Join us for Voices of Louisiana Indigenous Cultures

A Day of Dialogue: Healing & Reconciliation

August 15, 2023

Campus Mounds

The LSU Campus Mounds are among the oldest human-made edifice in the Americas. These two earthen mounds, at the heart of campus, are architectural remnants created by Indigenous Americans thousands of years ago.


Photo Credit LSU

Indigenous communities, students, faculty, government leaders, and our broader community are invited to join us to explore the history of Indigenous education in Louisiana, the past, present, and future. Our goal for the day is to learn from Indigenous peoples about their history of education as well as current educational challenges as well as gain a deeper understanding of the role of coastal erosion and loss of lands on tribal communities.

Event at a Glance:

  • Friday, November 10, 2023
  • 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • Huey P. Long Field House - 50 Field House Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
  • Reception following conclusion of the sessions
  • You may register for part(s) of the day or full day

 

Schedule 

The day will begin with a welcoming ceremony at the LSU Campus Mounds. At the heart of LSU’s campus are two earthen mounds, architectural remnants created by Indigenous Americans thousands of years ago – built by egalitarian hunter-gatherers and a subject of mystery and marvel for generations of admirers. 

There will be four sessions throughout the day, break out group chats, and table exhibits including Tribal Elders from various Louisiana Indigenous groups, the LSU Native American Student Association, and curriculum issues in Indigenous education. The day will conclude with a debriefing and action plan session. All attendees and guests are invited to the reception at 4 p.m. following the conclusion of the sessions. You may register for part of the day or the full day, as your schedule allows.

 

Time Session
8:00 Welcoming ceremony at the Mounds
Honored Guest: Secretary of Veterans Affairs Joey Strickland, Choctaw-Cherokee-Lumbee
8:30 Introductions by College of Human Sciences & Education Dean Roland Mitchell
8:45

First Session: Brenda Lintinger (Tunica Language Program Founding Member), Tunica-Biloxi and Kylie Malveaux, Tunica-Biloxi 

  • Topic: Educational Challenges and Promises
9:15 Break out groups 
9:45

Second Session:  Nolan Cahill, President of the Native American Student Association and student representatives

  • Topic:  What has been their educational journey to LSU? Reflections on LSU and Indigenous history, representation?
10:15 Break out Groups
10:45 Coffee Break
11:00

Third Session:  Representative of the Point-au-Chien, Christine Verdin (Principal of Point-au-Chien French Immersion School) and Theresa Dardar

  • Topic: Coastal Pressures and Education
11:30 Break out Groups
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch with Walking Tour of Mounds (Rebecca Saunders) and visit to the Archives
1:30

Fourth Session:  Jamie Billiot Dardar, Youth Programs Manager, Taproot Earth and Youth Coordinator, United Houma Nation and Dr. Channing Parfait, Houma Nation (Professor of Education Nicholls State)

  • Topic: The long history of displacement and struggle for equitable education
2:00 Break out session
2:30

Debriefing and Action Plan (developing community-based research projects, student projects, Minor in Native American Studies at LSU)

  • Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, University of Ottawa and Monique Verdin, Houma Nation, will facilitate.
4:00 Reception 

  

RSVP to Attend

RSVP TO ATTEND

Indigenous communities, if you are interested in attending or having a table, please contact us at chseproed@lsu.edu. Faculty, we encourage you to attend with your students/class. Space is limited to 180 individuals, so we encourage early registration.  

 


The LSU Strategic Plan aims to preserve our past to secure our future. LSU will continue to make substantial contributions to the unique culture and society of Louisiana, including the arts, language and communication, history, health and behavior, and education. LSU will develop the institutional strength to impact areas of the greatest need and potential for enduring benefit, including five "Pentagon" research focus areas: Agriculture and Food Security; Biomedical and Biotechnology; Coast and Environment; Defense and Security; and Energy and Energy Transition. This program directly supports LSU's Scholarship First Agenda in both education and coast priorities.

About the LSU Curriculum Theory Project

The Curriculum Theory Project is a community of internationally recognized scholars and intellectually vibrant students from a diversity of backgrounds whose primary goals are to research the role education plays in a democratic society and participate in the future of curriculum theory nationally and internationally. Curriculum Theory, as the interdisciplinary study of educational experience, aspires to understand educational practices within broad social and cultural frameworks, focusing on what counts as knowledge, and what knowledge is most valued, by whom, at what time, and for what purpose.  Engaging experience, analysis and imagination, this field of scholarly inquiry seeks to articulate the significance of curriculum as lived and explore at the nexus of subject matter, society and self its generative possibilities.

About the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education

The College of Human Sciences & Education is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development and the School of Social Work, as well as the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool and the University Laboratory School. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan. For news and more information visit lsu.edu/chse.