Round Dance Planned to Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day at MSU

BOZEMAN – Montana State University will commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day 2022 with a round dance on Monday, Oct. 10, at noon at the Sunrise Plaza in front of the American Indian Hall on MSU’s campus. This event is free and open to the public.

This year’s event will feature the Bobcat Singers, the American Indian Council’s drum group who are returning after an absence of a few years. Chili, cornbread and refreshments will be served in the AIH great hall at 12:30 p.m. following the dance.

Indigenous Peoples Day activities are sponsored by the American Indian Council and the Native American Studies Department and are free and open to the public.

American Indian Hall, which opened in October 2021, is home to the Department of Native American Studies and the offices of American Indian/Alaskan Native Student Success Services, as well as classrooms that serve students from across the entire campus. Additionally, the building hosts art installations and is surrounded by gardens with Indigenous and medicinal plants. The building is the first in Montana to earn LEED Platinum 4.1 certification, the highest sustainability ranking used by the U.S. Green Building Council. Those who attend the event are welcome to take self-guided tours of the building.

MSU enrolled 776 American Indian/Alaska Native students this fall, the second highest total ever seen and a number that represents 9% enrollment growth over the past five years.