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UT Arlington Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration
October 10, 2022 @ 3:00 pm - 7:30 pm
UT Arlington Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration and Land Acknowledgment Courtyard Dedication
Event will be held at the UTA Libraries 702 Planetarium Pl Arlington, TX
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM: UTA Student and Alumni “Being Indigenous at UTA” Forum
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Dedicated of Land Acknowledgment Plague and Courtyard
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Reception with Indigenous/ Native Foods in the Central Library
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: “Native Circles: Sustaining Ties to Homeland” presentation by Dr. Farina King of the Navajo Nation and the Horizon Endowed Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture at the University of Oklahoma.
Everyone is invited to the Indigenous People’s Day dedication of the UTA Land Acknowledgement bronze plaque and adjacent courtyard on Monday, October 10. At 3 PM, there will be a student-alumni forum on being Indigenous at UTA. At 4 PM the dedication will begin.
The primary reason for the dedication location is the presence of the round building known as the Roundhouse Planetarium. Its shape reminds us of the importance of the circle in many Native cultures. Its use as a planetarium evokes imaginings of the first people who looked up at the stars at this site.
Attendees include a representative from the UT System Chancellor’s Office, the Mayor of Arlington, the UTA President, elders from the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and Caddo Nation and other Native Nations, leaders from the DFW Native community, and people who designed and who worked on the projects. Brief comments by a few of these dignitaries will precede a unique banner cutting that represents the disruption to and mending of Native cultures.
At 5 PM, Native foods will be served in the nearby Central Library. A presentation entitled “Native Circles: Sustaining Ties to Homeland” will follow at 6 PM by Dr. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation and the Horizon Endowed Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture at the University of Oklahoma.
Accompanying Dr. King’s talk will be an exhibit from UTA Libraries Special Collections and an exhibit of Native artifacts and contemporary artworks, including a sculpture by Eugene Brown (Miami of Oklahoma, 1926-2017), an elder of the UTA Native American Student Association (NASA), and Jason Lujan (Chiricahua Apache), a former UTA NASA student, who has exhibited in NYC and other countries. Brian Larney (Choctaw/Seminole) created the featured art poster for the day.