Indige-Facts Exhibit

Location: North Lounge (Main Level), Illini Union (1401 W. Green St., Urbana)

The Native American House invites you to view Indige-Facts, a traveling exhibit produced by the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian. It is common for people to have questions about the lives and experiences of Native peoples. Still, knowing where to find answers or who to ask can be challenging. That is why the Mitchell Museum has set out to share information about Native Americans with the public through Indige-Facts.

To learn more about the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian: mitchellmuseum.org/

Indigenous Librarianship Webinar

Time: Noon to 1 pm
Location: Online

Register for this event

Join Library Trends for a glimpse into the current state of Indigenous librarianship in North America. Library Trends, a premier journal of the iSchool, is an essential tool for librarians and educators alike. The School of Information Sciences will host a series of lightning talks based on three articles published in the forthcoming Library Trends 72 (1), “Indigenous Librarianship.”

More information

The iSchool’s most recently published edition of Library Trends, 72 (1) Indigenous Librarianship explores Indigenous policies and practices in libraries. Johns Hopkins is providing open access to this issue for the entire month of November in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

More information

The American Indian College Fund: Supporting AI/AN Students in Higher Education

Time: Noon to 1 pm
Location: Room 3080, OVCDEI (614 E Daniel St., Third Floor, Champaign)

David Sanders is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. He was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and grew up in the rural Oglala community on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He is the Vice President of Research, Evaluation and Faculty Development. He oversees all aspects of research and program evaluation, including the development of the College Fund’s research agenda and sponsored program lines of inquiry. He assists and guides the use of research data and evaluation to demonstrate the impact of the College Fund’s programming. Dr. Sanders will deliver a noontime talk about how the College Fund contributes to the Native American Heritage Month theme of Supporting Equitable Outcomes for Native Students in Higher Education.

Lunch will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

American Indian College Fund Scholarship and Fellowship Information Session + Dinner

Time: 5:30 to 7 pm
Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana)

The Native American House invites Dr. David Sanders to engage with Native students about the opportunities available to them through the American Indian College Fund.

Dinner will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

Native American Heritage Month: Native-themed Dinner

Time: 4:30 to 8:30 pm
Location: Pennsylvania Avenue (PAR) Dining Hall (906 W College Ct, Urbana)

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, University Housing will bring a taste of Native food flavors to PAR. The Native American House will have twenty (20) meal tickets to give away for this program. Please stop by the Native American House before November 7 to pick one up!

More Than a Word: Film Screening and Discussion

Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Pennsylvania Avenue (PAR) Dining Hall, Carr 111A

Join the Native American House as they host a viewing and discussion of More than a Word. More Than a Word offers a fascinating look inside the growing movement to change the name of the Washington R*dskins football team. Directed by brothers John and Kenn Little, who are members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, the film traces how the word "r*dskin" evolved from being a term of racist derision and slander to being embraced as the name of one of the NFL's most beloved franchises. It also draws on the voices of Native American activists and scholars to place this controversy within the wider context of Native American history and racial stereotyping more generally. More Than a Word is an ideal classroom resource for clarifying what's truly at stake in contemporary debates about cultural appropriation and Native American-themed mascots.

Indigenous Scholar Meetup

Time: 5 to 7 pm
Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana)

The Native American House and the Graduate College at Illinois invite Indigenous scholars to build relationships with one another while learning about graduate student opportunities available through the Graduate College. Door prizes and dinner will be provided!

This event is open to current undergraduate and graduate Indigenous scholars, Indigenous staff, faculty, and Indigenous-allied scholars at Illinois.

Day Trip: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art

Time: 8 am to 8 pm

University Housing’s Residential Life Inclusion and Leadership and Native American House invite on-campus residents to participate in a day-trip to Indianapolis, Indiana to visit the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.

Register for this event

Rock Your Mocs

Time: All Day
Location: Everywhere

Rock Your Mocs is a worldwide Native American & Indigenous Peoples’ virtual unity event. This weeklong event is held annually during National Native American Heritage Month. During Rock Your Mocs, people wear their moccasins and share photos and videos to create an Indigenous photo album around the world. Join the Native American House this year by using the hashtags, #RockYourMocs #NAHIllinois.

Native Forward Scholars Fund: Empowering Native Scholars and Increasing Visibility Through Higher Education

Time: Noon to 1 pm
Location: Room 3080, OVCDEI (614 E Daniel St., Third Floor, Champaign)

Sara Barnett is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and serves as the Associate Director of Student Programming for the Native Forward Scholars Fund. Throughout its 50-year history, Native Foward has empowered over 22,000 students from over 500 Tribes in all 50 states by providing scholarship dollars and support for service for undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. Sara will deliver a noontime talk about how Native Forward contributes to the Native American Heritage Month theme of Supporting Equitable Outcomes for Native Students in Higher Education.

