First Nations Week at Dartmouth

Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs • Press Release
Posted 11/06/06 • Genevieve Haas • (603) 646-3661

In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, the student group Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) is holding  First Nations Week (FNW) from Nov. 6 -12. The event has never been held at Dartmouth before and its goal is to acknowledge the presence of the Native American community on campus and honor all nations in the United States and Canada.  Attending First Nations Week will be Native tribal leaders, Native Dartmouth alumni, and Native musicians.

The Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) is an organization of approximately 150 Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, and other students at Dartmouth College who represent more than 200 nations in the United States and Canada.  NAD works to foster Native American heritage, ideas, and culture, and to promote Native issues within the Dartmouth community.  The group serves to create strong communication and interactions between members, other student organizations, as well as college offices and departments.

According to a statement issued by NAD members, the group "feels the need to not only show the strong presence of Native Americans but to help others understand our unique political, cultural, spiritual, and economic status in the United States.  First Nations Week will give us an opportunity to address misconstrued notions of Native Americans prevalent throughout the media, national holidays and popular culture."

Events are scheduled throughout the week. Highlights include a talk on State and Native American Tribal Relations and Tribal Government by Sarah Sotomish,  Lawyer and State Tribal Relations Administrator for Washington State Quinault Indian Nations and  Pearl Capoeman-Ballar, the former Quinault Indian Nation President; and a keynote address by Stacy Leeds, a Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Justice and Professor of Law at the University of Kansas. For more information about the week-long schedule of events, contact NAD co-presidents Schuyler Chew and Heather Yazzie at native.american.program@dartmouth.edu.