change: Youth Application

    The Champions for Change (CFC) program at the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY), inspired by a 2011 White House initiative, recognizes and encourages inspirational Native American youth (ages 14 to 24) working in their tribal or urban Indian communities to promote hope and make a positive impact. Each year, CNAY selects five inspirational Native youth from across the United States to join the CFC program. Champions are individuals who initiate programs, events, or other efforts that improve the lives of fellow youth in Indian Country. Below is the application form to apply for the 2022 class of Champions for Change.**Note: You will not be able to save and return to this form. We recommend typing responses in a word processing document first and then pasting into the form when you're ready to submit.**Important: you must have all application materials in order to submit your application, including all letters of recommendations uploaded.

    Visit CNAY's Champions for Change webpage for more details and up-to-date information on the program.

    Application Deadline: October 29, 2021

  • Storytelling, Climate Justice, and Self-Determined Indigenous Futures

    Thursday, October 7, 2021

    6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

    This program is free an open to all, and will be held virtually on Zoom.

    In this year’s D’Arcy McNickle Distinguished Lecture, Deborah McGregor addresses Indigenous climate change futures envisioned and generated by Elders, community knowledge holders, and the Indigenous Studies academic community.

    McGregor will be joined by Teresa Montoya to explore how we can learn from the past through storywork that may inform our collective and sustainable future.This series celebrates Indigenous scholars, writers, and artists who consistently demonstrate excellence in their work concerning Indigenous peoples and histories in addition to actively addressing contemporary issues faced by American Indian and Indigenous communities.

    NOTE: You can also watch a live stream of the program, without registering in advance, on the Newberry Facebook page or YouTube channel.

  • Whose Lakefront Flyer: Student Session

    College Student Session: Whose Lakefront

    The project coordinators invite all Graduate and Undergraduate College students to the Student Session: Whose Lakefront. This event will center the perspectives and voices of Native and Indigenous communities. In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to hear from leading professionals about their activism work in Chicago and the greater Indigenous community. Each student will gain a greater understanding of the Whose Lakefront project, learn about historical and contemporary issues from Indigenous leaders, and form new connections with fellow student peers interested in advancing Indigenous initiatives. Register on Eventbrite to receive the zoom link:bit.ly/WhoseLakefront

  • Whose Lakefront

    Whose Lakefront Community Session (Open to All)

    The Whose Lakefront public art project foregrounds the occupation of Native land by marking the presence of unceded territory in the heart of Chicago’s downtown.

    ​In 1914, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sued Chicago for land along the lakefront. As co-signers of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, they had been forced to give up their land in Illinois up to the shore of Lake Michigan. Since then, the city had created land beyond the shore, including Streeterville, Lincoln Park, and Grant Park, some of the most valuable property in the city. The Pokagon Band argued for the return of this unceded land or payment for its value. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where, predictably, the Potawatomi lost.

    On October 2, a procession led by Native people with non-Native allies will mark the boundary of this unceded territory with a line of red sand along Michigan Avenue downtown, tracing the original shoreline of Lake Michigan.

    This workshop will discuss the historical background for the project, as well as contemporary views on Native land and Native sovereignty.

    Opportunities for participation and volunteering on October 2 will be discussed.

    More information at: https://www.whoselakefront.com/.

    Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whose-lakefront-information-workshop-tickets-169672674537?fbclid=IwAR0768I0LyOgNYiajsK9S6F2jTLf48_b33H3pm9RrbIsinn5jvlX6P2mSYo

     

  • Powwow Flyer

    Powwow 2021

    Saturday, September 25th, Ho-Chunk Nation, St. Kateri Center, American Indian Health Services of Chicago and Cook County Forest Preserve are sponsoring a Pop Up Pow Wow! In honor of victims, survivors and their families we will speak to the tragedy surrounding Boarding Schools and Children of Turtle Island. The event will have Drums and Dancers, Arts and Crafts Vendors, Food and more. Please save the date and join us!

