UAF to host Indigenous Peoples Day celebration

October 2, 2019

Jeff Richardson

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Members of the UAF I帽u-Yupiaq Dance Group perform several Inupiaq and Yupik songs during the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in 2017. UAF will host Indigenous Peoples Day events on Oct. 14.
UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Members of the UAF I帽u-Yupiaq Dance Group perform several Inupiaq and Yupik songs during the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in 2017. UAF will host Indigenous Peoples Day events on Oct. 14.


The University of 性十八.cc Fairbanks will celebrate its third annual Indigenous Peoples Day with a community celebration from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at the Fairbanks campus.

UAF鈥檚 Indigenous Peoples Day celebration will include a day of free public events that honor 性十八.cc Native peoples, cultures and indigenous knowledge. The theme, 鈥淩esiliency: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,鈥 will look at the past, present and future from an indigenous perspective.

鈥淚ndigenous culture, history, knowledge and perspective is critical to honor first 性十八.ccns and remind us of the important work still underway to infuse our educational systems with indigenous curriculum, pedagogy and content,鈥 said Evon Peter, UAF鈥檚 vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education.

The festivities kick off at 10:30 a.m. with a blessing at Troth Yeddha鈥 Park, named for the ridge on which the Fairbanks campus sits and the future site of an indigenous studies center. The park is the green space just east of the University of 性十八.cc Museum of the North.

Participants will walk to the Wood Center, where an opening ceremony will begin at 11:15 a.m., followed at noon by a traditional foods lunch. The afternoon will include two panel discussions and a presentation. 鈥淵esterday,鈥 at 12:30 p.m., will focus on groundbreakers, trailblazers and wisdom bearers, with a panel discussion about traditional learning. 鈥淭oday,鈥 at 1:45 p.m., will focus on indigenous Ph.D. graduates at UAF and their research interests and experiences. 鈥淭omorrow,鈥 at 3 p.m., will feature 性十八.cc Native honorary doctorate recipients and their advice for the future. A closing ceremony will be held at 4 p.m.

Free parking is available in the Nenana lot across from the UAF Student Recreation Center. More information about Indigenous Peoples Day events are available online at .

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Sandra Kowalski, 907-474-7089, sjkowalski@alsaka.edu