This is a past event.

All are welcome to a gathering honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 9th. This annual holiday celebrates the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island. We welcome James Rattling Leaf and Michael Waasegiizhig Price to the Michigan Tech campus. 

James Rattling Leaf will speak about leading with Indigenous cultural intelligence to advance equity in a changing climate; Michael Waasegiizhig Price will share Anishinaabe insights on adapting to a changing climate (please see their bios below). 

This event will be held in the Alumni Lounge in the Memorial Union Building at Michigan Tech from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The session will open with an opportunity to visit with our honored guests while sharing light refreshments; presentations will commence around 12:00 PM. For those interested in meeting with our guests before this event please contact Erika Vye (ecvye@mtu.edu). 

This event is generously sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Department of Humanities, the Department of Social Sciences, the Great Lakes Research Center, and the Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) at Michigan Technological University.

About James Rattling Leaf

Rattling Leaf is a global Indigenous consultant and Principal of the WOLAKOTA LAB, LLC who serves as a guide and inspiration to organizations to work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples for a more equitable world. He has over 25 years experience working with the US federal government, higher education institutions, and nonprofits to develop and maintain effective working relationships with federally and non-federally recognized American Indian tribes, tribal colleges, universities, and tribal communities. He specializes in developing programs that utilize the interface between Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and western science. He sees a greater vision of human knowledge that incorporates the many insights of human cultures and provides a context for our better understanding of the planet. Currently, he has projects with the Environmental Science Data Innovation and Inclusion Lab; North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center; Rosebud Sioux Tribe; GEO Indigenous Alliance; and the Ecological Society of America Governing Board of Directors. He is a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and has a degree from Sinte Gleska University. 

About Michael Waasegiizhig Price

Waasegiizhig Price is the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in Odanah, WI. He is an enrolled member of Wikwemikong First Nations in Canada. His role as TEK Specialist involves integrating Anishinaabe language and cultural perspectives into research methods and resource management to make science more culturally relevant. Michael received his Master of Science in Forestry from the University of Montana and his Certificate of Ojibwe Language Instruction from Bemidji State University.