  • Sky Hopinka: Cloudless Blue Egress of Summer

    Cloudless Blue Egress of Summer, a two-channel video installation by the artist Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk/Pechanga, born 1984, Ferndale, WA), offers an immersive and elusive reckoning with histories of colonial violence and Indigenous resistance. The thirteen-minute work examines the history of the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest fort in the continental United States. Finished in 1695, the structure was known as Fort Marion when it held Native Americans captive throughout the Seminole Wars of the 19th century. In the 1870s, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, and Caddo Indian prisoners were transported to the fort, where prison supervisor Richard Henry Pratt developed educational techniques designed to “Americanize” his captives. The U.S. boarding school system that grew out of these experiments imposed a regime of compulsory assimilation on generations of Indigenous children, a practice of cultural genocide that intentionally divided families and deprived communities of their linguistic and cultural heritage.

    When: Wednesday, September 22nd - Sunday, December 5 at 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Central (some events end at 8:00 PM Central)

    Where: Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 map it

    Audience: Open to all

    Cost: Free 

  • Indigenous Peoples Day - 2021 Celebration! Potawatomi Removals: Forced and "Voluntary"

    Please see the flyer for details. 

  • Flyer for Event

    68th Annual Chicago Powwow

    Please see the flyer for details.

  • Sweet Bitter Love

    Sweet Bitter Love

    Please see the flyer for details. 

  • Flyer for Event

    7 Sacred Branches Adult Session

    Please see the attached flyer. 

  • Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center 45th Anniversary Celebration

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Save the Date 2021 American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Health Summit

    2021 American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Health Summit

    This three day event will contain multiple sessions covering a variety of health practices within indigenous communities. Current topics that will be discussed are but not limited to COVID19 combat strategies being created in the AI/AN societies, uplifting women and their families, and the many factors that contribute to health. For more information and to register for free, follow the link below!

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-american-indianalaska-native-aian-health-summit-registration-163090858147

  • 2021 P.L.A.C.E. SESSION 1

    AUGUST 1, 2021 11:00 am - 12:00 pm MDT FREE | ONLINESUMMER - In our first 2021 REZILIENCE PLACE SESSION we're pleased to welcome back ROXANNE SWENTZELL who will be speaking about the “Pueblo Food Experience Project”. She will be sharing her journey in maintaining a relationship with ancestral foods, and her connection to her ancestors and homeland through food. Swentzell will discuss not only the health benefits, but also the cultural and spiritual benefits that come with a “pre-contact” period diet, and she will share her thoughts on the future and the world. Lee Francis will be our moderator and Joseph Stacy will be our visual facilitator.For more information on this event, contact rezilienceorg@gmail.com

  • Untangling Colonialism Public Training • August 5th

    Untangling Colonialism – Building a Decolonizing Framework. A decolonizing practice requires recognition of the history of colonization and its current manifestations. This training briefly covers United States Federal Indian Policy carried out dominantly in the lower 48 and its expansion into Alaska policy and the implications on Alaska Native peoples. Additionally, participants will discuss how the history of environmental conservation has mirrored colonial world-views and what possible strategies we can further in order to decolonize conservation. This training delves into the spectrum of decolonizing strategies; from various personal, institutional, and systemic pathways forward.

  • Visit Jeffrey Gibson: Sweet Bitter Love at the Newberry Library

    In Sweet Bitter Love, new works by the artist Jeffrey Gibson (a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent) re-frame and re-interpret stereotypical images of Native Americans. As he engages with the past and upends the myths of settler colonialism, Gibson attests to Native resilience in the present. The exhibition is now on view at the Newberry Library through September 18, and is free and open to all.  Learn More: https://www.newberry.org/sweet-bitter-love-exhibition.You can also hear Gibson discuss the exhibition and Indigenous material culture more broadly in A Conversation with Jeffrey Gibson and Sven Haakanson.

