Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Publish Date: Nov. 23, 2021

Crafton Hills College celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day by hosting events on campus and a powerful online celebration that honored the cultures of both Native American and Indigenous people.

Attendees watched a video of the first ever Native American Poet Laureate Joy Harjo read her poem “Running”. Harjo a full member of the Muscogee Creek Nation writes about celebrating ancestors and being optimistic about future generations but also acknowledging the violence they endured and demanding justice.

Theatre department head Paul Jacques, a member of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo tribe of New Mexico, gave an in-depth presentation while sharing family photos Hands-on career training for paramedics at Crafton Hills College has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic according to Amanda Ward, director of the paramedic training programs at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa.“We graduated 62 students from March of 2020 to now, which is a typical number of and stories.

English Professor Isidro Zepeda gave a presentation on Mesoamerican Mythology and touched on the changes to indigenous cultures brought about by colonialism.

The celebration while educational was deeply moving and reverent to Native American and Indigenous People.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October to recognize Native people as the first inhabitants of the Americas.