NdN Popular Culture: Decolonial Arts and the Futures of Indigenous Sovereignty

November is National Native American Heritage Month. The official recognition and celebration of the original inhabitants of the United States began in 1986 as American Indian Week. In 1990, Congress authorized the president to proclaim the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. Every president since then has made this annual proclamation, changing the name in 2009 to National Native American Heritage Month. The period is also commonly referred to as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. 

The National Congress of American Indians describes this as ". . . a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges."

In commemoration of this time, the Dean's Fall Lecture Series presents a talk by Kyle T. Mays, UCLA professor of African American studies, American Indian studies, and history. He is the author of Hip-Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity & Hip-Hop  in Indigenous North America (SUNY Press, 2018).

The focus of Mays' talk will be the importance of Indigenous popular culture, its connection to Black popular culture, and its importance in aiding in the liberation of Indigenous peoples for an anti-colonial future.  All Cal Lutheran faculty, students, and staff are invited.

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://clu.zoom.us/j/99788885961?pwd=bUR0V3dvUkxma2VUdkFzbUpwYVFRQT09
Meeting ID: 997 8888 5961
Passcode: 486777