The Native American House

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The Native American House The Native American House promotes cultural, familial, and place-based relationships as unique factors that facilitate Native student success.

The Native American House is a program and facility within Student Success, Inclusion and Belonging, which is part of the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Native American House is located at:
Native American House
1206 W. Nevada, MC-139
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217)265-0632

Our next Dinner on Us is Tuesday, October 20 at 5:30 PM at the Asian American Cultural Center!Dr. Natasha Myhal (Sault S...
10/13/2026

Our next Dinner on Us is Tuesday, October 20 at 5:30 PM at the Asian American Cultural Center!

Dr. Natasha Myhal (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois, will present “Renewed Geographies of Belonging: Anishinaabe Natural Resource Sovereignty in Michigan.”

Dr. Myhal’s talk draws on her community-engaged research with the Tribal Natural Resources Department of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee, Michigan, including the Nmé (Lake Sturgeon) restoration program and the Elders’ meal program. It looks at how relational approaches to caring for land and water challenge colonial models of resource governance, and how they reaffirm Ottawa relationships to place and their more-than-human kin.

📅 Tuesday, October 20, 5:30 PM
📍 Asian American Cultural Center
🍽️ First come, first served dinner
🔗 https://nah.illinois.edu/programs/dinner-us

Join the Native American House on Monday, October 12, for Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Illinois.This year’s theme, “Not Yo...
10/10/2026

Join the Native American House on Monday, October 12, for Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Illinois.

This year’s theme, “Not Your Mascot: The Impact of (Mis)Representation,” invites our community to learn and reflect about Indigenous representation.

View the full schedule: https://nah.illinois.edu/events/indigenous-peoples-day

"Fry Bread" was challenged in Pennsylvania. For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting our Ambassadors' picks from our In...
10/10/2026

"Fry Bread" was challenged in Pennsylvania.

For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting our Ambassadors' picks from our Indigenous Content Library. Undergraduate Ambassador Ashlee Shoemaker (Diné) chose "Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story" by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole), illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. The Robert F. Sibert Medal winner is a picture book about family, food, and the history and presence of Native peoples today.

"Fry Bread" is just one of countless Indigenous books challenged or banned in the United States. Native stories deserve to stay on the shelf, and at the Native American House, students are welcome to browse and read the Indigenous Content Library during open hours.

Next week, NAH will join the University Library, other Student Affairs units, and iSchool units for the Read & Resist Festival. More about the festival here: https://go.illinois.edu/Read_Resist

📅 Wednesday, October 14, 1-3 PM
📍 Anniversary Plaza

"Firekeeper's Daughter" was banned in Florida, Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas. For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting ou...
10/09/2026

"Firekeeper's Daughter" was banned in Florida, Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas.

For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting our Ambassadors' picks from our Indigenous Content Library. Undergraduate Ambassador Zoe Kraft chose "Firekeeper's Daughter," the Printz Award-winning debut novel by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians). The story follows Daunis, a young woman who is part Ojibwe, as she gets pulled into an investigation of drug-related deaths in her community. Swipe to read why Zoe chose it.

According to PEN America, the book was banned in at least five school districts. We believe Indigenous stories belong on the shelf, and students are welcome to browse our Indigenous Content Library and read at the Native American House during open hours.

Next week, NAH will join the University Library, other Student Affairs units, and iSchool units for the Read & Resist Festival. More about the festival here: https://go.illinois.edu/Read_Resist

📅 Wednesday, October 14, 1-3 PM
📍 Anniversary Plaza

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign retired its former mascot nearly two decades ago. The continued purchase, sa...
10/08/2026

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign retired its former mascot nearly two decades ago. The continued purchase, sale, wearing, and public display of this imagery, including dressing up in imitation headdresses, must end.

Let us be clear: Native peoples are not mascots, symbols, or logos. Its continued display is offensive and undermines the dignity, safety, well-being, and belonging of Native students and the larger Native higher education community at Illinois.

