 The American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University celebrated indigenous people's and treaty day today with a series of lectures meant to celebrate Native Americans. The annual celebration was started after the Bemidji City Council decided to officially proclaim the holiday on the second Monday of every October. The day started with a welcome song and breakfast, then five guest lecturers shared speeches about Native businesses, healthcare, treaties, and Native American history. AIRC Executive Director Bill Blackwell Jr. says the turnout... One of the things that we really wanted to concentrate on today was coming at things from a celebratory standpoint. We really wanted indigenous people in treaty day to be a celebration of what's going on that's right in our community and sort of an uplifting of what's going on. So we had five different BSU professors Veronica Vio, Dr. Nikki Michael, Dr. Anton Troyer, Dr. John Gonzalez, and Dr. Vivian Delgado talk on different topics surrounding indigenous peoples in Indian country as well. Next year the American Indian Resource Center hopes to add a bigger community component to the event like a potluck and a round dance. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.