Dear Campus Community,
Today, we commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to honor the strength and resilience of Native peoples and celebrate the vibrant and diverse cultures, languages, and traditions that continue to thrive despite centuries of violence and oppression. On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we reflect on our country’s history of colonization, discrimination, forced assimilation, and genocide, as well as our own complicity in that legacy of eradication.
This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I encourage you to learn more about the history and contributions of Indigenous peoples, especially those on whose land we live. Here are some recommended places to start your journey:
- We Are Puyallup: A Brief History of the Puyallup Tribe (Puyallup Tribe Historic Preservation Department)
- Ramona Bennett MEd’81, Hon.’00 Named in Forbes 50 Most Impactful Women Over 50 (Last Real Indians)
- Unlearning Columbus Day Myths (Museum of the American Indian)
- 17 Books By Indigenous Authors (Chicago Review of Books)
As we seek to build a more inclusive and equitable campus community, let us begin by educating ourselves, putting in the work to dismantle systems of oppression and racism that continue to cause harm to Native communities, and celebrating the enduring contributions of Indigenous peoples.
Sincerely,
Lorna Hernandez Jarvis | Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity