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Native American Heritage Month

Each year, the KU Medical Center community recognizes Native American Heritage Month with in-person and virtual events to celebrate and honor Native American Heritage history and culture. Learn more about the events and how you can get involved.

Native American Heritage Month banner

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Special Screening

November 10, 6:30 p.m. | Kansas City, Salina and Wichita concurrent events

KU Medical Center’s Native American Heritage Month planning committee and the Together, Indigenous People Inspiring Success Affinity Group (TIPIS) present a special movie screening of Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon." A limited number of tickets will be available for Kansas City, Salina and Wichita campuses. “Killers of the Flower Moon" is a true story set in the 1920s that focuses on a series of events and injustices inflicted on the Osage Nation. You must pre-register in order to enter the event:

Community Conversation

November 14, 12 p.m. | Virtual
Register Online

Following the film screening, we will hold a virtual Community Conversation led by Professor Jimmy Beason and Charles Walker. Jimmy Beason, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University and member of the Osage Nation, will unpack the historical events leading to the “Osage Reign of Terror” between 1918 and 1931. Charles Walker, Councilman at Large, Judicial Committee Chairman SRST (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) and South Dakota Gaming liaison, will address the following topics: environmental justice, sovereignty and crimes against Indigenous people.

We invite you to join us for this conversation even if you don’t attend the film screening on Nov. 10!

Past Event Information

The Heart Is A Fist Art Exhibit

Murphy Lobby | November 7-30, 2022
Open to KU Medical Center and the community at large, Murphy Hall is badge accessible from Rainbow Blvd

The Heart Is A Fist presents recent works by artists from Haskell Indian Nations University. The title comes from Joy Harjo’s poem, Break My Heart, in which she writes, “The heart is a fist / It pockets prayer or holds rage.” Accordingly, artwork in this exhibition “pocket prayer” and “hold rage,” some featuring the red hand of solidarity for missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). The works also present careful examinations of other issues that matter to Indigenous Americans, such as ancestral connections, boarding schools, native stereotypes, and humor.

Featured Artists: Molly Adams, Alia Ballou, James Benson, Miranda Bradford, Dominique Brown, Jana Burnett, Mia Chamberlin, Michael Conard, Kaya Friday, Ransom Garza, Arianna Green, Alyssiana Gonzalez, Alexandra Holder, Uriah Little Hoop, Sylvester Luther, Tanay McKinney, Reice Morgan, Jay P. Pewenofkit, Olivia Jett Rodriguez, David Tah, Yvonne C. Trujillo, Chante Wallette, Alexis Whitehorn-Coriz

Closing Celebration

Wednesday, November 30 | 4:00-6:00 p.m. | Murphy Lobby
Register on the DEI Events Calendar
RSVP’s for the Closing Celebration are appreciated but not required.

November 9, 2022

Native American Heritage Month Community Conversation with artists from Haskell Indian Nations University & Professor David Titterington, sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Saad: beads of Diné knowledge, wisdom and stories

November 17, 2021

Presentation by Luci Tapahonso, Inaugural Poet Laureate of the Diné Nation.

Spotlights: KU Medical Center Community Member Biographies 

Learn about the background and careers of several Native American faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as their journey to KU Medical Center. Community members’ stories are available online throughout the month. 

Jayhawk Coffee Break

November 17: The coffee break featured three colleagues from the Native American Biographical Posters. This event took place on Microsoft Teams in The Cart meeting room. 

Community Conversations: COVID-19's Impact on the Native American Population

Nov. 23: Members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the Native American community.

Native American Heritage Month Featured Speaker: Sharice Davids, U.S. Representative, Kansas District 3

Nov. 24

Native grass in a field in rural Kansas

Land Acknowledgment

As an educational institution, we have an ethical obligation to create truthful and factual representations and should respect and recognize Native peoples and their relationships to the land on which our institution resides.
Learn More
Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

University of Kansas Medical Center
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Mailstop 2015
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66160
Phone: 913-588-3319
Fax: 913-588-1412