Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Indigenous Peoples Day event will show how holiday is more than ‘narratives of decimation, loss and genocide’

People in this story

Tatanka Gibson of the Haliwa-Saponi/Nansemond Tribal Nations leads attendees in song and dance during a gathering marking Indigenous Peoples Day n Philadelphia.

For more than half a century in the United States, the second Monday in October has marked Columbus Day, a federal holiday recognizing the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. After a broad reexamination of Columbus’ legacy — and a proclamation from the White House — many states now recognize the occasion as Indigenous Peoples Day. 

On Monday, Northeastern will recognize Indigenous Peoples Day with a panel presentation and discussion featuring members of the university’s Native American community. This year’s theme will be “Indigenous Community, Scholarship and Research.” The virtual event will take place from noon to 1 p.m. ET, or 9-10 a.m. PT. Ellen Cushman, the dean’s professor of civic sustainability and English in Northeastern’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, will take part in discussions. 

A rhetoric and literary scholar, Cushman has spent years researching the Cherokee language and Cherokee identity — a journey rooted in her own experience in becoming a tribal citizen. She heads up the university’s Digital Archive of Indigenous Language Persistence, a project that aims to preserve ancient Native languages. 

Continue reading at Northeastern Global News.

More Stories

Northeastern professor Brandon Welsh’s book Between Medicine and Criminology explores the history of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

New book from Northeastern professor looks at history of groundbreaking criminology study

05.12.2025
New Pope Leo XIV is introduced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on May 8, 2025. (Sipa via AP Images)

As an American, what kind of influence can Pope Leo XIV wield in the Catholic Church?

05.08.2025
Caution tape

Is a serial killer stalking New England? Northeastern experts say the evidence doesn’t add up

05.13.25
All Stories