Mills marked the kick-off of Native American Heritage Month last Wednesday with music, frybread and discussion in Adams Plaza, where Native American Sisterhood Alliance members introduced this year’s theme of indigenous community activism and repatriation, the return of sacred sites, artifacts and ancestral remains to the tribal nations to which they belong.
NASA sold the frybread to raise funds for the Shellmound Peace Walk, which is a two-week long walking tour around the Bay Area, visiting ancient shellmound burial sites of several local nations and honoring indigenous ancestors. The Walk takes place between Nov. 14 and 28, starting in Glen Cove in Vallejo and ending at Bay Street Mall in Emeryville, which is built on top of a shellmound burial site.
More events are planned for November, including a Native American dance performance and panel on repatriation in the Student Union this Thursday at 7 p.m. Among the indigenous activists who will speak on local and state-wide repatriation issues is Morning Star Gali, a Mills student, and chairwoman of the Intertribal Friendship House, on International Boulevard.
Founders will present the Native American Heritage dinner on Nov. 20, and the event “Shake the Feathers, Indigenous Artists Against Aids” happens at 6 p.m. the next night in the faculty/staff dining room, which will feature food, live music and performance art, as well as on-site testing.
