Friday Focus: Indigenous Peoples Day - An opportunity for healing, celebration, and recognition

Oct. 11, 2024

— By Teisha Simmons, interim dean for the College of Indigenous Studies

My Denakk’e name is Neggakk’o. It was my late great-grandmother Anna’s name and I was told that it’s such an old name, that its meaning has been lost. It used to bother me that my Denakk’e name doesn’t have a known meaning. Today though, I’m proud to have a name that has survived against all odds. You see, who I am today as an Athabascan person has also survived against the odds. For me to be here today, my ancestors had to survive for time immemorial in one of the harshest climates in the world. My late grandmother had to survive the loss of her traditional lifestyle through assimilation practices. My mother survived �ֻ�ֱ��’s boarding school era, where she witnessed and experienced the many abuses that occurred there. She was sent to boarding school at the age of nine years old and wouldn’t return home again until she was 19.

My life has been a journey of getting to know myself as an Indigenous person. It was at UAF during the junior year of my undergraduate program that I first learned accurate �ֻ�ֱ�� Native history through a rural development class I was taking. Learning of the strength and resilience of my ancestors, as well as the cycle of historical trauma that was inflicted upon us, was the beginning of my healing journey. Prior to that, I thought that the negative statistics I was witnessing play out in my life and that of other Indigenous people were just the way our people were. I was on a slow path of self-destruction. Today, after years of cultural and spiritual healing, combined with incorporating cultural activities into my self-care routine, I am serving as the interim dean at the College of Indigenous Studies.

Monday, Oct. 14 is Indigenous Peoples Day. It is a time for us to intentionally and collectively honor the resilience, wisdom and contributions of Indigenous peoples. At UAF we are committed to fostering an environment where Indigenous perspectives are both celebrated and recognized. This commitment is reflected in the ongoing work to create spaces that center on Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

This year, I will celebrate my Athabascan culture by getting together with friends to enjoy traditional foods and participating in the various workshops hosted at the university. As a part of the workshop lineup, guest speaker award-winning author, entrepreneur, and educator Lee Francis IV (aka Dr. Indiginerd) will be providing an engaging presentation on the work he participates in to reframe Indigenous representation in pop culture and empower young creatives. For a full list of workshops being offered at UAF, please visit our Indigenous Peoples Day webpage.

The presentation will be available in person and via Zoom. If you are Indigenous, I invite you to find ways to intentionally recognize and celebrate your culture and all it has been and continues to be for you. If you are not Indigenous, I invite you to come alongside us and celebrate our rich cultural heritages, and join us in advancing and uplifting Indigenous beliefs, traditions, work, voices, and knowledge systems.

Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF's leadership team every week. On occasion, a guest writer is invited to contribute a column.