Wednesday, October 29, 2025

By Jeanine Gordon, Special Assistant to the President for Native American Outreach

Walla Walla schoolchildren participate in a Drumming, Dancing and Regalia Showcase.(Photo by Mark Higgins.)

This fall, students from the Walla Walla Public School District and Rogers Adventist School, the Whitman campus community, and the larger Walla Walla Valley community experienced a series of special events honoring Indigenous history and celebrating present day culture and traditions. These observances provided opportunities for students to learn, reflect and celebrate Indigenous resilience and culture. 

Together, these events offered a holistic learning experience for many. The Day of Remembrance provided a solemn moment to face difficult truths about history, while the Indigenous Peoples Day events offered a vibrant and celebratory look at the enduring strength of Native American traditions. By engaging with both the painful history of boarding schools and the rich vitality of contemporary Indigenous culture, we can all develop a more complete and respectful understanding of Native American people, whose homelands became the United States. 

Learn more about the events above, and keep an eye out for upcoming Native American Heritage Month activities, including: 

Two symposia have been published which discuss “The Autocratic Academy: Reenvisioning Rule within America’s Universities” (Duke University Press, 2023) by Baker Ferguson Professor Emeritus of Politics and Leadership Timothy Kaufman-Osborn. Cambridge University Press has published articles by five scholars, including Whitman alum Isaac Kamola ’99, and University of Minnesota Press has published articles by three scholars. Both symposia include a response by Kaufman-Osborn. Later this semester, Kaufman-Osborn will deliver talks based on “The Autocratic Academy” to faculty at the University of Virginia, Washington College, the University of Tampa and West Chester University.

This week, the Planned Parenthood Generation Action student group and the Welty Health and Counseling Center are partnering to provide free testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia—two of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Drop in daily between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or email healthcare@whitman.edu to make an appointment. Additional testing and exams available by appointment; lab fees apply.

Sherwood Athletic Center will close early on Friday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. in preparation for volleyball home games which start on Friday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. (vs. Lewis and Clark College) and Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m. (vs. George Fox University). Doors open to fans one hour before the start of the match. Tickets may be purchased in advance.

A Coyote Storytelling event was held on Indigenous Peoples Day featuring Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation member Mildred Quaempts (middle) and her son Derek (right). Šináata Scholar Tatiwyat Buck ’29 (left) emceed the event. (Photo by Jeanine Gordon.)

Noon–1 p.m.

Information Session: Computer Science Study Abroad in Budapest

Olin Hall, Room 205

12:10–12:50 p.m.

Movement That Matters: Strength & Stretch

Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 114

3–4:30 p.m.

Sweets With Staff Advisory Council

Cleveland Commons, Lizzie Murr Conference Room

4:30–5:30 p.m.

Zfit

Sherwood 114 or Reid Side Lawn (weather dependent)

4:45–5:45 p.m.

Careers in Consulting: Boston Consulting Group

Cleveland Commons, Lizzie Murr Conference Room

5:30–6 p.m.

ASWC Finance Committee Meeting

Cleveland Commons, Room 116

8–10 p.m.

Open Kayak

Harvey Pool

Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

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