IDP 2024
Indigenous People’s Day Event Explores Native American Citizenship
Loyola University Chicago will honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 14 with a panel discussion highlighting the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. This law granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. Expert panelists include Doug Crow Ghost, Michele Hakala-Beeksma, and John Low, members of the Lakota, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Nations. They will discuss strengths and challenges in their communities and share their perspectives on Indigenous rights and environmental justice.
The event will take place at 4 p.m. in the Sister Jean Multipurpose Room in the Damen Student Center. Executive Chef Jessica Walks First of Ketapanen Kitchen will present an Indigenous food tasting following the panel discussion. Please click here to RSVP.
Panelists will share their perspectives on Native American citizenship, Indigenous rights, and environmental justice.
Crow Ghost is the director of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Department of Water Resources. He also serves as chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance. This organization advises the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association on technical and policy issues related to water resources. In addition, Crow Ghost is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Dakota Access Pipeline Committee and is the Tribal Interest Group chair for the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee. A member of the Hunkpapa Lakota Tribe, Crow Ghost is a traditional belief practitioner and spiritual leader who supports efforts concerning Native sovereignty, especially the protection of water resources.
John N. Low is a professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University and an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. He received his PhD in American Culture at the University of Michigan. Low’s research and courses focus on topics including American Indian histories, literature, cultures, and religions, Native identities, American Indian law and treaty rights, and Native environmental perspectives and practices. He frequently presents at conferences, including the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association and the Organization of American Historians. He is also a member of his tribe’s Traditions and Repatriation Committee. Low is the author of Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago.
Michele Hakala-Beeksma is the financial officer at the 1854 Treaty Authority, an inter-tribal natural resource management organization based in Duluth, Minnesota. She is a member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. In addition to her role with the 1854 Treaty Authority, Hakala-Beeksma is on the Board of Governors and American Indian Advisory Committee for the St. Louis Historical Society. She has a strong interest in history and works to educate the public about Ojibwe history and culture. In her work with the Historical Society, she has created resources to help local teachers offer Ojibwe-themed lessons.
The School of Environmental Sustainability will host this event in partnership with the American Indian Student Circle, Loyola University Chicago Libraries, and the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Click here to RSVP.
Crow Ghost is the director of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Department of Water Resources. He also serves as chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance. This organization advises the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association on technical and policy issues related to water resources. In addition, Crow Ghost is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Dakota Access Pipeline Committee and is the Tribal Interest Group chair for the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee. A member of the Hunkpapa Lakota Tribe, Crow Ghost is a traditional belief practitioner and spiritual leader who supports efforts concerning Native sovereignty, especially the protection of water resources.
John N. Low is a professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University and an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. He received his PhD in American Culture at the University of Michigan. Low’s research and courses focus on topics including American Indian histories, literature, cultures, and religions, Native identities, American Indian law and treaty rights, and Native environmental perspectives and practices. He frequently presents at conferences, including the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association and the Organization of American Historians. He is also a member of his tribe’s Traditions and Repatriation Committee. Low is the author of Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago.
Michele Hakala-Beeksma is the financial officer at the 1854 Treaty Authority, an inter-tribal natural resource management organization based in Duluth, Minnesota. She is a member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. In addition to her role with the 1854 Treaty Authority, Hakala-Beeksma is on the Board of Governors and American Indian Advisory Committee for the St. Louis Historical Society. She has a strong interest in history and works to educate the public about Ojibwe history and culture. In her work with the Historical Society, she has created resources to help local teachers offer Ojibwe-themed lessons.
The School of Environmental Sustainability will host this event in partnership with the American Indian Student Circle, Loyola University Chicago Libraries, and the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Click here to RSVP.