From the desk of Natasha Martin, JD, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion:
We begin November with an opportunity to pay tribute to the rich ancestry, diverse culture, and sacred traditions of Indigenous People during Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion invites your reflection on the vast contributions of Native people, as well as the numerous systemic challenges that continue to impede the vitality of Indigenous communities in our region and around the country. Read more.
From the Federal Native American Heritage Month site
One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.
The United Nations has named the upcoming decade from 2022 – 2032 as the International Decade of the Indigenous Languages. In partnership with UNESCO, the purpose and goal from these upcoming years are to bring awareness to the critical situation many indigenous languages are in by revitalizing and promoting these languages at the global level.
Past Events:
Want to see your event? Email inclusion@seattleu.edu!
In partnership with MarCom, there are Zoom backgrounds available for your use this month.
In 2017, Seattle University’s Indigenous Peoples Institute, under the guidance of Dr. Roberts and Fr. Patrick Twohy, S.J., collaborated with Campus Ministry to co-create language that can be used to recognize the history and people, lands, and waters of this Duwamish dxʷdəwʔabš aboriginal territory. This statement is often used in our community to open campus events, meetings, classes, and other gatherings.
As we begin [name of event/gathering], I (we) invite us all to respectfully acknowledge that our campus is on occupied Coast Salish land, specifically the homelands of the Duwamish people.
To acknowledge this land is to recognize the history and legacy of settler colonialism; it is to recognize these lands, waters, and their significance for the peoples who have thrived in this region despite the consequences of displacement and broken treaties.
Let us take a moment to pause and pay our respects to Coast Salish Elders past and present and extend that respect to their descendants and to all Indigenous people.
Want to take your understanding and use of land acknowledgements further?
APA style guide teaches us how to cite traditional sources such as books, journal articles, and youtube videos. When we use indigenous knowledge from direct sources, like an elder or other knowledge keeper, we need to be more intentional with the way we cite their words. Many institutions of higher learning are developing a protocol to explain the relationship between the knowledge shared and the person who shared them. Courtesy of University of British Columbia.
If they are not a research participant, then you can cite them as you would personal communication. Include in an in-text citation the person's full name and the specific Indigenous group they belong, location, and additional details that are relevant to them, ending with the words "personal communication" and the date of the communication.
If this is the case you should include a general date or range of dates that reflect when you consulted with the person.
If you are an Indigenous person and are including information from your own experience or information that has previously not been recorded of your people "describe yourself in the text (e.g., what nation you belong to, where you live) to contextualize the origin of the information you are sharing." (APA, 2020, p.261). You do not need to include a personal communication citation or have a reference list entry.
The Lemieux Library provides a wealth of resources on:
Other sources and protocols:
Native American Law Students Association
SU Indigenous Student Association
