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STUDENT LIFE

NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS HERITAGE MONTH

Native American and Indigenous History Month Web Header 2023 - 1

 

PAST EVENTS

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Native Americans Before the Supreme Court: What’s the Latest from the Supreme Court?

Join Ann Juliano, professor of law, and Alvin Padilla-Babilonia, assistant professor of law, to kick off Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month with a discussion about a few of the Court’s recent decisions impacting tribal governments. The topics range from criminal jurisdiction to adoption to treaty rights protecting land to water rights.

This event is part of the Villanova University Office of Belonging and Inclusion's Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month programming. No registration is required. Join us after the discussion for a reception with light refreshments in the Ambassador David F. Girard-diCarlo ’73 and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo ’74 Student Lounge.

3:45-5 p.m., Law School Room 102

Hosted by the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

Spotlight Speaker Series: I Am Still Here Viewing and Panel

Hezekiah Lewis is a Villanova professor and filmmaker with a vision to provoke social change through film. Join us for a screening of I Am Still Here, followed by an engaging discussion with Dr. Lewis and a featured participant from the film, Meg Martin. In the film, Dr. Lewis highlights the story of two indigenous women, Meg and Cordelia, who fight to learn, sustain and preserve their culture. 

1 p.m., Connelly Center Cinema

Hosted by the Villanova School of Business; cosponsored by Athletics, Residence Life and the Office of Belonging and Inclusion MUSE Initiative 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

N.I.S.A. Movie Night: Rez Ball

6 p.m., Connelly Cinema

Hosted by the Native Indigenous Students Association at Villanova

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18

Indigenous Memory Work

Falvey Library invites you to a presentation on indigenous memory work in action. Historian Farina King, PhD, (Bilagáanaa Diné) and writer Sarah Newcomb (Tsimshian) will discuss their creation of the Natives Circles Podcast, a podcast that explore turning points in Native American and Indigenous history. In addition, Selena Ortega Chiolero, Museum Specialist of the Ts'utsaetne Ugheldze' Dahwts'edeldiix (Culture & Historic Preservation Department), will discuss her work at the Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax (Chickaloon Village Traditional Council).

4:30 p.m., click here to register for this virtual event

Hosted by Falvey Library 

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18

Indian Citizenship Act in Historical Perspective; 100th Anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act (see sidebar for more)

Join the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest for a panel discussion on a century of Native American and Indigenous peoples' struggle to have their citizenship rights recognized in the United States. Our expert panelists are historians Dr. Holly Guise (University of New Mexico), Dr. K Tisianina Lomawaima (Arizona State University) and Dr. Kiara Vigil (Amherst College). This event will be moderated by Dr. Paul C. Rosier (Professor and Lepage Center Director, Villanova University).

6-7:15 p.m., click here to register for this virtual event

Hosted by the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest 

 

INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 2. The law was an important and imperfect step toward equal rights for Native Americans.

Until 1924, Native Americans did not have universally acknowledged citizenship in the U.S. The 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case clarified American Indians could become citizens, but the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution was later interpreted to exclude most Native Americans.[1]

The paternalistic Dawes Act of 1887 saw the U.S. government claim two-thirds of the 138,000,000 acres Native Americans held before its passage, only 2,000,000 of which was returned between 1934 and 1953 under the Indian Reorganization Act.[2]

While not universally supported among Native American communities because of concerns about assimilation and sovereignty, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 ensured all Native Americans born within the U.S. had citizenship, though Native voting rights were not universally secured for decades.[3]

Some U.S. states explicitly restricted Native voter participation until 1957. In 2008, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives sued to have their voting rights respected under the Voting Rights Act. The Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa were among a group which sued to challenge North Dakota’s anti-Native American gerrymandering in 2022.[4]

This Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month, we recognize the legacies of genocide, expulsion, exclusion, forced assimilation, and the long ongoing fight for Native American citizenship rights.

This overview was prepared by the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest.

[1] NCC Staff, “On this day, all American Indians made United States citizens,” National Constitution Center, June 2, 2023, https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-in-1924-all-indians-made-united-states-citizens.

[2] “Today in History – June 2,” Library of Congress, accessed October 24, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-02/.

[3] Onodanga Nation, “The Citizenship Act of 1924,” Onondanga Nation, June 7, 2018, https://www.onondaganation.org/news/2018/the-citizenship-act-of-1924/.

[4] “The Indian Citizenship Act at 100 Years Old,” Native American Rights Fund, June 4, 2024 (originally published in NARF Legal Review, Vol #49 No. 1), https://narf.org/the-indian-citizenship-act-at-100-years-old/.