Inclusive Excellence Celebrations

Intertribal Powwow

Inclusive Excellence Celebrations

Hosted by our Indigenous Student Union, the Indigeneity Initiative, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Albert Schweitzer Institute, “Dancing in the Shadow of Sleeping Giant,” Quinnipiac's inaugural Intertribal Powwow, presented the Quinnipiac community with the opportunity to celebrate Indigenous culture and traditions.

All events were free and open to the public. These events were supported by funding through CT Humanities.

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Inaugural Intertribal Powwow Events

“Exploring Possibilities: Can Powwows Transform and Unsettle Higher Ed?” Lunch and Learn

Friday, April 25, 1 to 2 p.m., Albert Schweitzer Institute

Join us for a thoughtful dialogue and reflection on how the powwow fits within broader efforts to reimagine higher education through Indigenous epistemologies led by endawnis Spears from the Akomawt Educational Initiative. Please bring your lunch, light snacks will be provided. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Quinnipiac’s Inaugural Powwow: “Dancing in the Shadow of Sleeping Giant”

Quinnipiac’s inaugural powwow, “Dancing in the Shadow of Sleeping Giant,” filled the air with the sounds of traditional drumming and song accompanying dancers. It remade the Mount Carmel Quad with a central arena tent surrounded by smaller tents filled with Indigenous artisans and vendors and organizations providing activities and education tables.

The grand entrance which opened the powwow celebrated elders, esteemed guests and dancers entering the arena to the powerful music of three tribal drumming and signing groups. Following a prayer given by Golden Hill Paugussett Tribal Nation Clan Mother Shoran Waupatukuay Piper, Tanta-Quidgeon and Baker welcomed powwow participants and supportive community members from Quinnipiac and surrounding areas.

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Group of people participating in the powwow

Additional Past Events

“Indigenous Aid to Ireland During the Great Hunger” Exhibit Opening and Symposium

The exhibition explores the remarkable generosity of the Choctaws and Cherokees, who themselves had endured forced displacement only years earlier, as well as the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat Indigenous Peoples in Canada West, whose donations came at a time of increasing settler encroachment and broken treaties. This event offered a rare opportunity to reflect on a profound moment of historical solidarity and generosity between Indigenous communities and the Irish people, ensuring that these acts of kindness continue to be honored and remembered.

The exhibition includes:

Original government reports outlining treaty agreements from the 1830s
Historic maps of Ireland and the Trail of Tears
A sculpture honoring the Choctaw gift
Artwork by Philip Cote
A Wampum Belt, presented by the Haudenosaunee Nationals (formerly Iroquois Nationals) to Ireland Lacrosse in 2022, symbolizing the ongoing Circle of Giving

“Intertribal Powwow History and Dancing into the Future” Lunch and Learn

Participants learned about the history of the modern day intertribal powwow and how it showed up in the Northeast. Led by Chris Newell and endawnis Spears from the Akomawt Educational Initiative, this discussion also considered the role of the powwow in the context of the university and its connections to cultural reclamation and sovereignty. This event was free and open to the public.

Akomawt Blanket Exercise

Chris Newell and endawnis Spears from the Akomawt Educational Initiative led participants through the U.S. version of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise program is a unique, interactive and participatory history lesson developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and educators. The Blanket Exercise covered more than 500 years in a 90-minute experiential workshop that aimed to foster understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Critical Conversation: “We’re All Part of this Story” with Sarah E. Harris, Vice Chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribe

To help acknowledge and respect indigenous people and their land, Quinnipiac University welcomed Mohegan Tribe Vice Chairperson Sarah E. Harris to speak with the university community.

Harris’ talk, “We’re All Part of This Story,” was hosted by the Office of Inclusive Excellence for Quinnipiac’s ongoing Critical Conversation Speaker Series. Her discussion focused on indigenous communities, people’s rights and how the Mohegan Tribe works with external communities and institutions. Harris also shared a fireside chat with Jennifer Rawlings, JD ’15, tribal affairs director for the Center for Indigenous Peoples Rights, and answered questions from the audience.

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Powwow Dancing Workshop

An educational workshop led by Kiara Tanta-Quidgeon, an eastern blanket dancer, brought together the arts, cultural awareness and history of powwow dancing. Dinner was provided, and there was also an opportunity to win Indigenous-made jewelry and other prizes.