Center for Tribal Studies to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day

(Tahlequah, Oklahoma)--Northeastern State University and the Center for Tribal Studies will celebrate the first Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 10 with comments from Dr. Steve Turner, NSU President, and special guest and keynote speaker, Casey Camp-Horinek.

The event will begin with an opening prayer and song from Pat Oyebi and Macie Sullateskee at 12 p.m.

Camp-Horinek, a part of the Ponca tribe and a longtime Native rights activist, environmentalist and actress, has been at the forefront of grassroots community efforts to educate and empower both Native and non-Native community members on environmental and civil rights issues. In 2008, Camp-Horinek, a delegate of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), was chosen to speak to the United Nations Permanent Forum on indigenous Issues and present IENs global platform regarding the environment and Native rights. The keynote speaker, Camp-Horinek, will begin at 12:30 p.m. and is being co-sponsored by the NSU Center for Womens Studies,

Diversity and Inclusion, and the Center for Tribal Studies.

Following the keynote speaker, the audience will be invited to participate in an introduction and explanation of Round Dance at 1:30 p.m.

At 2 p.m., President Turner will share a resolution recently approved by the Cabinet recognizing the second Monday of every October as Indigenous Peoples Day at NSU.

This day is very important, not only to our students, but for the Tahlequah community in general. Sara Barnett, director of the Center for Tribal Studies, said. It will be a time to celebrate our American Indian history and contributions to this Institution; our students are excited to know our campus Administration is supportive of their Native communities.

Northeastern State Universitys historic link to the Cherokee Nation and Indian Territory makes it the oldest institution of higher learning in Oklahoma. NSU's student body consistently has the largest number of American Indian students of any public university in the United States, representing approximately 30 different nations. Through efforts such as Indigenous Peoples Day, NSU seeks to continue and enhance the distinction as a university of choice for American Indian students.