North Vegas Times

The University of Nevada, Reno, (UNR) Department of Gender, Race, and Identity (GRI), led by Lydia Huerta and Debra Harry, has selected two indigenous feminist speakers to give lectures on campus.

The Nevada Humanities' Resistance and Resurgence Series helped UNR bring Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Beverly Jacobs to the campus on April 21 and May 3, Nevada Today reported.

"These opportunities aim to support Nevada Humanities in their mission to connect and transform communities and support programming that explores issues that matter to Nevadans," Huerta told Nevada Today.

Simpson and Jacobs have firsthand experience with indigenous life in the current era, and the duo will each present lectures that provide insight into issues affecting indigenous populations.

"It is important to bring Indigenous speakers to campus and the broader community because they offer valuable knowledge that has not been traditionally recognized by academic institutions," Huerta said. "To be able to offer our student body an opportunity to learn from and be in dialogue with people who have been doing the work of resisting and transforming their communities."

By holding events such as lectures by guest speakers, the GRI department hopes to foster mindfulness toward indigenous culture and identity, Nevada Today reported.

"[The GRI department works] to provide education on local Indigenous culture and heritage, as well as encourage thoughtful actions that promote sustainable practices rooted in indigenous knowledge," Huerta said. "It invites everyone in northern Nevada to reflect on their experiences and relationships to Indigenous practices and individual responsibility as a way to begin to enact collective change."