Native American Heritage Celebration
Native American Heritage Celebration is the celebration of the history, culture, traditions and contributions of Native Americans. The celebration is recognized nationally every November, but is a celebration that lasts throughout the year.
2026 Events
Walking in Beauty: Re-aligning Modern Health & Wellbeing
The month of November, Native American Heritage Month, invites us to celebrate and learn from the Indigenous peoples whose cultures, traditions, and lived experiences are native to the places where we live and learn. At Grand Valley, we specifically want to acknowledge the People of the Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodéwadmi peoples, upon whose ancestral and contemporary homelands upon which our campuses exist. Native American Heritage Month is not only a time to honor their histories, but also a call to listen, learn, and consider how Indigenous perspectives continue to shape our communities today.
Residing on this land carries a responsibility to understand its history and to recognize the people who have cared for it and continue to care for it across generations. This acknowledgement of stolen land, people, and their sovereignty is one way to reaffirm our responsibility, but the work extends beyond these words. We remain actively committed to learning, justice, reconciliation, and fostering community.
This year, we have an opportunity to explore those ideas through a different lens. In partnership with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, we are co-hosting the Native American Heritage Month keynote, “Walking in Beauty: Re-aligning Modern Health & Wellbeing.”
This keynote offers the Laker community an opportunity to explore holistic wellness, traditional healing, and the vital role of Indigenous knowledge in higher education, which has much to teach us about what it means to care for one another and the places we call home.
Wednesday, November 18 from 6:00-8pm | Pere Marquette (KC2204) on the Allendale Campus. 1 Campus Drive, Allendale MI 49401.
Free Parking will be available in Lot H for all our community members!
Refreshments will be offered.
Featured Speakers of 2026 for Native Heritage Celebration, Andrew James Sr. and apprentice Andreas James
Certified Diné Hataałii Traditional Practitioner Andrew James Sr. and apprentice Andreas James will share perspectives grounded in Navajo ceremonial life, ancestral knowledge, and the concept of Hózhǫ́, which can be described as a way of understanding balance, harmony, and beauty in our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Other Ways to Engage in Learning and Celebration this NAHM
Beading Thursdays
- November 5, 12, & 19, 10 a.m.–Noon, KC 1240 (OMA Multipurpose Room)
- View the Beading Thursdays flyer.
Copper Bowl Making Workshop
- November 9, 3-5 p.m., Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP)
- View the Copper Bowl Making flyer.
Words are Sacred: Fostering Belonging & Practicing Accountability
- November 10, 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m., KC 2204
- A GVSU Teach-In session.
Indigenize GVSU Week
November 16-20
- Monday: Rock Your Mocs
- Wear your moccasins & stop by NLC 0137 to pick out a shirt for Tuesday!
- Tuesday: Powwow Shirt
- Wear your favorite powwow shirt.
- Wednesday: Ribbon Shirt/Skirt
- Wear your ribbon skirt or ribbon shirt!
- Thursday: Beadwork
- Wear your favorite beaded earrings, medallions, etc.
- Friday: Native Bling
- Wear your Native bling: rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, etc.
View the Indigenize GVSU Week flyer.
- Native American Student Association (NASA) x Mno’Chigewin: End of Native American Heritage Month & Semester Gathering
- November 30, 6-9 p.m., KC 1240 (OMA Multipurpose Room)
View the NASA x Mno’Chigewin event flyer.
Toward the end of the month, many will gather with friends and family as our campuses close for Thanksgiving break. However, November 26 is also known as National Day of Mourning. This observance, recognized by many Indigenous communities, invites all of us to remember the history and ongoing impacts of colonization, honor the lives and experiences of Indigenous peoples, and recognize their enduring strength, resilience, and continued presence.
Native American Heritage Celebration Contact
Office of Multicultural Affairs
Grand Valley State University
Ayebah Wilson
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (616) 331-2177