UTA Land Acknowledgement Resource Center

Please see the post immediately below this one for the map and location of events. For questions, please contact Les Ridingin (ridingin@uta.edu).

3-4 PM  Forum: “Being Indigenous at UTA”

Moderators: NASA President, Sampson Dewey; Past President, Kristy Willis; VP, Stephen Silva Brave

            Anticipated Participants include current students, as well as a 1980’s alumna (community leader,             Peggy Larney, OK Choctaw) and past NASA leaders from the 1990s and early 2000s

 4-5 PM Presentation of the Land Acknowledgement and Site Dedication

The Acknowledgement reading and dedication will be introduced by Samson Dewey and Kristy Willis.

Amber Silverhorn-Wolfe, Education Services Administrator, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes

Diana Parton, CEO of Prolora LLC, citizen of the Caddo Nation

Site Dedication read by Dr. Jennifer Cowley, University of Texas at Arlington President

Speakers

Dr. Jennifer Cowley, UTA President

Dr. Tamara L. Brown (UTA Provost, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs)

Dr. Nichole Prescott (Myaamia/Miami Nation of Oklahoma, UT System Office of Academic Affairs)

Amber Silverhorn-Wolfe (Education Services Administrator, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes)

Diana Parton (CEO Prolora LLC, Caddo Nation)

David Hopman (UTA Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture)

Darryl Lauster (recorded, UTA Professor, Art)

Sampson Dewey (Paiute, NASA President)

Dr. Ken Roemer (former NASA Advisor, Emeritus UT System Academy of Dist. Teachers)

Dr. Les Riding In (Pawnee/Osage, NASA Advisor, Chair of Acknowledgement Committee,

              CoLA Assistant Dean)

Mayoral Proclamation, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross (Cherokee)

Cutting of the Banner Explained by NASA Past Presidents Dr. Robert Caldwell (Choctaw-Apache) and      Stephanie Vielle (Blackfeet)

Unveiling the Monument/Plaque Performed by Sampson and past NASA Presidents and leaders

5-6 PM: Central Library, 6^th floor Events and Displays

              Native Foods Tasting: Kristy Willis (OK Choctaw); Pauline Longfox (MS Choctaw)

              Exhibit “Native Now”: Contemporary artworks by Native artists & Artifacts display

                             Exhibits created by Leah Mccurdy, Senior Lecturer, Art; Morgan Chivers,

                             FabLab Librarian; Ashley Lemke, Associate Professor, Sociology-Anthropology

              Slide Show: The transformation of the roundhouse and courtyard; NASA events.

                             Created by Stephen Silva Brave (Lakota), NASA Vice President

6 PM Central Library, 6^th floor: “Native Circles: Sustaining the Homeland,” Dr. Farina King, (Diné) Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture, University of Oklahoma

UT Arlington will host the First Annual Indigenous People’s Day on Monday, October 10^th, from 3pm to 7pm. The day will start at 3pm with a student and alumni forum entitled Being Indigenous at UTA. This will be immediately followed by the ribbon cutting to the newly renovated Land Acknowledgement Courtyard and the unveiling of the Land Acknowledgement bronze plaque and monument. Invited speakers include UTA President Dr. Jennifer Cowley, Provost Dr. Tamara Brown, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, and members of the DFW Native American Community. Both events will be outside directly north of the Central Library.

The primary reason for the dedication location is the presence of the round building known as the Roundhouse Planetarium. Its shape reminds us of the importance of the circle in many Native cultures. Its use as a planetarium evokes imaginings of the first people who looked up at the stars at this site. 

At 5pm, the event moves to the Library Atrium, located on the 6^th Floor of the Central Library for a Native Food Tasting featuring selections from traditional Native American dishes. At 6pm, Dr. Farina King (Diné) will present Native Circles: Sustaining Ties to HomeLand. Dr. King is the Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture at the University of Oklahoma. Accompanying her presentation is Native Now, a curated exhibit featuring selections from UTA Libraries Special Collections, artifacts, and contemporary artistic works. Some of the featured artists include UTA alumnus Jason Lujan (Chiricahua Apache), whose work has been exhibited in NYC and other countries, and Brian Larney (Choctaw/Seminole) who produced the event imagery.   

Click on the poster twice below to see it in a larger format. 

GRAND OPENING OF THE UTA LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT COURTYARD (NORTH OF CENTRAL LIBRARY)

3 pm–Being Indigenous at UTA: Student and Alumni Forum

4 pm–Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Monument Unveiling

JOIN US AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY 6th FLOOR ATRIUM

5 pm-Indigenous Food Tasting and Native Now Art Exhibit 

6 pm–Native Circles: Sustaining Ties to HomeLand-Dr. Farina King (Diné), Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture, University of Oklahoma

All events are free and open to the public. ASL interpreters will attend. 

Please contact RidingIn@uta.edu for additional accommodation inquiries and needs.

Many people have this Indigenous Peoples’ Day off; so, we are hoping you will attend. If they wish, people are welcome to wear their regalia.   

Sponsored by Native American Student Association, Office of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion, College of Liberal Arts, Art & Art History Department, Honors College, UTA Libraries, Landscape Architecture Program, Office of Cultural Engagement and Social Change, and Office of Administration and Economic Development. 

Please share about this event on social media!

#indigenouspeoplesday 

#IndigenousPeoplesDayCelebration

#UTALandAcknowldgment

#UTArlingtonLandAcknowldgment

#UTAIPD

#IPD2022

#WeAreStillHere

#InvisibleNoMore