If you have an event you would like us to post, please email aiis@msu.edu.
September 1 – November 25, 2026
Gaawii Eta-Go Aawizinoo Gaawiye Mkakoons / It’s Not Just a Quill Box Exhibit
MSU Museum: Ground Floor Gallery
The exhibition features artworks drawn from both public and private collections, including the MSU Museum’s extensive holdings and archives built over 40 years of research and programming through the Michigan Traditional Arts Program
More Info: https://museum.msu.edu/exhibition/gaawii-eta-go-aawizinoo-gaawiye-mkakoons-its-not-just-a-quill-box/
September 16
MSU Indigenous Welcome Celebration with Special Welcome for Indigenous Artist-In-Residence Ron Paquin RSVP Here: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e5LjfJ7Du0hzpKC
6-8pm
Multicultural Center
September 17 – 20, 2026
Birchbark Canoe Build with Ron Paquin, Adam Avery, Josh Homminga & Robb Rudd
10am – 4pm RSVP Here: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e5LjfJ7Du0hzpKC
Multicultural Center (on the east patio, under the awning)
535 N Shaw Ln, East Lansing, MI 48824
September 25, 2026
Michigan Indian Day
September 26-27, 2026
3rd Annual Dance by the River Pow Wow
Grand Entry Times: Saturday at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM; Sunday at 12:00 PM
Adado Riverfront Park
September 30
Book Talk with Sierra Biidaabaan Nadeau
12:15-1:15
What the Ancestors Say: One Journalist’s Intimate Investigation into Indian Boarding Schools
Room 345, MSU College of Law
RSVP for lunch
September 30
Quillwork Demonstration by Monica Raphael
6-7:30pm
https://museum.msu.edu/events/quillwork-demonstration-and-talk
Monday, October 5
Keynote by Elybeth Sofia Alcantar
Indigenous Planning Towards ‘un derecho a no migrar’
12-1PM
Psychology Building Room 230
This presentation examines the role of collaborative planning praxis to assist in land defense with Indigenous Mixteco populations amidst political and environmental induced displacement. Drawing from Indigenous planning principles and Mixteco politics aligned to Indigenous refusals, Elybeth Sofia Alcantar offers a critical planning perspective on collaborative and insurgent design between Mixteco commissions of communal land and resource management (Bienes comunales) and critical geographers or planners. She reflects on two years of collaborative design and insurgent planning with a Mixteco municipality in Oaxaca, Mexico. In this presentation, Alcantar proposes that a collaborative planning praxis with Indigenous municipalities must center the goal of defending ‘el bien común,’ to refute territorial dispossession amidst perceived or ongoing displacement.
Sunday, October 11
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Eve
Rock Painting – 6:30 Dinner & Painting at The Rock
Monday, October 12
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
7am Sunrise Ceremony @ The Rock
Breakfast at Shaw Immediately after
12-1:30pm “Being a Good Relative: Engaging Respectfuly in Indian Country,” Luncheon and Panel.
Learn from experienced leaders and practitioners about relationship-building, cultural awareness, and effective partnership. Law School Room 474. RSVP for lunch: 12-1:30 PM in Room 474 of the Law College. Lunch will be provided, courtesy of the MSU Indigenous Law and Policy Center: https://forms.gle/LUTMRKzDjyKFzD6A7
3pm March from Beaumont Tower to Rock (meet at 2:30 @ Beaumont). Stop at Admin Building for short program with speakers, end at Rock with more speakers!
5:30-8pm Feast at Fenner Nature Center with the Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program. Potluck Style and bring your feast bundle (a plate and utensils so as to reduce waste!)
Friday, October 16
“Bringing Them Home: A Tribal Panel on NAGPRA, Repatriation, and Collections Across Campus”
2:15-4:15
MSU Museum Commons (1st floor, off elevator)
Panel of three Tribal representatives—William Johnson (Curator/Operations Manager for Ziibiwing Center), Rebecca Rupe (Archives/Collections Coordinator and NAGPRA Representative for Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi), Marie Richards (Archaeologist, Sault Ste Marie Tribe)—discussing NAGPRA, collections, repatriation, and the good work that MSU and Michigan Tribes have been doing together.