  • You Are on Potawatomi Land Installation Event

    Commissioner Mark Kelly of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) invites you to attend a dedication celebration for the newest installation on the Chicago Riverwalk:

    You Are on Potawatomi Land

    by artist Andrea Carlson [Ojibwe]

    Thursday, August 5th

    3:30 pm

    Pioneer Court steps (401 N. Michigan, next to the Apple Store)

    RSVP by Tuesday, August 2nd to publicart@cityofchicago.org  

  • Class of 2021 "Drive Thru" Citywide Graduation

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Reclaiming Indigenous Material Culture Flyer

    Reclaiming Indigenous Material Culture

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • The Chicagoland Native Artist Directory Flyer

    The Chicagoland Native Artist Directory

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Virtual St. Kateri Payer Circle

    Virtual St. Kateri Prayer Circle

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Indigenous Pathways Summer Program Flyer

    Indigenous Pathways Summer Program

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Indigenous Youth Chicagoland Flyer

    Monthly Meeting, Chicago Indigenous Youth Council

    Please see the attached flyer for additional details.

  • Summer Virtual Bingo, Young Native Leaders Flyer

    Summer Virtual Bingo, Young Native Leaders

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • St. Kateri Center Sunday Mass Flyers

    ST. KATERI CENTER SUNDAY MASS

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • Indian Taco Friday Flyer

    Indian Taco Friday, Young Native Leaders

    Please see the attached flyer for details. 

  • 7th Annual National Gathering of American Indian Veterans: We Welcome All Veterans

    Please join us for the 7th Annual National Gathering of American Indian Veterans: We Welcome All Veterans, honoring veterans & military personnel of all cultures, eras, and branches in a Native American way. This is a full 3-day event starting from July 16th till July 18th. It will be held at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, IL.

    Friday: Evening Veterans ConferenceSaturday: Veterans Conference and Powwow

    Sunday: Powwow, Wellbriety, and AA MeetingGeneral Public Welcome All Weekend

    Registration is required and is available here https://bit.ly/3fAj3xD

    Hotel rooms are available if needed at The DoubleTree by Hilton in Lisle Naperville. Special rates are available for groups staying for the National Gathering! You can book a hotel room here https://group.doubletree.com/CAI

    Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

  • D-Day Warriors-It Was Our War Too Documentary

    The Trickster Cultural Center proudly announces…… D-Day Warriors-It Was Our War Too Documentary is a recipient of the Gold Telly Award in Television! In honor of the D Day Anniversary, Trickster is hosting a screening and Exhibit Opening, 11 am on Saturday, June 5th. Featuring members of the D-Day Delegation live in person, they will discuss their experiences in commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. Afterward, our D-Day Exhibit will be open for viewing on the first-floor popup space featuring photography from the D-Day Delegation. The event is open to the public. $5 tickets include popcorn. For more information visit www.tricksterculturalcenter.org

    Please register for tickets here http://bit.ly/3t7sZ5y

  • 2021 AISES National Conference Call for Research

    2021 AISES National Conference Call for Research

    September 23 - 25, 2021 | Phoenix, Arizona

    The 2021 AISES National Conference invites all middle school, high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals to present their STEM research! The 2021 AISES National Conference will be in Phoenix, AZ on September 23rd-25th 2021. All presentations will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021.

    Submit your completed STEM research presentation abstract now until September 1, 2021. Early submissions receive conference registration discounts. Submit by:

    July 9th, 2021 for a 100% registration discount; or between July 10th and August 9th, 2021 for a 50% registration discount.

    Incomplete submissions will not be accepted until the date they are complete. Incomplete submissions include missing names, titles, and/or components of the abstracts.

    Once your research presentation is confirmed by AISES, you will receive a registration discount code to register for the conference. Do not register for the conference before you receive a code! If you do register and pay in advance of receiving this code, your registration refund is subject to the Cancellation and Refund Policy.

