Office of Institutional Safety & Equity (OISE) November 2022

IN THIS ISSUE Message from Dr. Ashley Caranto Morford Moving from Celebration to Responsibility How Museums Can Support Indigenous Communities Community Spotlight IPD, Philly Inc. Looking Forward DEIB Conversations in the Museum & HigherEd Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020 Was the Deadliest Year for the Trans Community From Our Collection Favorite Daughter by Jessie Oonark In the United States, the month of November is an annual recognition and celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Movember, and Veterans Day. November is Native American Heritage Month. However, given that we live within Indigenous lands, every month is Native American Heritage Month. Many of us within the PAFA community are settlers in these Indigenous lands, and we carry responsibilities to learn about and support ongoing Indigenous presence, cultures, and mobilization within this territory. Lenapehoking — the homeland of the Lenape Peoples, and the land which Philadelphia occupies – is filled with Indigenous life, organizations, and initiatives, including, Indigenous Peoples Day Philly, Inc., whose “mission is to cultivate an active Native American/Indigenous presence in the city of Philadelphia through cultural, educational and community-building initiatives that uplift our Native traditions, creative economies, and histories.”

Native American/Indigenous presence in the city of Philadelphia through cultural, educational and community-building initiatives that uplift our Native traditions, creative economies, and histories.” Native Nations Dance Theater, which “is Philadelphia's only Indigenous, professional touring dance company that was developed for the purpose of educating everyone about the existence of Native American artists in their community.” · We Are the Seeds, which “celebrates and educates about contemporary Indigenous arts and culture, creates opportunities for Indigenous artists, and provides positive and accurate representation for Indigenous peoples” in the Greater Philadelphia area.  At the end of this month, many within the PAFA community will be celebrating Thanksgiving. For those of us who live in this territory as settlers, I ask us to learn about and contend with the violent and ongoing colonial histories of Thanksgiving. While the narratives surrounding Thanksgiving celebrations often romanticize Pilgrim-Indigenous relations, the arrival of the Pilgrims to Wampanoag territory resulted in immense ongoing violence towards Indigenous Peoples, including the theft of Indigenous lands and the genocide of Indigenous Peoples. This November, I challenge and call on us to learn about the National Day of Mourning, which takes place annually on November 24th, is organized by the United American Indians of New England, and began in 1970 with a speech that Wampanoag activist Frank B. (Wamsutta) James delivered at Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The National Day of Mourning is a day to recognize and fight against the harms of colonization, and to commemorate Indigenous resistance to colonization. Ingat palagi (Take care always), -- Dr. Ashley Caranto Morford Liberal Arts Department

Native American Heritage Month

What Can Museums Do To Support Indigenous Communities?

Museums across the US have been complicit in and have benefitted from acts of settler colonialism. As one example, many Indigenous cultural items within museums were stolen out of Indigenous communities — and, horrifically, many museums across the US continue to have the ancestral remains of Indigenous community members. Towards being accountable to these harms, some museums have been participating in repatriation initiatives, including the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Founders Museum, after many years of Indigenous community members mobilizing and calling on cultural institutions to take responsible and accountable action. As part of PAFA’s role in being accountable and in contending with settler colonialism, in September 2022, PAFA moved to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day, a holiday that has romanticized the violent acts and legacy of the colonizer Christopher Columbus. Now, the institution is working to craft a territorial acknowledgement, which will recognize that PAFA occupies Lenape territory. This will be a long-term process and commitment, as a territorial acknowledgement must be more than mere words — it comes with ongoing accountabilities, and must include direct actions that involve centering Lenape voices, perspectives, and sovereignty. These are important starting points for PAFA as an institution and community — but they are only starting points in what must be a life-long commitment. What the institution’s responsibilities are — and what our responsibilities as artists who are making art, educators who are teaching about art, and curators who are sharing art with the public on these Lenape lands — is something we must always be learning about, contending with, and working to be accountable to, this month and every single month. Philadelphia always has been and always will be Indigenous land filled with the beauty of Indigenous life. -- Dr. Ashley Caranto Morford Liberal Arts Department

How Can Museums Deepen Their Commitments to Native... Velma Kee Craig never expected to be where she is today. A poet, filmmaker, and weaver who grew up on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona, she had aspired to play a role in supporting and preserving the work of Native American artists like... Read more mellon.org North American museums face a reckoning on Indigenous rights Ongoing Indigenous protests across the US and Canada are forcing cultural institutions to engage, often for the first time, in an increasingly unavoidable question-who owns the land on which museums stand, and how do they properly recognise the... Read more www.theartnewspaper.com

Community Spotlight: Indigenous People's Day Philly

Since 2017, IPD, Philly Inc. produces an annual cultural festival and awareness campaign for “Indigenous Peoples Day” and since 2019 IPD, Philly Inc. celebrate this Native-American social justice movement at Shackamoxon (or known as Penn Treaty Park). In addition throughout the year, the organization and community network shares relevant resources and informative news articles focused on Indigenous issues through our online platforms. IPD, Philly Inc. remains at the forefront of conversations regarding Indigenous sovereignty, immigration, and environmental justice. IPD, Philly, Inc. has also cultivated a substantial presence in Philadelphia and have been successful in connecting with Indigenous people living in other regions throughout the Americas and worldwide.

Learn Morn about Indigenous Peoples Day, Philly Inc.

