The final lineup of panelists and performers has been set for HPL’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration, taking place on Monday, October 12 at 6 pm.
The program, called “Indigenous Futures,” will be shown live on HPL’s Facebook Page.
This Indigenous Peoples’ day join HPL and the Greater Hartford Arts Council to hear local Indigenous peoples’ visions for tomorrow. Over the summer we saw Indigenous artists and organizers shifting culture and society in conjunction with the Black Lives Matter movement: taking down statues of Christopher Columbus and other colonizers around the world, continuing to fight for and win legal victories in land treaties, and changing the name of the Washington Football Team are just a few examples. How do we continue decolonizing the land, our communities, as well as our minds and hearts? What does a pro-Indigenous future look like? Hear perspectives from Indigenous artists, academics, and community leaders.
Featuring panelists Meghanlata Gupta, Melissa Wesaw, Kaleb Garrett, Leslie Caromile, Mark Allen, and moderated by Patricia Kelley.
Featuring performances from Lee Mixashawn Rozie and Bobby Sanchez.
Panelist and Artist Bios:
Meghanlata Gupta (Bahweting Anishinaabe, Mikinaak Doodem) is a current senior at Yale University and president of the Association of Native Americans at Yale. Her research and organizing work focuses on Indigenous education, history, and advocacy. She is the founder of Indigenizing the News, a digital magazine dedicated to Indigenous contemporary news.
Kaleb J Garrett is a Hartford resident of mixed heritage. He is African American and Native American of Nansemond, Haliwa Saponi and Tuscarora tribes.
Melissa Wesaw is a member of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation located in Kent, Connecticut. Wesaw graduated from Rivier College with my B.A., then attended PLSI in Albuquerque, New Mexico and obtained a law degree at Michigan State University College of Law. After law school Wesaw worked as an attorney on the Wind River Reservation as a public defender and a prosecutor for child support. Wesaw now lives in Connecticut with her husband and children.
Patricia Kelley is a former U.S. marine, award-winning community leader and equestrian trailblazer with a storied history as a Black cowgirl, Patricia E. Kelly has been at the helm of the Hartford, CT-based non-profit youth organization Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. Equestrian & Agricultural Center for the past 30+ years.
Lee Mixashawn Rozie is an internationally known jazz performer, educator, grandfather and longtime resident of Hartford. From the community known as the Windsor Indians.
Bobby Sanchez is Peruvian American born and raised in New York. Sanchez is a full time performing artist, performing mostly poetry and hip hop music, teaching music & poetry workshops at New York Schools, and curating local shows in the NY area.
Mark Allen
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