Penn State recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Various Penn State affiliated clubs and organizations worked together to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day Monday; the first year Penn State has recognized the holiday.

The Indigenous People Student Association (ISPA), Student Affairs and the Center for the Performing Arts hosted the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rally outside Old Main.

There were live performances including the band Las Cafeteras, Smoke Dancers and Jake George.

Layla Seneca, a third-year majoring in hospitality management and member of IPSA, said the organization began planning for the day in July and received help from Student Affairs and the Center for Performing Arts.

Seneca and the rest of the IPSA members decorated Old Main Lawn with various colored flags.

“All the flags are the different tribes of all the students represented on campus,” Seneca said.

“I’m from the Seneca Nation. This is a shirt in protest of something going on in New York right now so I decided to wear my pride today,” Seneca said wearing a red tee shirt reading “#StandwithSeneca.”

Stand with Seneca is a public awareness campaign that educates and advocates for the importance of the Seneca Nation in western New York while strengthening the tribe’s relationship with the whole country.

The tribe originated in western New York and has been federally recognized by the nation since 1848. Currently, the New York tribe is responsible for $1.1 billion in economic impacts.

The education program manager with WPSU, a media company based in Centre County, Sarah Hamilton had a table with books and WPSU merchandise.

“We’re launching a program called WPSU reads. The book that we selected through the grant program and a big read is 'There There' by Tommy Orange, who is a Native American author and really showcases various perspectives of different voices of contemporary Native Americans,” Hamilton said.

“There There” was on display for rally members to take, along with a card with information to leave a review to WPSU and bookmarks.

Hamilton and WPSU were happy to be included: “We’re just connecting with [the other organizers] and seeing how we can support,” Hamilton said.

Performing live, Las Cafeteras joined the rally with its six band members from East Los Angeles, California. The Chicano band has two albums that are filled with spoken word and folk songs and are commonly performed with Son Jarocho and Zapateado dancing.

At the rally, Smoke Dancers descended from the Iroquois Confederacy performed a traditional tribal dance commonly shown at festivals. The dance originally gave thanks to the gods for rain, which allowed the tribe members to grow food.

Natalie Simone is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, emailnvs5790@psu.edu.