Indigenous Peoples Day
CU Boulder students, staff and faculty and members of the Boulder community are invited to participate in a community celebration and observance of Indigenous Peoples Day through campus programs on October 13 through 15.
These programs provide the opportunity to:
- Honor history and amplify legacy: Uplift the lived histories of Native and Indigenous communities at CU through storytelling, archival recovery and alumni engagement.
- Curate space for critical community dialogue: Explore local and global Indigenous perspectives on pressing issues such as environmental justice, research divestment, language preservation and spiritual resilience.
- Build cultural continuity and collective vision: Engage current students, faculty, staff, and community members in preserving and evolving Indigenous traditions and wellness strategies across generations.
- Foster critical consciousness and institutional accountability: Invite CU Boulder and local and regional constituents into critical reflection on institutional practices – past and present – and advance strategies that promote Indigenous student success, visibility and cultural affirmation.
Keynote and Moderated Discussion
“Stepping Forward, Rooted Deep: Honoring Indigenous Legacies and Envisioning Global Futures”
Oct. 13, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom
Please register in advance to secure your seat. Walk-up registration may be limited.
Keynote Speaker
Lily Gladstone
Award-winning actress and advocate
Blackfeet and Nez Perce Tribal Nations
LILY GLADSTONE (Blackfeet and Nez Perce Tribal Nations) is the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her starring role in Martin Scorsese’s KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON opposite Leonardo DiCaprio earned her the 2023 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture and the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Award for Female Actor in a Leading Role. She was also named Best Actress of 2023 by the New York Film Critics Circle and The National Board of Review, to name a few.
Lily can most recently be seen in Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s THE WEDDING BANQUET for Bleecker Street. Selected previous film work includes Erica Tremblay’s FANCY DANCE for AppleTV+; her breakout role in Kelly Reichardt's CERTAIN WOMEN, for which she was named Best Supporting Actress of 2016 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; and a starring turn in Morrisa Maltz's THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY, which garnered her the Outstanding Lead Performance Award at the 2023 Gotham Awards. She is currently in production on THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR opposite Michael B Jordan, who is also directing.
On TV, Lily can most recently be seen opposite Riley Keough in Hulu’s limited series “Under The Bridge.” Her performance earned her nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series at the 2024 Emmys, Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series at the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series by the Screen Actors Guild. Past TV includes recurring roles on Sterlin Harjo’s acclaimed FX series “Reservation Dogs", HBO’s “Room 104” and Showtime’s “Billions.”
Paid parking is available in the Euclid parking garage, just east of the University Memorial Center (UMC) between Broadway and 18th Street. This is a "pay-by-plate" lot and payment can be made at a pay station or by using the ParkMobile app (Zone 63205).
Program Sponsors
These signature events are sponsored by the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies, The Center for Cultural Connections and Community and the Office of Leadership Support and Programming.
Additional Resources
About Indigenous Peoples Day
Indigenous Peoples Day, a federal holiday in the United States, celebrates the continuing presence and millennia-deep contributions, history, traditions and long-standing concerns of the First Peoples who are indigenous to North, Central and South America and Hawaii. Officially adopted in 2021, the holiday is observed nationally on the second Monday of October.
Resource Guide
Prepared by CU Boulder University Libraries, this resource guide supports the goals and outcomes for CU Boulder's Indigenous Peoples Day Signature Events by centering resources related to Indigenous knowledge in Hawaii, especially the coral reef, reclamation narratives by Indigenous artists, the notion of Indigenous reciprocity, cultural relevance, multiracial identity, and scholarly literature for North American regions.
Campus Resources
- Campus Land Acknowledgment
- University Libraries Research Guide
- Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS)
- Center for Cultural Connections and Community (The Center)
- Office of Leadership Support and Programming
- City of Boulder: Indigenous Peoples Day
- Right Relationship Boulder
- Federal Indigenous Peoples Day Proclamation