In April 2016, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard established the first resistance camp to the Dakota Access Pipeline on her family’s land along the Cannonball River. By that summer, thousands of self-proclaimed Water Protectors had answered her call to join her and her relatives at Standing Rock. The movement known as #NoDAPL sent shockwaves around the world as Standing Rock became the site of the largest gathering of Native tribes in over a century and a symbol of indigenous resilience and unity worldwide – from the Māori in New Zealand to nomadic tribes in Mongolia.
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, a former Standing Rock Sioux tribal historic preservation officer, will discuss how the revitalization of indigenous languages and knowledge systems informed this movement and continues to empower Native communities and serve as a strategic resource for educational initiatives and regenerative development projects.
Opening remarks will be given by Curtis Zunigha, Director of Cultural Resources, Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma. Mr. Zunigha is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Lenape Center, a non-profit corporation based in New York City which promotes the history and culture of the Lenape people (aka Delaware Indians) through the arts, humanities, and social identity.
Margaret Bruchac, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Coodinator of Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Pennsylvania will moderate.
Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Revitalization, Resistance, and Regeneration is presented by Penn Language Center and EPIC (Educational Partnerships with Indigenous Communities) at the University of Pennsylvania with support from Natives at Penn and the Penn Native Community Council Committee.
2019 marks the International Year of Indigenous Languages as adopted in a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly.
This event is free and open to the public. Register at plcepic.eventbrite.com
April 17th, 2019
6pm at Siteler B6, University of Pennsylvania