Native American Cultural Celebration 2026
“Reclamation and Resilience is Our Story”
The history of Indigenous peoples fighting to honor our ancestors and stories remain an integral part of our cultural identity. Our resilience is defined by our pride, strength and an unshakable commitment to the present and future. Join the Native American Student Association and the James Farmer Multicultural Center, as we continue to determine our birthrights and the path towards authentic sovereignty.
Movie Night: The Native American Renaissance
Monday, November 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Colonnade Room, Cedric Rucker University Center
From the vibrant, shimmering pow wows that bring together thousands of natives in New Mexico to the new oil El Dorado of the Dakotas, this documentary plunges into the America of the Amerindians. There are currently almost 10 million Native Americans in the United States. Once confined to reservations and condemned to poverty, they are now proudly reclaiming their culture. In North Dakota, the Fort Berthold tribe is profiting from the oil craze. Thanks to “black gold,” the Indian reservation has been transformed into a small American town with infrastructure and health insurance for all. A symbol of the new Indian success story, Sean Sherman was named among the 100 most influential personalities of 2023 by Time magazine. In his gourmet restaurant, recipes are made exclusively from ingredients present in the United States before the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century. Johnny Tail Feathers is trying to reconnect with his roots by reintroducing the sacred bison to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. (Credit: Kanopy)
Native American Cultural Dinner
Tuesday, November 10 | 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Restaurants at the Top of the CRUC, Cedric Rucker University Center
Cost with Campus Meal Plan: 1 meal swipe or $15.73 flex. The cost for EagleOne or credit card is $18.17, plus tax, and $5.41 plus tax for children ages 4 – 10. The cost for UMW faculty/staff is $7.80.
Co-sponsored by University Dining
University Dining, in partnership with the Native American Student Association (NASA), is hosting a special, premium dinner to celebrate the vast array of Native American dishes. The menu will include dishes from many Native American tribes ranging from the Southwest to the Northeast. Guests will also have an opportunity to talk with members of NASA about Native American cultures and the special events they have planned for the Native American Cultural Celebration.
Being Indigenous in Jim Crow Virginia: Powhatan People and the Color Line
Wednesday, November 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Colonnade Room, Cedric Rucker University Center
Co-Sponsored by the James Monroe Museum
This historical program features author Laura Feller discussing her landmark book, Being Indigenous in Jim Crow Virginia: Powhatan People and the Color Line, and how it explores experiences and strategies of tidewater Virginia Indians— descendants of peoples of the seventeenth-century Algonquian Powhatan chiefdom— as they maintained, created and re-created their identities as Native Americans from the 1850s through the Jim Crow era.
Native American Cultural Celebration Major Speaker:
Edward Keith Colston
Thursday, November 12 | 7:00 p.m. | Weatherly Wing, Seacobeck Hall
Edward Keith Colston is a Southern Band Tuscarora and enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. His clan is Rawkwiss (Turtle). He serves as a cultural consultant representing Native Americans/American Indians/Indigenous Peoples. As a visual performance artist, Mr. Colston initiates a wide range of activities that promote tribal people and cultural awareness. Through a cultural viewpoint, Native American history and perspectives are given a better understanding.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information, please contact the James Farmer Multicultural Center at (540) 654-1044 or visit the James Farmer Multicultural Center website. Please email us at jfmc@umw.edu if you have any questions regarding disability-related accommodations.