MSUM Celebrates American Indian Heritage Month

View the November American Indian Heritage Month Events at MSUM:

November 3

Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month Nov. 3 with the Opening Pipe Ceremony at 12 p.m. in the Library Porch! Laidman “JR” Fox, Spiritual Advisor from Spirit Lake Nation, will conduct a traditional pipe ceremony to welcome in American Indian Heritage Month on the MSUM campus.12:00 pm Opening Pipe Ceremony (Library Porch)
Laidman “JR” Fox, Spiritual Advisor from Spirit Lake Nation, will conduct a traditional pipe ceremony to welcome in American Indian Heritage Month on the MSUM campus.

November 5

6:30 PM Not Your Pocahottie Panel Discussion ( CMU Underground)
Wondering what a Pocahottie is? Come find out! Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by listening to your peers share their opinions on halloween costumes, common misconceptions & more!

November 6

7:00 pm Dakota 38 (Langseth 104): Viewing of the documentary and dialogue with riders.
In 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Just before he awoke, he arrived at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862. Embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.

November 10

9:00 am INDIGENIZING FITNESS (CMU 101)
Learn how to work out Indigenous style. Be ready to move!

12:00 pm ANCESTRAL FOODS (CMU 101)
Learn how to eat ancestrally.

2:00 pm TRADITIONAL GAMES (CMU 101)
Learn about the culture of sports and games from Native communities around North America and learn to play a few traditional games!

November 12 & 13

7:00 pm Sweatlodge Ceremony (Sustainability House)
Laidman “JR” Fox will run traditional cleansing ceremony in the Inipi (Sweatlodge) . Students, staff and faculty are welcome to participate. Appropriate apparel for men is basketball style shorts, for women a long cotton skirt and loose fitting t-shirt is appropriate. Come prepared with a towel and a bottle of water.

November 16

6:30 pm Young Lakota (CMU 101): Film viewing with facilitated discussion to follow.

Young Lakota chronicles the life defining choices faced by three young people as they try to forge a better future for their tribe while securing their own well-being.

November 17

7:00 PM Traditional Hand Games
Members of the MSUM American Indian Student Association (AISA) will provide instruction on rules and strategies as well as play games with participants. Handgames require observation, strategy, intuitive skills, team effort, and fun.

November 19 & 20

7:00 pm Sweatlodge Ceremony (Sustainability House)

November 21

11:00 – 4:00 Native American Juried Arts & Crafts Festival (Plains Art Museum, 704 1st Avenue North, Fargo, ND): Native American art/craft items, turkey bingo, kid’s games, Indian tacos

November 30

4:30 pm McGrath Visiting Writer’s Series Reading by Heid Erdrich (Library Porch)
Heid is author of four poetry collections, most recently Cell Traffic: New and Selected Poems.

All events are FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at most events.

Sponsored by: MSUM American Indian Student Association/Activities, McGrath Visiting Writer’s Series, Cultural Diversity Events Fund, Center for Diversity & Social Justice, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Planned Parenthood of North Dakota, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

For more information regarding Office of Diversity and Inclusion events, please email diversity@mnstate.edu
or call (218) 477-2652