On Monday October 10, 2022 Indigenous Peoples Day, Philly Inc. held its fourth annual Indigenous Peoples Day cultural festival in Shackamoxon (Penn Treaty Park) with a two day digital awareness event. The event "brought Native artists and dignitaries to share their unique perspectives on how important is to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ History and Heritage across the nation instead of celebrating the myth of Christopher Columbus." The annual celebration and teach-in was initiated in 2017 because the founding committee (Priscilla Bell, Mabel Negrete and Stephanie Mach) noticed that at every corner in the city, the heritage and history of the Lenni-Lenape (original inhabitants of Lenapehoking – today’s eastern PA, NJ, NY and DE), and other Native peoples of the Americas (Taíno , Mexica, Zapotec, Quechua, Mayan, Diné, Mohawks, Wampanoag, Cherokee, Lakota, and etc) who live in the city, are underrepresented or completely erased from public spaces, media, discourses, and education. For these reasons in 2017, the committee decided to celebrate and use this day of Indigenous resistance as a celebration and teach-in moment for the greater Philadelphian public. At the time, the goals were to: To uplift the history and to support tribal representation of all the Lenape tribes across Lenapehoking and those in the diaspora. They were among the first Indigenous peoples to confront the Dutch, English, French invasion 400 years ago. To uplift the history and representation of the Taíno (Indigenous Caribbean) communities. They are the first Indigenous people to confront about 527+ years ago the Spanish Invasion in the Caribbean Islands which from there, they spread throughout the North, Central and South Americas. Also Philadelphia has one of the largest Boriken communities. To support and uplift the voices, traditions, creative-economies and histories of the Native peoples of all over the Americas living in the region; To build overtime the community support to leverage the replacement of Columbus Day for an Indigenous Peoples’ Day statewide that will aim to uplift the Lenape, Taino and other Native voices.

On Friday October 28, 2022, IPD, Philly hosted a 1-hour Lunch and Learn workshop. Through a panel presentation and a series of interactive activities, this one-hour online introductory workshop provided participants with the opportunity to learn about Indigenous histories, presence, and issues in Philadelphia and the US, and begin to envision and develop concrete plans of action that will help support PAFA’s efforts to confront and challenge settler-colonial legacies, and to center and celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day and Indigenous studies in their educational and curatorial practices from Lenapehoking –the ancestral land of the Lenni-Lenape. This workshop is part of our PAFA's ongoing efforts to support and center Indigenous studies, Indigenous worldviews, and Indigenous communities here at PAFA and in arts institutions more broadly.

Missed the Festival? Rewatch the Indigenous Peoples Day Festival held at Shackamaxon on 10.10.22

Looking Forward: Museum Indigenous Peoples Museum Network - American Alliance of ... AAM Professional Networks The Indigenous Peoples Museum Network (formerly Native American and Museum Collaboration Network) highlights issues relevant to museums and Indigenous peoples by creating a forum for inclusive dialogue in various... Read more www.aam-us.org Looking Forward: HigherEd Colleges must critically examine how they educate Native ... Over the course of the last decade, more and more colleges and universities have found their way to a muddled quasi apology to Indian Country through land acknowledgment ceremonies -- symbolic gatherings where a college admits that its campus is... Read more www.insidehighered.com

PAFA Salutes Our Veterans

How Businesses Can Support Veterans Reentering the Workforce This Veteran's Day, examine how your hiring practices and workplace culture can be more inclusive for veterans. At Kindred, we believe in responsible and empathetic leadership, which means supporting and empowering veterans as vital members of... Read more kindredmembers.com

How Employers Can Support Veterans in the Workplace The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are approximately 18.8 million veterans in the United States. The veteran population accounts for almost 8% of the total noninstitutionalized population of men and women over the age of 18. There... Read more www.military.com

UDC Forum: Veterans of Color Documentary

Transgender Day of Remembrance

"Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice." -- Gwendolyn Ann Smith Founder, Transgender Day of Remembrance

Say their Names TDOR: In Memoriam We remember the names of the transgender people whose lives have been lost to anti-trangender violence over the years and continue to demand increased and accurate media coverage of transgender people in their lives and in death. Read more www.glaad.org

Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in honor of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. What began as a vigil for one soon came to commemorate all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) began collecting data on trans violence in 2013. In 2020 HRC reports 44 total violent deaths of transgender or gender non-conforming people, making 2020 the deadliest year for trans people. The majority of these deaths in 2020 were Black and Latinx transgender women. HRC reports that 43 deaths have already occurred in 2021. Image Source:Jesse Costa/WBUR

Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19, 2022) is celebrated one week before Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Disclosure Documentary (Netflix)

DISCLOSURE is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their reactions and resistance to some of Hollywood’s most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment (1914), Dog Day Afternoon, The Crying Game, and Boys Don’t Cry, and with shows like The Jeffersons, The L-Word, and Pose, they trace a history that is at once dehumanizing, yet also evolving, complex, and sometimes humorous. What emerges is a fascinating story of dynamic interplay between trans representation on screen, society’s beliefs, and the reality of trans lives. Reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters in a new light, director Sam Feder invites viewers to confront unexamined assumptions, and shows how what once captured the American imagination now elicit new feelings. DISCLOSURE provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people.

From Our Collection

Favorite Daughter by Jessie Oonark

More by Jessie Oonark

We challenge you to check PAFA’s Diversity Awareness Calendar monthly and attend monthly OISE sponsored events. The purpose of this calendar is to celebrate and raise awareness of religious obligations, ethnic and cultural festivities, and significant events that may affect students, colleagues, and friends in the PAFA community.  Office of Institutional Safety & Equity Being an ally for a S.A.F.E. Community at PAFA