Indigenous Peoples' Day: Not Your Mascot: The Impact of (Mis)Representation

• Event Date: Monday, October 12, 2026
• Time: 11:00 am–8:00 pm (CDT)

• Special Event

Schedule of Events

Telling our Own Stories: Reclaiming Indigenous Representation

• Time: 11:00–11:50 am
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Moderators: Kellie Blanden, Director, Center for Civic Education & Justice (CCEJ). Dr. Sang Lee, Associate Director for Social Justice Leadership, CCEJ
• Panelists: Dr. Charlotte E. Davidson, Director, Native American House. Morgan Bear, Assistant Director, NAH

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  Stories have the power to shape how we see one another. They influence how knowledge is created, validated, and carried across generations. When grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, storytelling becomes a powerful expression of identity, relationship, and sovereignty. In this spirit, leaders from the Center for Civic Education & Justice will guide a conversation with the Director and Assistant Director of the Native American House as they share lived experiences that illuminate why representation matters, why education is essential to understanding Native peoples, and how the stories we choose to tell help shape a more just future.

Community Feed

• Time: 12:00–1:00 pm
• Location: Hundley Central Core Gallery, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL

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  For many Indigenous Peoples, feeding the community, fosters connections and serves as acts of reciprocity and well-being. We invite you to share a meal with Native American House and Gender & Sexuality Resource Center relatives. Food is first come, first served!

Film Screening and Dialogue: Imagining the Indian — The Fight Against Native American Mascoting

• Time: 1:00–4:00 pm
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL

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  Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting is an award-winning documentary that examines the movement that is ending the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots in the world of sports and beyond. The film details the current uprising against the misappropriation of Native culture in a national reckoning about racial injustice that has succeeded in the removal of Confederate imagery, toppling statues of Christopher Columbus and forcing corporate sponsors of Washington’s NFL team to demand it change its most-offensive name. It examines the origin and proliferation of the words, images, and gestures that many Native people and their allies find offensive. Imagining the Indian explores the impact that stereotyping and marginalization of Native history have had on Native people. It chronicles the long social movement to eliminate mascoting.

  Following the screening, audience members are invited to participate in a moderated conversation with Ben West (Southern Cheyenne), the director and producer of Imagining the Indian, and Yancey Burns, the film's producer. This discussion will provide an opportunity to ask questions, reflect on the documentary's themes, and engage in dialogue about the enduring impacts of Native representation, cultural identity, and the power of Indigenous storytelling.

Outdoor Community Printmaking

• Time: 4:00–5:30 pm
• Location: Native American House (1206 W. Nevada Street., Urbana)

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  Bring your i-card and join faculty member Jennifer Bergmark and students from the School of Art & Design for a collaborative community printmaking experience. Create a print inspired by this year's Indigenous Peoples' Day theme and contribute your voice to a collective expression of Indigenous representation, reflection, and community.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Themed Dinner

• Time: 4:30–8:00 pm
• Location: Illinois Street Dining Center (ISR) (1010 W. Illinois St., Urbana)

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  In celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, University Housing will bring a taste of Indigenous food flavors to ISR. Visit the Illinois App or Housing website for details.

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October 2021. In 2021, President Joe Biden formally commemorated Indigenous Peoples’ Day with a presidential proclamation, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. This day is meant to encourage reflection, recognition, and celebration of the ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples. Additionally, it is a day to gain some understanding of the diversity of Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Peoples' Day Tree at Illinois

In 2018, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign planted a sugar maple tree on the South Quad to commemorate Indigenous Peoples' Day. A plaque placed next to the tree is inscribed with the following statement: This tree is to remind us of the indigenous peoples, past and present, for whom Illinois was a home prior to the university’s founding in 1867 and remains so to this day. These lands ground indigenous communities and root their understanding of themselves. The dedication of this tree acknowledges the indigenous historical context in which we exist. The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Tree graphic was created by Yanaba Schroeder (Navajo, Undergraduate Student, Major: Human Development and Family Studies, College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences) and David Eby (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/Muscogee Creek, Doctoral Student, School of Information Sciences). The graphic contains the geographic coordinates of the tree. Indigenous Peoples' Day 2026 Theme Not Your Mascot: The Impact of (Mis)Representation

This year's Indigenous Peoples' Day theme explores the ongoing struggle for Indigenous peoples to be seen, heard, and represented on their own terms. Native American mascots, logos, and stereotypical imagery are not isolated symbols. Instead, they are manifestations of a broader colonial legacy that has long reduced Indigenous peoples to caricatures while obscuring Native sovereignty, humanity, diversity, and the contemporary existence of Tribal Nations (IllumiNative, 2023; National Congress of American Indians [NCAI], 2020).

For decades, Tribal Nations, Native organizations, scholars, students, and community leaders have advocated for the retirement of Native mascots and imagery that perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Yet these representations continue to be defended as symbols of tradition, pride, or honor, often dismissing Indigenous voices and minimizing the documented harms such imagery causes. Research has demonstrated that Native mascots negatively influence the psychological well-being and identity development of Native youth while reinforcing racial stereotypes among Native and non-Native audiences (Fryberg et al., 2008). Native-led advocacy organizations, including the National Indian Health Board (2024), have further identified Native mascots as both a public health and social justice issue because of their harmful effects on Native identity, belonging, and community well-being.

This event is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, or national origin. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request, please contact nah@illinois.edu (email link).

Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Illinois is supported by:

• American Indian Studies
• Center for Civic Education & Justice
• Center for Indigenous Science
• Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights & Community

References

• Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Oyserman, D., & Stone, J. M. (2008). Of warrior chiefs and Indian princesses: The psychological consequences of American Indian mascots.(external link) Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30(3), 208–218.
• IllumiNative. (2023). Reclaiming Native truth: A project to dismantle America's invisible Indian.(external link)
• National Congress of American Indians. (2020). Ending the legacy of racism in sports and the era of harmful "Indian" sports mascots.(eternal link)
• National Indian Health Board. (2024). Retiring the mascot: The impact of Native mascots on Native health.(external link)