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October 06, 2021

ABA program to educate children and adults about Indigenous Peoples' Day

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 —The American Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice will co-sponsor two free webinars with the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, Oct. 11.  “Indigenous Peoples’ Day Student Presentation” will be held at 1-1:45 p.m. EDT and a program for adults will occur from 7-8 p.m. EDT.

With the recent discovery of more than 1,000 mass unmarked graves at former boarding schools for Indigenous children, the programs will be an educational presentation about the Indigenous boarding school experience and the students who did not return home from the schools.

The speaker for the evening program will be Lauren van Schilfgaarde, director of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

What:  Indigenous Peoples’ Day Presentation
Co-sponsored by the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian

When:  Monday, Oct. 11 

Where: Online

“To honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day, these programs will educate and promote healing for past trauma caused by residential boarding schools for Indigenous youth in both the U.S. and Canada,” said Mary Smith, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and longtime member of the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and its Native American Concerns Committee. “We need to bring truth and reconciliation for these past abuses, and this program will highlight pending legislation and the Department of the Interior's Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.”  

This event is free and open to members of the media. For media credentialing, please contact Betsy Adeboyejo at [email protected].

The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on Twitter @ABANews.