First Indigenous People’s Day in Sewanee
The University of the South, Sewanee will observe its first Indigenous People’s Day on Oct. 9, 2023 with three events. The Indigenous Engagement Initiative, a subcommittee of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the University, along with the Diversity & Reconciliation Committee of the School of Theology, are collaborating to host educational, reflective, and commemorative activities.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years. Initially instituted in 2019, the date was formally initiated by President Biden in 2021, who said Indigenous People’s Day is intended to “honor the sovereignty, resilience and immense contributions” that Indigenous People have made to the world.
In 2022, 16 states observed or honored the date: Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, Iowa, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Virginia, Oregon, Texas, and South Dakota. Indigenous Peoples’ Day has became increasingly popular as a replacement for Columbus Day, which was meant to celebrate the explorer who sailed with a crew from Spain in three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, in 1492.
Opportunities include:
an Indigenous sunrise service at 6:45 a.m. at Angel Park with Indigenous songs and Cherokee 7-direction prayers, co-led by Sewanee alumni of Cherokee descent (The Rev. Dr. Bude VanDyke and Myra Ryneheart Corcorran);
Native labyrinth exhibitions and walking meditations with drumming with Daniel Hull, Ojibwa Elder, from noon to 2 p.m. on the Quad;
and an evening of Reflective Remembrance on the Trail of Tears with native flutes at 6:30 p.m. on the Mountain Goat Trail (Hawkins Lot), with a brief history of the Trail of Tears that runs through Sewanee, by Dr. Stuart Marshall.