Harvard Alumni Allyship Series: Indigenous Forum Revisited
The Harvard Clubs of Boston and Ireland, in partnership with the Native American Alumni of Harvard University (NAAHU) and Harvard clubs from around the globe, invite you to Indigenous Forum Revisited: Allyship Across Cultures, Countries, and Continents
Friday, October 6, 2023 @ 9:00-10:00am PT (12:00-1:00pm ET)
Online via Zoom (details sent after registration)
Register: Click here for more details and to register now
Cost: No charge
This very special dialogue is not to be missed! Our first Indigenous Forum, in February 2021, celebrated allyship between Indigenous Peoples and the people of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, Indigenous leaders, activists, and scholars will update us on:
- The History of Indigenous Slavery at Harvard and in the Americas
- Indigenous activism’s role in bolstering self-determination and economic security
- An overview of the November 2023, on-campus conference "Responsibility and Repair: Legacies of Indigenous Enslavement, Indenture, and Colonization at Harvard and Beyond”
Our featured speakers over this 60-minute experience include:
Ethel Billie Branch (AB '01, JD '08, MPP '08 and HAA Elected Director), Attorney General of the Navajo Nation and Founder, Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund, recognized by Bill Gates as “one of the seven unsung heroes of the pandemic” and featured in our first Indigenous Forum, will share new details on the Fund’s positive impact. Having raised over $18 million to date, it has provided direct relief while building self-reliance and interrelatedness. Collective Navajo and Hopi power to exercise inherent rights to self-determination, as well as matriarchal leadership, has been enhanced. They are investing in long-term food security, entrepreneurship, youth leadership and housing to make their communities “pandemic proof and climate resistant”, while remaining grateful for pivotal Irish support. Learn more
Dr. Kevin Waite, Associate Professor of Modern American History at Durham University (United Kingdom) and author of The Atlantic’s “What Slavery Looked Like in the West”, will provide context to the report of The Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery by examining the Indigenous enslaved and indentured in the history of Harvard and the Americas. Dr. Waite’s writing on “the other slavery” in a “transcontinental regime”. Learn more
Dr. Emily Van Dyke (AB ’03, MPH ‘09), Immediate Past President of the Native American Alumni of Harvard University, and Vice President of Communications at the Harvard Club of Seattle, traces her roots to the Blackfoot Confederacy in Montana and Alberta, Canada, and has worked in public health research on improving cancer outcomes among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Dr. Van Dyke will provide the HAA’s acknowledgement statement, which recognizes the alumni community’s debts to and connections with Indigenous people. She will later reflect on how alumni and allies can support Indigenous peoples.
Gena Kakkak, Chairwoman of the Menominee Tribal Legislature is the latest in a long legacy of matriarchal leaders of one of North America’s ancient tribes. She will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Menominee Restoration Act which returned sovereignty to her tribe and eventually to nearly all Native Nations of America. The Chairwoman will pay tribute to the passing of Ada Deer who led the sovereignty restoration movement as well as the reformation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1970s. The Chairwoman will speak about the work of The Missing & Murdered Woman’s Task Force to fight the abduction, homicide, violence, and trafficking of Indigenous women. She will conclude with a conversation about the importance of Indigenous unity as demonstrated in the Menominee membership in The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.
Additional Harvard Alumni Participants include:
Robert Manson MPA '04 - Harvard Alumni Association Executive Committee & former President of the Harvard Club of Ireland
Matthew G Hegarty '82 - Former President of the Harvard Club of Boston
Marcus DeFlorimonte, gb'95, pmd - President of the Harvard Club of Boston
Nancy Coombs - Founder of the Indigenous Issues Series and Executive Board member of The Harvard Club of Toronto
One complimentary pass per person. Valid on October 6, 2023 only. Registration will close approximately 24 hours prior to the event to allow for the login credentials to be shared.