Stony Brook University will mark Native American Heritage Month with a public event on Wednesday, November 12. The program includes a panel discussion featuring faculty from the Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) department, a spoken word performance by Sumaq Kilari, and access to the exhibition “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art.”
The event starts at 4 p.m. in the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery within the Staller Center for the Arts. Sponsorship is provided by NAIS, Diversity, Intercultural, and Community Engagement (DICE), and the Zuccaire Gallery.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Joseph M. Pierce, director of NAIS and associate professor in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature. Panelists are David Weiden from the Department of English; Valeria Meiller from Hispanic Languages and Literature; Vick Quezada from Art; and Darcey Evans from Anthropology. A reception with light refreshments is scheduled after the discussion.
Attendees can also view “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds,” an exhibit focusing on how Indigenous language connects to contemporary art practices. The exhibition highlights artists working with Algonquian languages native to Long Island and surrounding regions. It features archival materials from Stony Brook University’s Special Collections that provide historical background on Indigenous peoples’ presence in Long Island, including a map produced by the Suffolk County Archaeological Association that lists more than 400 Algonquian words and cultural references.
These activities are organized by Stony Brook’s Native American Heritage Month Planning Committee—a group comprising faculty, staff, and students—to recognize contributions made by Native and Indigenous Peoples.