Virginia Tech celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day

[00:00:07] >> It's good to be with you today. I'm Jason Chavez and I'm a second year Master's student in the political science department. Thank you all so much for being here today. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day. Our campus is in Blacksburg and the New River Valley and we're on Monacan land. [00:00:23] It's very important because Native Americans have a long history to this area, to this university. We are the most underrepresented group on campus, less than one percent of the entire student body so it's very important that people remember the contributions of Indigenous peoples to this land, to this university. [00:00:42] And be it further resolved that Virginia Tech will officially and permanently recognize and designate on the university event calendar, the second Monday in October each year as Indigenous Peoples Day. We think it's very important that Virginia Tech made this historic step, this great step forward in acknowledging Indigenous peoples and celebrating their contributions to the university. [00:01:08] This is such a proud moment for me and for Native at Virginia Tech, for the student organzation. You know, Virginia Tech is the first university in the Commonwealth to recognize this day, to celebrate this day. It's a day to come together to celebrate who we are as Indigenous people, to celebrate our identity, and to share our culture with Blacksburg and Virginia Tech.