Despite driving rain, around 100 members of the Dartmouth College community gathered on the Green on Monday to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The event was organized by the Native Americans at Dartmouth group, with the theme “Indigenous Voices.” Students shared poetry, spoken word and personal stories.
Co-president of Native Americans at Dartmouth Emma Tsosie, who is Picuris Pueblo and Diné, helped put together the event. They said “Indigenous voices” started as soon as the day did.
Indigenous students gathered on the Green just after midnight to welcome Indigenous Peoples’ Day with drumming and greetings in their respective languages.
"A big theme generally, like every year, has been just asserting our presence on campus,” Tsosie said. “And I think being literally heard is a big part of that."
Sydney Hoose, also a co-president, who is Pawnee, Chickasaw and a member of the Cherokee Nation, said more events are coming up this month to explore Indigenous heritage, including a sit-down chat with the chair of the Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies.
“[The talk is] to kind of encourage conversation between Native students here about ‘what does it mean to be Indigenous at Dartmouth and an institution like Dartmouth?’” Hoose said. “And how we kind of have our community and what that really means to us."
Chickasaw citizen and Director of the Native American Program Adria Brown was at the event supporting students. She said Dartmouth has over 200 Indigenous students who come from 80 different communities and that hearing voices from those different tribes and nations highlights the diversity within Indigenous communities.
“I think there are a lot of misrepresentations out there about what it means to be Indigenous, oftentimes filled with stereotypes or kind of broad strokes of what it means to be Indigenous,” Brown said. “And for us, and for me, it's really important for us to see the diversity of the voices.”
Many New Hampshire municipalities recognize the holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but a new state law requires cities and towns to refer to it as “Columbus Day” on official communications.
