Indigenous People of the Americas Day Observance Planned

The University of Arkansas will host a special program of events recognizing Indigenous Native Americans on Monday, Oct. 10, as part of Indigenous People’s Day, an alternative to national Columbus Day celebrations.

A documentary on Native American history will be shown at 10 a.m. in room 503 in the Arkansas Student Union. This screening is free and open to the public.

From 1-2 p.m. students, faculty, staff and the public are invited to present readings of historical and contemporary writings by native authors in the Connections Lounge at the Union. This will be followed by a procession from the Union to the “Trail of Tears” marker in the park near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Garland Avenue. 

The marker commemorates the location where a thousand Cherokees camped during their journey to Indian Territory in 1839, over the “Trail of Tears.” 

At 2:30 p.m. there will be a ceremony in which members of Heritage Partners will speak about the historic routes through Northwest Arkansas which are part of the “Trail of Tears.” State Senator Sue Madison and Mayor Lioneld Jordan will present proclamations on behalf of the State of Arkansas and the City of Fayetteville commemorating this event.

The University of Arkansas Indigenous People of the Americas observance is sponsored by the Honors Film Association; the Native American Student Association; the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology; the Honors College; the Multicultural Center; the Arkansas Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association; Heritage Trail Partners; and the Department of Communication. 

For more information about this observance contact Frank Scheide at 575-5961 (fscheide@uark.edu).