Henry Roe Cloud Conference Celebrates Community and a Decade of NACC History
The Native American Cultural Center (NACC) hosted the 6th Henry Roe Cloud Conference Friday, November 11th to Saturday, November 12th. The conference, named in honor of Winnebago Yale graduate and Native American scholar and activist Henry Roe Cloud, celebrates Native excellence at Yale. This year, it also commemorated ten years since the opening of the NACC on High Street.
Students, faculty, alumni, and staff came together to reflect on the past and the future. Among the changes mentioned were the two new tenure-track Indigenous hires in 2022, offering Cherokee for credit in the linguistics department, and the first Native American curator for Indigenous art at the Yale University Art Gallery. Student achievements, namely their organized efforts to create the NACC, were also mentioned.
The opening “Indigenous Studies at Yale” panel featured Professor Ned Blackhawk, Meghanlata Gupta YC ‘21 and YLS ‘25, and Mara Gutierrez YC ‘25. “I think it’s very powerful to be a Native person in all spaces,” said Gupta. The panel reflected on how Indigenous studies at Yale has changed over time with new course offerings and a growing presence of Indigenous stakeholders.
The conference continued with the “Pasifika Growth and Lasting Presence” panel followed by a gathering at the Yale Farm.
Saturday’s events began with “Looking Ahead and Looking Back: 10 Years of the NACC” and examined the role the NACC has played in cultivating a Native academic and social space on campus.
“I so often feel like I have to pinch myself after class to make sure I’m not dreaming because I’m constantly blown away by how the work students are doing outside of class at the NACC… (such work) so thoroughly animates and shapes our in-class discussions,” said Professor Tarren Andrews (Ethnicity, Race, and Migration) while reflecting on her experiences at Yale thus far.
The conference also included Carillon Music from Harkness and an alumni gathering, all leading to the concluding Henry Roe Cloud Conference Reception held on Saturday evening.
“The HRC conference is important so we can retain some institutional memory and track the history of Native student-driven changes at Yale,” said Makana Kushi, YC ‘18. This sentiment was shared among participants.
While reflecting on her experiences during her time in undergrad with the NACC, Kushi said, “[NACC students] were curious to learn in a way that was open and supportive, in a way that didn’t make me feel like I had to defend my Indigeneity or my connection and knowledge about my own people’s history and culture.”
“Our Native community has grown tremendously since Henry Roe Cloud graduated in 1910 and we look forward to what the future holds for Native and Indigenous students going forward,” said Dean Matthew Makomenaw. “The NACC will continue to bring Native and Indigenous communities together to support and make visible Indigenous people, culture and knowledge.”
Read more about the 6th Henry Roe Cloud Conference in the Yale Daily News.