To honor the culture and people that were the original settlers of this land, November is designated as National Native American Heritage Month. During this time, we celebrate the diverse and rich culture, history, and traditions of indigenous peoples. We also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 11, as an opportunity for indigenous people to share their contemporary experience as well as to reflect on their heritage, history, and resilience. The Speakers Bureau is proud to represent these speakers that offer further insights into the remarkable history, culture, and present day of Native Americans.

Tommy Orange

Novelist and author of There There

A member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Tommy Orange is the author of There There, a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about the lives of urban Native Americans. One of The New York Times’ top books of 2018 and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, There There shows us violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power, dislocation and communion, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people. In his dynamic and frank conversations, Orange talks about the themes of Native American culture and history that inform his works.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine

National Book Award Finalist and author of Sabrina & Corina

A Colorado Chicana with roots in Indigenous, Latina, and Filipino cultures, Kali Fajardo-Anstine is the author of National Book Award Finalist Sabrina & Corina. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado, Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home with Latinas of Indigenous descent in the American West at the center of each story. In her engaging and inspiring talk, Fajardo-Anstine discusses the nature of claiming one’s identity, whether that be racial, familial, economic, or social. She speaks on the power of resiliency in understanding where you come from, and draws on her experience as a mixed race woman from a working class background to underscore identity as a tool of empowerment.

David Treuer

Author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

A member of the Ojibwe tribe in Northern Minnesota, David Treuer is the author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, a shortlist nominee for the 2019 National Book Award in Nonfiction. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is a sweeping history and counter-narrative of Native American life from the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre to the present. Trained as an anthropologist, Treuer draws from his personal experience, his meticulous research, and his books to discuss any and all aspects of American Indian lives, including popular images and narratives, common influences, and damaging stereotypes.

Highlights

Speakers for National Native American Heritage Month