Tennessee Tech hosts events commemorating Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage Month, and Tennessee Tech University is offering a series of events to commemorate the occasion.
An American Indian History Exhibition kicks off the series at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in the Multipurpose Room of the Roaden University Center, where attendees will learn about indigenous cultures, crafts and current cultural challenges.
“Native American history is American history. You cannot understand where we are or how we got here without understanding the indigenous people of this country,” said Troy Smith, associate professor of history at Tech.
In addition to Smith, exhibition speakers include Sayota Knight, who is Chiricahua Apache and coordinator of international admissions at Tech, as well as Rick Moles, Cherokee, and Sabrina Buer, Cherokee and Tech grant coordinator.
The next event – Reflections on Community Immersion – will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the Tech Pride Room of the RUC, where graduate and Ph.D. students will share experiences from their first Cultural Immersion Tour.
Those students participated in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus program, which seeks to provide a comprehensive and culturally appropriate mentoring approach to FEW Nexus challenges.
First Nation’s Circle of Music will wrap up the series at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, in the Wattenbarger Auditorium of the Bryan Fine Arts Building. Performances will include music and dance representing several indigenous tribes.
“There are an incredible amount of things we can learn from [indigenous cultures] – how to build community, how to protect nature, how to find balance in life, how to honor those who came before and protect those coming after,” Smith said.
The series is hosted by Tennessee Tech’s Center for Intercultural Affairs, Center Stage, and the Department of History. All events are free and open to the public.