  • Cultivating Black and Native Futures in Education Conference

    Registration is open for Cultivating Black and Native Futures in Education, a free virtual conference for scholars, artists, organizers, educators, activists, youth and practitioners to convene in the spirit of radical joy, love and solidarity; building what Ashon Crawley termed “otherwise worlds,” or what Leanne Betasamosake Simpson calls “a radical alternative present.”

    Register

    Cultivating Black and Native Futures in Education, June 16–19 When: 

    June 16,  2–3 p.m.June 17, 11 a.m.– 3:15 p.m. June 18, 10 a.m.– 3:15 p.m.  June 19, 10 a.m.– 2:45 p.m.*all times listed in MST time 

    Agenda: View conference program

    Location: Online

    Details: What does it look like for Black and Indigenous peoples to know our shared history as survivors of state violence, genocide, and settler colonialism, and move together toward imagining collective liberation and celebration of ourselves, one another, our people and the land and waterways? How can we work to make educational learning spaces — inside and outside of schools and institutions — as sites of exploratory and experiential learning, community accountability and answerability, resurgence and rematriation, and the forwarding of Black and Indigenous futures?  

  • Fifth Annual Conference Flyer

    2021 Fifth Annual Urban Native Education Conference, Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative

    Living Our Values Towards Health & Healing

    The Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC) is pleased to announce the 2021 Fifth Annual Urban Native Education Conference!

    Our conference theme this year is Living Our Values Towards Health & Healing. The theme acknowledges the ways in which our values shape and support our individual, family and communities’ health, wellbeing and healing, specifically during a pandemic. Our communities have a deep history of organizing to support each other in times of crisis. This past year presented numerous opportunities for us to work together. More than ever before, we were called upon to re-imagine and create new possibilities for connecting and supporting one another.

    At the core of many Native American and Indigenous communities are the values known as the 4 R’s – relationships, reciprocity, responsibility, and respect. In what ways do these values influence how we build, support, care, teach, learn and lead? How has this pandemic helped to ground us in what’s important?

    We have invited Native American and Indigenous community leaders, knowledge keepers and scholars, students, educators, youth, administrators, helpers and staff of educational programs, organizations and institutions, from Chicago-land (Checagou) and beyond, to present at this year's 5th Annual Urban Native Education Conference.

  • Call for Graduates

    Call for 2021 Graduates

    Join us for "drive-thru" celebrations as we recognize and honor this school year's local graduates.

    When: Thursday and Friday, June 17th-18th, 2021

    Time: 12-6 pm each day

    Where: American Indian Center of Chicago, 3401 W Ainslie St, Chicago, IL 60625

    Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, graduates and their families will participate in a drop-in celebration to receive certificates, gifts, and photo opportunities from local Native community leaders and Native organizations.

    If you have multiple graduates in your family, please submit the form per one graduate.

  • Come to the Last Minute Opportunities and Virtual Tours Webinar Flyer

    Come learn about Last Minute Opportunities and Virtual Tours!!!

    Join the College Fund on May 5 at 3 pm MDT for a webinar on Last Minute Opportunities and Virtual Tours.

    Learn how to stay on track this year!

    Click Here to RSVP, and you can also WIN GREAT PRIZES!

  • Artist Directory for Native Americans Flyer

    The Chicagoland Native Artist Directory

    A free marketing opportunity for Native American artists that offer services in the Chicagoland area. 

    Are you a Native American Artists or Performer? Apply Today!

  • 7th Annual National Gathering of American Indian Veterans Flyer

    7th Annual National Gathering of American Indian Veterans

    Please see the attached flyer.

  • 2021 Annual Virtual Benefit Gala Flyer

    2021 Annual Virtual Benefit Gala

    Please see the attached flyer. 

  • St. Kateri Prayer Circle Flyer

    St. Kateri Virtual Prayer Circle

    Please see the attached flyer.