Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day
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Feature by: Jeanine Gordon, Special Assistant to the President for Native American Outreach
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Indigenous Peoples are American Indians and Native Hawaiians who have maintained their respective cultures, protected their respective homelands, preserved their native languages, passed on cultural knowledge and shared cultural traditions since time immemorial and long before the colonization of America.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a federally established holiday in the United States that celebrates the contributions and spirit of resilience of America’s Indigenous peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures.
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On this day, people can pause and reflect on the Indigenous peoples of the homelands where they reside, work, live, thrive, recreate, etc. One can take some time to learn about these peoples, their cultures, their work in relation to their lands and treaty rights, their languages, their history, their present and their future.
Whitman College is located on the traditional Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla homelands. Whitman College recognizes the historical implications of colonization and respects Tribal elders both past and present and extends respect to the Indigenous peoples of this region. Whitman honors their stewardship of the land and ecosystem and their commitment to continuing that important work.
Whitman College entered into a formal Memorandum of Agreement with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in 2017. That Memorandum of Agreement was updated and signed again at the historical Long Tent event on Whitman campus in 2022.
The Šináata Scholarship was also announced in 2022 and the first two scholarships were awarded for the 2022–2023 academic year to Aiden Wolf ’25 and Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky ’26.
In April of 2023, President Sarah Bolton created a new staff position, Special Assistant to the President for Native American Outreach. As an enrolled CTUIR member, I am honored to be the first person to serve in this role.
Whitman College and the CTUIR are taking steps forward together in recognition of the college’s dedication to help our students understand the history of the local Tribes of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples, their history in relation to Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and the history of the emergence of the college as we lift up the importance of building a strong partnership. Together, we are moving forward to create and cultivate a strong and vibrant Native American community, presence and student support program at Whitman College.
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Serin Awarded Fellowship to Complete Book Project
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Senior Research Associate in Anthropology Özge Serin was recently awarded the Wenner-Gren Foundation Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship for the completion of her book project. Her book-in-progress, titled “Writing of Death: Ethics and Politics of the Death Fast Resistance in Turkey,” is a critical ethnography of the 2,286-day hunger strike-cum-death fast among political prisoners contesting the regime of isolation in Turkey’s newly instituted maximum-security prisons. Incorporating insights from radical Black feminist thought, poststructuralist theory, post-Althusserian Spinozist Marxism and psychoanalysis, the book argues that prevalent readings of the hunger striking body—as symbol and as weapon, in anthropology and political theory—focus solely on the individual body and, thus, fail to capture a crucial dimension of the hunger strike. By reconfiguring the hunger striking body as relational and multiple, the book introduces a new understanding of resistance, not modeled on the sovereign power of life and death.
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Save the Date: Pášx̣apa Powwow on November 18
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We are excited to announce the first annual Pášx̣apa Powwow at Whitman College, reflective of our commitment to strengthening our partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Please join us on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m. in Sherwood Athletic Center for this historic event. We suggest arriving 30 minutes early, for pre-grand entry ceremonies involving welcomes and the crowning of our first Miss Pášx̣apa! Stay tuned to learn about related events during the week leading up to the powwow.
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O’Donnell Visiting Educator Lecture Tomorrow
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The Center for Global Studies presents a lecture by O’Donnell Visiting Educator Jamie Workman, titled “Fight Fire with Forensics,” on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. The science of tree ring and pollen analysis, combined with ethnographic research, offer an escape route to our increasingly lethal forest predicament, if we adopt the tactics and logic of Indigenous fire deployment. (See attached poster.)
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Housing Hunt Hoopla Event Tomorrow
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A “Housing Hunt Hoopla” event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 10 from 7–9 p.m. in the Reid Campus Center Young Ballroom. This event aims to provide information on housing options, opportunities to meet Walla Walla property owners and aid in the search for potential housemates.
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Apply for NW5C Community Engaged Learning Grants
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The Northwest 5 Consortium (NW5C) for Community Engaged Learning seeks proposals for the third annual Engage Grant cycle. Collaborative teams can apply for Partnership Development grants (up to $5,000) or Implementation Grants (up to $15,000). Projects should be grounded in reciprocal relationships with community partners and collaboration within or across campuses. Grants should address endemic challenges in the Pacific Northwest through arts and humanities education and lead to meaningful outcomes for students. To apply, submit a proposal and associated budget spreadsheet by Friday, Oct. 20. Questions? Contact Sarah Hurlburt at hurlbuse@whitman.edu.
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Please note that the Counseling Center and Welty Student Health Center are now both using the Health Center entrance (11 Merriam St.) for all appointments, walk-ins and assistance. The Health Center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Counseling Center hours are 8 a.m. to Noon and 1–5 p.m. daily.
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Penrose Library, Room 313 (Fishbowl)
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Reid Campus Center, Room G02
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Hall of Science, Room 151
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Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
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Memorial Building, Room 205
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Reid Campus Center, Basement
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Hall of Science, Brattain Auditorium
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Reid Campus Center, Side Lawn
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Hunter Conservatory, Kimball Theatre
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Reid Campus Center, Basement
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Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
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Harper Joy Theatre, Lobby
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Fouts Center for Visual Arts
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Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
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“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
Previous issues of Whitman Today are archived on our website.
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Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
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