Indigenous Association outlines Indigenous Peoples' Day and Orange Shirt Day activities for Moorhead area

Brandon Beatty, executive director of the Indigenous Association, presented a schedule of Indigenous Peoples' Day and Orange Shirt Day events to the Moorhead Human Rights Commission.

Beatty said Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 13 will include a morning kickoff breakfast at the Indigenous Association in Fargo and a lunch‑and‑learn (the latter to be held at the Yum Com Center in Moorhead), with traditional foods such as wild rice and other regional dishes. He urged attendees to monitor nativefm.org and the association's Facebook page for registration details; he said tickets often sell out.

He also promoted the Moorhead High School powwow, a joint event with Moorhead and Fargo public schools, noting the grand entry generally begins around 6 p.m. and that vendors and traditional foods are typically part of the program. For Orange Shirt Day — the day of remembrance for the history and impacts of residential boarding schools — Beatty said the Indigenous Association will host a Sunday event around Sept. 30 at the Plains Art Museum Center for Creativity with a round dance, food and family activities, and that the ribbon‑skirt‑making session will be offered the day before so participants can wear newly created skirts at the remembrance event.

Beatty confirmed the Plains Art Museum Center for Creativity (First Avenue entrance) as a venue for some events and said the Indigenous Association will work to make accessible entrances available during activities. He thanked volunteers and collaborators by name and thanked the Human Rights Commission for helping sponsor the lunch‑and‑learn.

Commissioners welcomed the presentation and encouraged the community to attend and register once details are posted online.