Past Events
In November of 2023, IEI organized a Native Indigenous Film Festival focused on Indigenous and Native women activists. The event engaged the outlying community by having the first film shown at the Oldham Theater in Winchester, TN. After each film, there was a discussion and Q & A with a person who worked on the creation of the film.
Regular Events
Sewanee begins Indigenous Peoples Day every year through a sunrise service at Angel Park, utilizing scripture from an Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, the Seven Direction prayer, inclusive prayers, and Cherokee language songs. Later that day, a Native Labyrinth Exhibition on the main quad offers self-guided labyrinth walks and self-reflection for students, faculty, and the wider community. The day is concluded with a Reflective Trail of Tears Remembrance Walk at St. Mary’s Ayres Center for Spiritual Development, with class participation for reading accounts from “Voices of the Bell Route.”
The Winchester Trail of Tears Commemorative Walk is an annual event in which community members are invited to walk .8 miles in the footsteps of the Cherokee, who walked the same ground in 1838. The walk is succeeded by an informative talk on the history of the Trail of Tears in this area, known as the Bell Route.
Future Directions
Beyond Land Acknowledgement: Spirit and Action is a symposium planned for spring of 2025 that will gather leaders of Tribal Nations, churches, and academic institutions to identify and explore actionable, spiritually enriched pathways for building upon land acknowledgments with the goals of reconciliation and repair. Three vital guiding principles will govern collaboration and inquiry: deepening spiritual connection with the land, identifying a wide range of positive action, and promoting gentle-slope timelines that focus on generational futures and sustainable change.
The event will feature speakers from the US and Canada who have taken meaningful steps toward land justice. It aims to foster discussions on incorporating Indigenous spirituality, activism, and culture into institutional frameworks, moving beyond mere acknowledgment to genuine action.
