Indigenous Heritage Month at ChathamU
The United States designated November as Indigenous Heritage Month in 1986. During this month, we celebrate the vibrant cultures of Native peoples, acknowledge the violence and unfair practices perpetrated against them by colonial forces, and foster respect for their claims to the land. The Jennie King Mellon Library’s project “Whose Land Are You On” and happenings around campus are great ways to get involved and get educated.
Whose Land Are You On is a crowdsourcing digital mapping initiative at the Jennie King Mellon Library. Since November 2018, Chatham students have been invited to drop pins on a Google Map, representing their hometowns, to acknowledge which indigenous groups. “Jill Ausel, the Library Director, and I wanted to create a mapping project that helped to explore where different indigenous groups either originally lived, which is now known as the United States, or where they were relocated to. We wanted to raise awareness and encourage land acknowledgement,” Codner says. This honors the land of various peoples, their migration, and relocation. In the process of participating, students are directed to Native Land, a project by Victor G Temprano which includes a map with many indigenous groups and the names that they call themselves.
Native Land by Victor Temperano
In Pittsburgh, we call much of the land and all of the three rivers indigenous names: Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny. Since Pittsburgh is a confluence of three rivers, it was an epicenter of trade. Osage, Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee), Adena, Hopewell, Monongahela, Delaware, and Haudenosaunee are all groups that lived here originally or migrated to Pittsburgh. To learn more about Pittsburgh Indigenous peoples check out the Council of the Three Rivers American Indian Center, Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Fort Pitt Museum, and the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Find out more by participating in Whose Land You are On. As an interactive display, it showcases the intention of the Chatham community to acknowledge the history, present, and future Native American claims to the land.
Upcoming events from The Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) and other Chatham events:
Native American/Indigenous Heritage Month: Providing Oral and Written Land Acknowledgements, November 16th at 12pm— A Three Rivers Council member
presents on ways to respect land acknowledgement.Holding Space on the Page: Native History and Heritage Edition, November 18th at 12pm— Reading, dialogue, and creative writing based on the work of Indigenous authors
Thanksgiving Panel, November 19th at 6pm— Discussing the history of Thanksgiving by BIPOC leaders of the Black Student Union
Black and Indigenous Wellness Spaces, November 20th at 5:00pm & December 18th at 5:00pm— Group therapy session with Dr. Darla Timbo that uplifts, centers, and presents healing practices for BIPOC students
