Indigenous Activists Visit Campus
Justice as a Way of Life: Stories From Young Indigenous Activists
By Lainey Mankowski
As the sun was setting outside the ballroom, people started slowly filling in and joining on Zoom as three chairs sat empty on the stage waiting to be filled by three extraordinary activists.
On March 8, the event Justice as a Way of Life: Stories From Young Indigenous Activists took place on International Women’s Day. The event is a part of the 2021-2023 Integrated Learning Series.
On March 8, 3 Indigenous activists formed a panel on International Women’s Day. The panel was called Justice as a Way of Life: Stories From Young Indigenous Activists and a part of the 2021-2023 Integrated Learning Series.
The first of the three panelists was Jasilyn Charger. They are a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and advocate for native rights and LGBTQ+ rights. They are a co-founder of the of the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC).
The next panelist was Naelyn Pike. She is Chiricahua Apache from San Carlos, Arizona. She is studying at Mesa Community College in Arizona and is known internationally for being an advocate for Indigenous Rights and environmental rights.
The last panelist was Charitie Ropati. They are a member of the Native village of Kongiganak Alaska and are an environmental and education advocate. They have worked to implement Indiginous inclusive curriculum into history courses in American public education.
More information about the panelists is available on the Integrated Learning Series website.
The event opened with introductions and had quite the turnout; tables in the ballroom were almost filled and there were over 100 people attending via Zoom.
Next was the moderated panel followed by a Q&A with questions submitted by attendees. Everything was discussed from politics, to organizations, to education, to the environment, and the panelist’s personal stories.
After the event wrapped up, attendees flooded to meet the panelists, ask them questions, and take photos with them.
The reactions of the attendees were overwhelmingly positive. The Zoom chat was flooded with gratitude to be able to be able to see and listen to such a panel. There were also many people asking for more events similar to this.
The 2021-2023 Integrated Learning Series focuses on Indigenous Thought Leadership. It is made up of courses, art, speakers, activities, etc. to deepen our understanding on different topics.
They just may get what they are looking for. The current two year long Integrated Learning Series focuses on Indigenous Thought Leadership. The first event was the REDress project from this fall.
If you missed this event, there are more events in the Indigenous Thought Leadership realm coming this spring and in the next year to look forward to, so make sure to check them out!
