Whitman College Native American Outreach

10/06/2026

Save the date for our 3rd annual Indigenous Day Powwow hosted in the Eagle's Nest. Everyone in the community is welcome to join us for this special day. Grand entry begins at 12:45.

10/05/2026

Mark your calendars!
Our 4th Annual First Foods Film Festival at Whitman College is November 13-14, 2026!
FRIDAY
Guest Speaker, Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky
Tribal Artists, Cassandra Franklin, Mary Harris, Celeste Reves, and Alice Johnson
Organization Booths, Kooskooskie Commons, Whitman College Salmon Restoration Club
SATURDAY
Basket weaving with Michael R. Johnson
Guest Speaker, DeArcie Abraham
FILM: Tamayct (Earth Oven)
Panelists: Kristen Parr, Mildred Quaempts, Frederick A Hill Sr., Thomas Morning Owl

09/30/2026

09/29/2026

Tomorrow!

On September 30, we invite all students, staff, and faculty to join us in solidarity by wearing orange and attending a special film screening of "Sugarcane".

Why We Wear Orange:
Orange Shirt Day originated from a residential school survivor named Phyllis Webstad. She brought with her a shiny new orange shirt that was confiscated on her first day of school. So, it has become nationally customary to wear orange on September 30 in honor of the children who survived Indian boarding schools in the U.S. and Canada, remembering those who never returned home and affirming that every child matters.

Screening of Sugarcane:
To deepen our understanding of this history and its ongoing impact, the Office of Native American Outreach invites you to a free screening of the multi-award-winning investigative documentary Sugarcane.

Date: Wednesday, September 30
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Deshler Auditorium in West Maxey Hall

Who Should Attend & Viewer Discretion:
This event is free and open to all students, staff, faculty, and members of the general public who wish to learn about this shared history and for those already familiar, to acknowledge the intergenerational trauma of the residential school system.
Please note: Because Sugarcane centers on an investigation into the forced separation, assimilation, and abuse of Native children, viewer discretion is advised. The film delivers heavy themes that may trigger emotions and features moderate profanity. We encourage attendees to come prepared to hold a supportive, respectful space for one another.

How You Can Participate:
Wear Orange: Wear an orange shirt, orange clothing, or an orange ribbon throughout the day to show your visible support and to stand in solidarity with Native families affected by the Boarding Schools Era who are uncovering information, working through intergenerational trauma, and working on healing.

Attend the Sugarcane Film Screening: Join your peers, colleagues, and neighbors to honor Indigenous endurance and community strength by attending the film screening together.

We hope to see a sea of orange across campus as we come together for this vital day of education and remembrance.

09/29/2026

In a fascinating exploration of human ingenuity, see how indigenous communities in North America have long practiced a distinct version of science and engineering. This journey reveals how deeply-held cultural traditions inform remarkable innovations, from ancient sea farming techniques that optimize ecosystems to celestial navigation methods perfectly adapted to extreme environments like the frozen Arctic. See how centuries of observation, experimentation, and adaptation have forged solutions to complex challenges like living in the harsh climate of the desert Southwest. Prepare to reconsider what you know about science and its role in our lives. (PBS)

It premiered September 23, but you can go to the PBS site and watch it online. It's about 50 minutes long.

09/27/2026

Two multi-award winning Native American film screenings THIS WEEK at Whitman College!

National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Boarding Schools film screening on WEDNESDAY at 6 PM, “Sugarcane”

THURSDAY at 6:30 PM, “Bad Press”
FRIDAY at 10:00 AM, Roundtable with makers of the “Bad Press” film.

09/25/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DBSeX9J9q/?mibextid=wwXIfr

CTUIR to Screen Documentary About Free Press Fight in Indian Country

WALLA WALLA – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Communications Department, in collaboration with Whitman College’s Native American Outreach, is sponsoring a screening of the award-winning documentary “Bad Press” on Thursday, Oct. 1 at Whitman College.

The 2023 documentary tells of Mvskoke (Muh-sko-key) Media’s battle against censorship by the Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, after the Muscogee National Council repealed a free press act in November 2018. When the Muscogee Nation began censoring the tribe’s press, Mvskoke Media journalist Angel Ellis (Muscogee Nation) took a stand to expose corruption.

“Supporting tribal and public media is important because a free press matters. We need to continue to support and protect that work. Collaborating with the Indigenous Journalists Association and with Whitman College made sense because a free press matters. Tribal and public media tell our stories, keep our communities informed,” CTUIR Communications Director Kaeleen McGuire (CTUIR) said.

The film was produced and directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker (Muscogee Nation), the executive director of the Indigenous Journalists Association, and Joe Peeler, a Sundance Film Festival award-winning director and editor whose work has appeared on Netflix, HBO, FX, ESPN, Hulu and CBS.

The event will be held in the Reid Campus Center Ballroom with doors opening at 6 p.m. for a reception with Ellis and Landsberry-Baker. The screening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a Q&A session afterward. Refreshments will be served. To reserve a seat, visit https://bit.ly/4h6WZvI.

Ellis and Landsberry-Baker will also hold a public roundtable discussion about the film at 10 a.m. on Oct. 2 in the Reid Campus Center Ballroom.

The CTUIR also has two other connections to Mvskoke Media and the documentary. Legislative Affairs Manager Sterling Cosper (Muscogee Nation), who is in the documentary, was serving as Mvskoke Media’s director when the free press law was repealed in 2018 and resigned in protest. Public Relations Specialist Travis Snell (Cherokee Nation) was serving on Mvskoke Media’s Editorial Board when the repeal occurred. He is once again on the board under the current law.

Collaborating with CTUIR Communications on the screening and roundtable, Whitman College’s Native American Outreach was formed in recognition of the college’s dedication to helping Indigenous students thrive. It is committed to honoring the students’ pasts and supporting them in the present so that they will have successful futures.

“Bad Press” made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression. Overall, the documentary has made 51 film festival appearances and garnered 16 major festival awards, including the 2023 Dallas International Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature and the 2023 deadCenter Film Festival’s Best Documentary. It is also a Critics’ Pick of The New York Times.

Ellis, who now serves as Mvskoke Media’s director, later reported on the return of the free press to the Muscogee Nation in July 2020, when the National Council passed the Independent Muscogee Press Act. The law set Mvskoke Media under an organizational structure allowing the department safeguards that protect journalistic integrity while removing it from the Muscogee Nation’s executive branch.

“While we had no idea of the outcome when we set out on this adventure, a beautiful side effect of the documentary is that we see what happens on a community level when censorship affects the flow of information,” Ellis said. “When we compare our community experiences to the current national trends, I think we see now more than ever that we need good journalism.”

For more information about the documentary, visit https://bit.ly/4hlfBGX. For more information about the screening and roundtable, call 541-429-7394 or email [email protected].

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.