Lunch will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

Native Forward Scholars Fund Information Session + Dinner

Time: 5:30 to 7 pm
Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana)

The Native American House invites Sara Barnett, Associate Director of Student Programming, to engage with Native students about the opportunities available to them through the Native Forward Scholars Fund.

Dinner will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

Native American Heritage Month: Native-themed Dinner

Time: 4:30 to 8:30 pm
Location: Lincoln Avenue (LAR) Dining Hall (1005 S Lincoln Ave, Urbana)

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, University Housing will bring a taste of Native food flavors to LAR.

Ancestral Futures: Creating an Aesthetics of Resistance Through Indigenous Performance

Time: 4:30 pm
Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum of World Cultures (600 S. Gregory St., Urbana)

GAM Visiting Artist Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock) and University of Illinois Professor of Anthropology Brenda Farnell’s recent book, Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way: Mapping Indigenous Embodied Performance (2023) chronicles a story of collaborative embodied exploration, land, and archival research mobilized to serve an Indigenous dramaturgy. What emerges is an intersection of Indigenous literacies grounded in body, land, story, and language. Blurring the lines between artist and scholar they ask, How do we create an Indigenous theater that moves beyond the “victim narrative” while embracing an aesthetics of resistance?

Native Chicago Jam

Time: 7 pm
Location: Courtyard Cafe, Illini Union (1401 W. Green St., Urbana)

The Illini Union Board invites an ensemble of Chicago-based Native musical performers as the Musical Mondays act for Native American Heritage Month. Native Chicago Jam includes the following performers: William Buchholtz (Algonquin/Métis), Mark Jourdan (Ho-Chunk/Oneida), Lanialoha Lee (Native Hawaiian), Amber Roy (Norther Paiute/M’Chigeeng Ojibwe), and Dr. Dorene Wiese (White Earth Ojibwe).

American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES): Increasing Indigenous Representation in STEM

Time: Noon to 1 pm
Location: Room 3070, OVCDEI (614 E Daniel St., Third Floor, Champaign)

Dr. Johnny Poolaw is a citizen of the Delaware Nation and is also a descendant of the Chiricahua Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Nations. Dr. Poolaw serves as the Director of Student Success for AISES. In this role, Dr. Poolaw oversees the Student Success Division within the Programs Department in developing and implementing student success programming, including developing and providing a holistic suite of college student services. Dr. Poolaw will deliver a noontime talk about how AISES contributes to the Native American Heritage Month theme of Supporting Equitable Outcomes for Native Students in Higher Education.

Lunch will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

AISES Scholarship and Internship Information Session + Dinner

Time: 5:30 to 7 pm
Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana)

The Native American House invites Dr. Johnny Poolaw to engage with Native students about the opportunities available to them through the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

Dinner will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

The Cobell Scholarship: Providing Opportunities for High-Achieving and Community-Involved Native College Students

Time: Noon to 1 pm
Location: Room 3080, OVCDEI (614 E Daniel St., Third Floor, Champaign)

Melvin Monette-Barajas is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (North Dakota) and serves as the CEO and President of Indigenous Education, Inc., a non-profit corporation expressly created to administer the scholarship program. Melvin enjoys creating and maintaining partnerships for the organization and hearing “I’m a Cobell Scholar!” from students when he travels. Melvin will deliver a noontime talk about how the Cobell Scholarship contributes to the Native American Heritage Month theme of Supporting Equitable Outcomes for Native Students in Higher Education.

Lunch will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

Cobell Scholarships and Fellowships: Information Session + Dinner

Time: 5:30 to 7 pm
Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana)

The Native American House invites Melvin Monette-Barajas to engage with Native students about the scholarships and fellowships available to them through the Cobell Scholarship.

Dinner will be provided. Food is first come, first served.

Native American Heritage Month: Native-themed Dinner

Time: 4:30 to 8 pm
Location: Ikenberry (IKE) Dining Hall (301 E. Gregory Dr., Champaign)

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, University Housing will bring a taste of Native food flavors to IKE. The Native American House will have twenty (20) meal tickets to give away for this program. Please stop by the Native American House before November 21 to pick one up!

Fancy Dance: Film Screening and Discussion

Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Student Dining and Residential Programs (SDRP), Room 2025A

Join the Native American House as they host a viewing and discussion of Fancy Dance. Fancy Dance is a 2023 drama film about a Seneca-Cayuga woman named Jax (Lily Gladstone) who cares for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) after her sister goes missing. The film explores the forced separation of Native American children from their families and culture, and the indifference of the world beyond the reservation. It also focuses on the importance of family, culture, and community.