Friday, October 16
Showing of Aanikoobijigan (2026), directed by Adam and Zack Khalil
7-9pm
Wells Hall, Room B122
REGISTER: https://50807.blackbaudhosting.com/50807/Broad-Underground-Aanikoobijigan-ancestorgreat-grandparentgreat-grandchild
This film documents the emotional and vital work of MACPRA (Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance).
Sunday, October 18
Amber Wabooz Quill Making Workshop (FULL)
https://museum.msu.edu/events/hands-on-quillwork-workshop
October 23 and 24
Poets’ Roundtable Conference
Fri, October 23, 2026 7:00 PM reading by Mark Turcotte and Gordon Henry in the Kellogg Center Auditorium First Floor
Sat, October 24, 2026 Poets Roundtable, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: A day of workshops w/Mark Turcotte, Gordon Henry, Suban Nur Cooley, Zoë Johnson, and Nichole Keway Biber. Lunch will be provided to registered participants.
Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeY6MHwKJEGsdVAHGTSa4BdnAAI1mmF1b9LGNsuMTqADub-Kw/viewform
The 2026 Poets Roundtable features a Friday night keynote reading by Mark Turcotte, Illinois Poet Laureate, and Gordon Henry, retired Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies at Michigan State University, as well as Saturday workshops led by Turcotte and Henry as well as Lansing Poet Laureate Suban Nur Cooley, Zoë Johnson, and Nichole Keway Biber.
Wednesday, November 4
Native Feast @ Brody Hall
Brody Hall
4:30-9pm
The culinary staff have prepared range of Indigenous dishes for you to enjoy! Stop by Brody Hall Dining at any time during usual dinner hours to enjoy a sampling of dishes to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Upon entry you will see a display table identifying which stations have which dishes.
Wednesday, November 4
Native American Heritage Poetry reading with Esther Belin.
MSU Museum
6-7:30pm
Join acclaimed poet Esther Belin for an evening of poetry, reflection, and storytelling inspired by Native traditions and the artistry of quillwork. Presented in conjunction with the Quillwork exhibition at the MSU Museum, this special program features readings by Belin alongside original works from MSU student poets, exploring connections between culture, creativity, memory, and identity.
To participate in this event, you must register: https://bit.ly/11_4_26
https://museum.msu.edu/events/native-american-heritage-poetry-reading
Wednesday, November 11
Indigenous futures with Dr. Lee Francis IV
MSU Museum Commons & Digital Scholarship Lab (see below for more info)
6-7:30
In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, the MSU Museum presents a conversation with Dr. Lee Francis IV (Pueblo of Laguna), also known as Dr. IndigiNerd. Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of the Indigenous Imagination Workshop, Dr. Lee is an award-winning writer, editor, educator, and entrepreneur whose work centers Indigenous futurisms, storytelling, and creative entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Indigenous Comic Con, the Indigenous Futurisms Festival, and Red Planet Books and Comics, and a longtime advocate for Native American youth. This program invites audiences to consider futures shaped by Indigenous imagination, sovereignty, and innovation. The first half of this program will be taking place at the 360 room in the MSU Library (2nd floor west wing 366 W. Circle Drive East Lansing, MI 48824). The workshop and food portion will take place across the street at the MSU Museum Commons (409 w. Circle Drive East Lansing, MI 48824, 1st floor). Registration Required.
Friday, November 13
THE RED CYPHER: HIP-HOP WORKSHOP w/ishKode
MSU Museum Commons
By bringing Indigenous perspectives into conversations about hip-hop and technology, the workshop highlights the role of music as a powerful form of cultural expression, knowledge sharing, and community connection.
Website: https://bit.ly/3UiB7Vx
Registration: https://bit.ly/11_13_26