Winona LaDuke Lecture Feb. 21

UA Productions Staff

University Programs hosts Winona LaDuke, a Native American, human rights and climate activist at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 21, in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center with doors opening at 6:15 p.m. This event is in collaboration with the Native American Student Association and will provide the U of A with a unique opportunity to hear from an inspiring Native American speaker on real problems faced by our world today.

LaDuke is a Harvard-educated economist, environmental activist, author, hemp farmer, grandmother and a two-time former Green Party vice president candidate with Ralph Nader. LaDuke specializes in rural development, economic, food and energy sovereignty and environmental justice. She is also an international thought leader and lecturer in climate justice, renewable energy and environmental justice, plus an advocate for protecting Indigenous plants and heritage foods from patenting and genetic engineering.

In 2021, she was named to the first Forbes list of "50 Over 50 – Women of Impact," in partnership with Mika Brzezinski's "Know Your Value," dedicated to shining a light on women over the age of 50 who have achieved significant success later in life, often overcoming formidable odds or barriers. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, she also has written extensively on Native American and environmental issues.

LaDuke is a former board member of Greenpeace USA and serves as co-chair of the Indigenous Women's Network, a North American and Pacific Indigenous women's organization. Her seven books include: The Militarization of Indian Country (2011), Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming (2005), the non-fiction book All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life (1999, South End Press) and a novel, Last Standing Woman (1997, Voyager Press).

Her new book, To Be a Water Protector: Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers (Fernwood Press/Columbia University), is an expansive, provocative engagement with issues that have been central to her many years of activism, including seven years battling Line 3 — an Enbridge tar sands oil pipeline in northern Minnesota.

This event is sponsored by University Programs through the Office of Student Activities and by the Native American Student Association, and is supported by the Student Activities Fee. For questions or for accommodations due to disability, please contact the Office of Student Activities, osa@uark.edu or call 479-575-5255. University Programs is a program in the Division of Student Affairs.

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