Updates

Rock Your Mocs
Nov. 14-20
Established 2011, Rock Your Mocs, is best described as a worldwide Native American & Indigenous Peoples virtual unity event held annually and during November National Native American Heritage Month in the U.S.A. During the Rock Your Mocs, people wear their moccasins, take a photo, create a video or story, add the hashtag #ROCKYOURMOCS and upload to social media. This creates “an online photo album” for the world to see and enjoy. Rock Your Mocs is wherever you are and also, individuals, organizations, businesses, schools, museums and tribes are taking the initiative to create their own independent local events too!

Whale Love Songs & Movement
Wednesday, Nov. 17 | 1 - 2:30 p.m. (Virtual)
Sperm Whales are the loudest animals on the planet. Their clicks can reach levels of 230 decibels underwater. They can hear and communicate with one another across thousands of miles of ocean. Join me on an experimental sound journey through my ancestral waters of the Pacific, to Guahan and the depths of the Mariana Trench. In this workshop, we will listen to electronic whale soundscapes, whale love songs, and be inspired by whale formations, sounds, and communication through dance, poetry and movement. Facilitated by Lourdez Velasco.

VCU Native Alum Table Talk
Thursday, Nov. 18 | 1 -2 p.m. (Virtual)
The Office of Multicultural and Student Affairs will be collaborating with a Native ran non-profit, Native Americans in Higher Education and Mentorship, to build the first ever Native and Indigenous Student Advisory Board and we want to invite YOU to begin these important conversations. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Myriam Kadeba at mtkadeba@vcu.edu.

Savage Conversations
Thursday, Nov. 18 | 7 p.m. (Virtual)
Join us for an evening of Indigenous literature, humor and history with celebrated Chocktaw fiction writer, poet, playwright and filmmaker LeAnne Howe. LeAnne Howe, Eidson Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia, connects literature, Indigenous knowledge, Native histories and expressive cultures in her work. Her interests include Native and Indigenous literatures, performance studies, film and Indigeneity.

Unrooting the Unperceived: Understanding and Confronting Anti-Native Sentiments in Latin America
Friday, Nov. 19 | 1 - 2 p.m.
In this talk Dr. Edward Anthony Polanco will explore the origins of mestizaje (miscegenation) in Latin America and the implicit and explicit links this concept has with anti-Native sentiments. He will unearth early colonial definitions of mestizo, ladino, and i**** to understand how Spaniards "created the Indian" and attempted to destroy complex and diverse Native cultures. Dr. Polanco will also discuss how these colonial troupes inform contemporary Latin American culture in subtle yet destructive ways. More importantly, he will talk about some of the ways in which Native communities have struggled and fought against stigma and racism and proudly shaped their own images.

Register to attend: linktr.ee/vcuomsa

For general questions about University operations, please email dsa@vcu.edu or call (804) 828-1244.

For questions about OMSA programming and office operations, please email omsa@vcu.edu.

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