OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Negotiating the concept of Land Grant with Indigenous understandings of place and being is critical in recognizing and acknowledging the intersection of our complex history, our current realities and our future hopes and desires. OSU150 affords us the opportunity to reflect not only upon the notion of the Land Grant but also to reflect on the Land itself, its many meanings and more importantly on our relationships to Native nations who remain the original stewards. Much of where OSU now stands is upon lands ceded by treaties signed between Indigenous nations and the U.S. Government. This relationship between land, peoples and recognition needs to be continuously reaffirmed. As the “supreme law of the land”, treaties define not only who and what we are as a nation but also who we are legally and morally. As we reflect on OSU150 and our Land Grant mission to serve the peoples of Oregon, let us also consider how we might reframe our next 150 years. In what ways might OSU not only acknowledge the long and complex history of its Land Grant origins, but also seek to advance greater and deeper relationships and understandings with Native nations throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
Throughout 2018 and 2019, in honor of developing a deeper understanding of our shared treaty responsibilities, Oregon State University will host a series of speakers and topics related to indigenous issues. We are all treaty people is a reminder to all of us, both Native and non-Native, that by learning about our colonial past we can renew our relationships with each other and move towards meaningful reconciliation.
The Little Gallery Indigenous Art Honoring Lands and Peoples of Oregon
Title: Reverence
Time: 1:30-3:00pm in the Little Gallery
Guest Artists: ka’ila Farrell -Smith and Natalie Ball (Klamath tribes)
Honoring the history and legacy of Oregon tribal peoples through artistic expressions of survivance.
As part of OSU150’s anniversary celebration, The Little Gallery proudly presents, Reverence, an exhibition showing a selection of works from Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, Natalie Ball and Rick Bartow. Deeply influenced by their Northwest indigenous heritages and cultures, the exhibition presents works that explores the artists’ native relationship to the land, as well as themes of activism, and autobiography, through painting, installation, textiles, and sculpture.
Native American Longhouse Proclamation and Flag Raising
Oregon State University and the Native community invite Mayor Biff Traber and President Ed Ray to read the original Corvallis Proclamation organized by OSU Native American Longhouse students and the City of Corvallis acknowledging Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day—thereby making Corvallis the second city in Oregon to make such a public acknowledgement. The event will be followed by the following:
4:00PM –6:00PM (Memorial Union Horizon Room and SEC Plaza)
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that is celebrated on the second Monday of October in many parts of the United States. This date is significant because it coincides with the federal observance of Columbus Day and is seen by many as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day or an anti-Columbus Day holiday. On this day, people are encouraged to remember and celebrate the many indigenous people who have traditionally lived and currently live in the U.S and its territories.
While the State of Oregon has never recognized Columbus Day, Governor Kate Brown declared Indigenous People on the second Monday of October starting in 2017.
The students of the Native American Longhouse Eena Haws welcome you to their lineup of activities for the day.
For event questions or accommodation requests, please contact Luhui Whitebear 541-737-9036 or email luhui.whitebear@oregonstate.edu.
