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Carlie Pierre
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Salem State University Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month 2025
Each November, Salem State University celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month in alignment with Native American Heritage Month. This month of programming recognizes and honors the rich histories, diverse cultures, and enduring contributions of Indigenous peoples — students, faculty, staff, and extended community, including the Massachusett Tribe, our many Native neighbors and those from Indigenous diasporas across the world. Through our exhibit, author conversations, and community gatherings, Salem State invites students, faculty, staff, and the wider community to engage in learning, reflection, and action — to celebrate Indigenous scholarship, creativity, and presence; to challenge erasure; and to foster meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities.
Salem State University is on Indigenous Land
The land occupied by Salem State University is part of Naumkeag, a traditional and ancestral homeland of the Pawtucket band of the Massachusett. We acknowledge the genocide and forced removal of the people of Naumkeag and their kin and we recognize the ongoing colonization and dispossession of Indigenous homelands. We respect and honor the Massachusett tribe and the many Indigenous Peoples who continue to care for the land upon which we gather. We recognize our own responsibility to this land we occupy.
We commit to continuously learning and sharing its history and that of the Massachusett and other Indigenous People who have been and remain here. We commit to develop and implement initiatives that work toward repairing the injustices continuously being committed on the Indigenous People of this land. We commit to making our own environmental impact on this land as sustainable as possible. We commit to a renewed and ongoing engagement with the Massachusett and all Indigenous People in and around Salem State.
Why a Land Acknowledgement?
A land acknowledgement seeks to honor the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. It serves as an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those on whose territory we reside, and it is a way of honoring the Indigenous People who have belonged to the land since time immemorial.
Land Acknowledgements do not exist in past tense or solely in historical context: settler colonialism is a current and ongoing process that is present in everyday life. It is also worth noting that acknowledging the land is Indigenous protocol.
A Land Acknowledgement becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and informed action. Learn more about Salem State University’s commitments here.
Community Events
Indigenous Histories through Three Graphic Histories
From November 4-November 30, the Indigenous History Month Exhibit on the first floor lobby of the Frederick E. Berry Learning Commons will feature graphic histories by Joe Sacco, Gord Hill, and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Throughout November, all three authors will join us via Zoom to discuss their work with the Salem State University community. Lunch and refreshments will be provided!
Coordinated by the Salem State University History Department, Historical Association, Inclusive Excellence's Center for Equity, Education and Belonging, the Center for Justice and Liberation, and the Frederick E. Berry Library.
Conversation with Joe Sacco
Tuesday, November 4, 12:15-1:30 pm | Berry Library Room 209
Joe Sacco is a journalist living in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of many acclaimed graphic novels, including Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde, But I Like It, Notes from a Defeatist, The Fixer, War's End, and Footnotes in Gaza. His book Palestine is featured in the exhibit. He will join us for a Zoom conversation in Library 209.
Join us in the Berry Library Room 209 or online on Zoom. In-person attendees can enjoy a light Middle Eastern lunch. No registration necessary.
Conversation with Gord Hill
Wednesday, November 12, 11:45 am-1 pm | Library 209
Gord Hill (he/him) is an author and illustrator whose previous books include The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book (Arsenal Pulp Press; featured in the exhibit) and The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book (Arsenal Pulp Press). He is a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, whose territory is located on northern Vancouver Island and adjacent mainland in the province of "British Columbia." He has been involved in Indigenous people's and anti-globalization movements since 1990. He will join us for a Zoom conversation in Library 209.
Join us in the Berry Library Room 209 or online on Zoom. In-person attendees can enjoy a fall-themed lunch. No registration necessary.
Inclusive Excellence Lunch & Learn featuring Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Thursday, November 20, 11:30 am-1 pm | Ellison Campus Center MLK Room
Join us for a Lunch & Learn featuring Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Participants are welcome to engage in person in the MLK Room over a delicious lunch, or join the webinar!
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, a New York Times best-selling author, grew up in rural Oklahoma in a tenant farming family. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than 4 decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz is the winner of the 2017 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize, and is the author or editor of many books, including An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, a recipient of the 2015 American Book Award and featured in the exhibit. She lives in San Francisco.
Coordinated by Inclusive Excellence and the Philosophy Department
From Salem Common to Conflict: The First Muster and the Pequot War Panel & Dinner
Wednesday, November 19, 5:30 pm-7 pm | Ellison Campus Center Veterans Hall
Join us for an evening of reflection, history, and community. Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program beginning at 6:00 p.m. Guests will enjoy a seasonal, sustainable fall menu inspired by Indigenous foodways, and will have the opportunity to purchase books related to the evening’s topics.
This event supports ongoing efforts with the City of Salem, the Massachusett Tribe in Salem, the House of the Seven Gables by honoring Indigenous Peoples Month through public programming, fostering reciprocal and ongoing relationships with Northeast Woodlands tribes, confronting the legacy of violence and colonialism rooted in the First Muster, and reimagining how we engage with its commemoration today.
The evening will open with a land acknowledgement and remarks from Thomas Green, Tribal Member, Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoa, who will also serve as moderator. Our panel will feature three distinguished speakers, Benjamin Shallop, Author of The Founding of Salem: City of Peace, Connor P. Smith, Educator, Nakai Clearwater Northup (Pequot, Narragansett), Educator with historical context and background on the First Muster and the Pequot War.
Coordinated by Inclusive Excellence, City of Salem, Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, and The House of the Seven Gables
Philosophy Matters Speaker Series: Indigenous Lifeways & Approaches featuring Cedric Woods, PhD
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | 12 pm to 1:30 pm in Charlotte Forten Hall Room 123
Join us as we kick off our Philosophy Matters Speaker Series with Dr. Cedric Woods, Director of the Institute of Native American Studies at UMass- Boston.
This engaging discussion will be hybrid. Participants are able to join us in person or register on Zoom. A delicious lunch will be provided for in-person participants.
Cedric Woods is a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and has served as director of the Institute for New England Native American Studies (INENAS) at the University of Massachusetts Boston since 2009. His work bridges research and practice to strengthen partnerships between Native New England communities and the university, with projects focused on tribal governance, education, economic development, and health equity.
Dr. Woods brings over a decade of tribal government experience, including leadership roles with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and has consulted for the National Museum of the American Indian, the Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Plimoth Patuxet Museums.
Coordinated by Philosophy Department, Philosophy Club, Inclusive Excellence, HSI-MSI Initiatives, The Humanities Brigade, and the Brotherhood.