What Is the History of Native American and Indigenous Peoples at Columbia University? 

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’ve gathered Columbia students, faculty, and staff to reflect on the indigenous history of the land on which the University sits, the activism of Native Americans on Columbia's campuses, and the indigenous scholarship that takes place on campus.
“My existence as an indigenous person is dedicated to furthering an understanding of our history, our culture, and our struggles in the present,” says Audra Simpson, Professor of Anthropology at Columbia. “It is my entire body of research, it is my future research, my teaching, and my pedagogy. So, it is not just one day for me. It is my life.”
00:00 Intro
00:35 Kianna Pete, Student, Political Science, Columbia College
00:55 Kellian Staggers, Student, Ethnicity and Race Studies, Columbia College
01:16 Kevin Fellezs, Associate Professor of Music and African American and African Diaspora Studies
01:43 Audra Simpson, Professor of Anthropology
02:23 Roberto C. Ferrari, Curator of Art Properties, Columbia University Libraries
03:26 Ixchel Rosal, Associate Vice President, Student Life
03:46 Elsa Stamatopoulou, Director of Indigenous Peoples' Rights Program
04:53 Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Professor of English and Comparative Literature
In Manhattan, Columbia University sits on the ancestral land of the Lenni-Lenape and Wappinger people.