The Native American Awareness Council was formed to educate the university and the wider Indiana community about historical and contemporary issues in Native America, paying special attention to the present situations of Native peoples. The group sponsors various outreach efforts in an effort to separate stereotypes from realities of indigenous Americans. Some goals of the Council include:
Creation of a Native American Studies program at IUP- Recruitment of Native American students to IUP through a cultural exchange program between the university and any federally recognized tribe interested in participating
- A NAAC scholarship program at IUP for Native American students
- Development of an internship program for IUP student teachers at Indian reservations throughout the country
- Sponsorship of ongoing educational events throughout each year
November is National Native American Heritage Month
November is designated as a time to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Programming is offered to educate the general public about tribes, to raise awareness about the unique challenges Native people have experienced in the past and continue to face, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.
In December 2006, IUP's Council of Trustees approved a resolution to dedicate the month of November to promote awareness of, and appreciation for, the history and culture of the region's Native Americans. In November 2007, the founding IUP group was officially named the Native American Awareness Council.
Contact Information
For further information about the Native American Awareness Council, please contact Abigail Adams in the IUP Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department: 724-357-3935 or aadams@iup.edu.
Photo: NAAC members and performers at the September 6, 2014, unveiling ceremony for the marker denoting the intersection of the Catawba and Kittanning Native American trails. The marker can be found near the HUB and Whitmyre Hall. (Photo by Neusius)
Indiana, Pennsylvania Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that this land has long served as a site of meeting and exchange among Indigenous peoples, including the Erie, Iroquois, Lenape, Munsee, Osage, Shawnee, and the Susquehannock tribal nations. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this place, and honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land. This land was primarily Osage and Iroquois, who call themselves Haudenosaunee. The Allegany also claimed this territory as their southern hunting lands. Additionally, the Delaware inhabited what is today Indiana County because they were pushed here through violence by the white settlers. Finally, there is the ancient Monongahela culture that is known primarily through archeological record. We join in acknowledging the elders, both past and present, as well as future generations of the Native people who are the rightful heirs to this land. We acknowledge that this place was founded upon exclusion and erasures of many Indigenous peoples. This acknowledgement demonstrates the commitment to continuing the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism. We acknowledge our responsibility of work for equity, justice, and reparations for Native peoples of this land and all the Americas.