We invite the Illinois community to join us for Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October 12. Learn more about the day’s programs and our focus on Native (mis)representation: https://nah.illinois.edu/events/indigenous-peoples-day

"The Marrow Thieves" was banned in Florida and challenged in Montana.For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting our Ambas...
10/07/2026

"The Marrow Thieves" was banned in Florida and challenged in Montana.

For Banned Books Week, we're highlighting our Ambassadors' picks from our Indigenous Content Library. Day 2 features Undergraduate Ambassador Tayden Manwarren (Peoria Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma) chose "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline (Georgian Bay Metís). This dystopian YA novel explores a world where the ability to dream has been lost by all except Indigenous people, such as the protagonist Frenchie. Swipe to read why Tayden chose it.

"The Marrow Thieves" was banned in multiple districts in Florida and challenged in Montana, among a wave of bans targeting Indigenous stories. Opponents claimed the novel influenced students against the church and called for it to be banned from school libraries and curricula. We believe Indigenous stories belong on the shelf, and NAH holds the Greg Rogers Collection of challenged American Indian children's/young adults titles like "The Marrow Thieves." Students are welcome to stop by and read anytime during NAH open hours.

Next week, NAH will join the University Library, other Student Affairs units, and iSchool units for the Read & Resist Festival. More about the event can be found here: https://go.illinois.edu/Read_Resist

📅 Wednesday, October 14, 1-3 PM
📍 Anniversary Plaza

"Kapaemahu" was targeted by a ban in Virginia in 2024, among a wave of bans targeting Indigenous stories.All Banned Book...
10/06/2026

"Kapaemahu" was targeted by a ban in Virginia in 2024, among a wave of bans targeting Indigenous stories.

All Banned Books Week, we're sharing our Ambassadors' picks from the Indigenous Content Library. Undergraduate Ambassador Mia Davlantis (Menominee) chose "Kapaemahu" by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Kanaka Maoli), Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson, illustrated by Daniel Sousa. The book tells the ancient Native Hawaiian legend of four māhū, healers with dual male and female spirits, who brought their healing from Tahiti to Waikīkī.

To preserve Indigenous stories, the Native American House holds the Greg Rogers Collection of American Indian children's/young adult books in our Indigenous Content Library. Students are welcome to browse and read at the House during open hours.

Next week, NAH will join the University Library, other Student Affairs units, and iSchool units for the Read & Resist Festival. Swing by to learn more about book banning and pick up some free swag! Read more about the event here: https://go.illinois.edu/Read_Resist

📅 Wednesday, October 14, 1-3 PM
📍 Anniversary Plaza

Monday, October 12 is Indigenous Peoples' Day! Join us for a day of events around this year's theme, "Not Your Mascot: T...
10/05/2026

Monday, October 12 is Indigenous Peoples' Day! Join us for a day of events around this year's theme, "Not Your Mascot: The Impact of (Mis)Representation," at the Spurlock Museum, the Native American House, and Illinois Street Dining Center. Here are some of the highlights:

💙 11 AM: NAH's very own Dr. Charlotte Davidson and Morgan Bear will be featured in the panel "Telling Our Own Stories: Reclaiming Indigenous Representation" at Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum.

🧡 4 PM: Join us for a screening of "Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting" at Knight Auditorium, followed by a dialogue with our undergraduate ambassadors and the film's director, Ben West.

Also happening are a community feed at 1 PM in the Core Gallery (Spurlock), outdoor community printmaking at NAH from 4-5:30 PM, and a themed dinner at Illinois Street Dining Center from 4:30-8 PM.

Drop in for one event or stay for the day. Full schedule at: https://nah.illinois.edu/events/indigenous-peoples-day

10/01/2026

This year's Indigenous Peoples' Day theme explores the ongoing struggle for Indigenous peoples to be seen, heard, and represented on their own terms. Native American mascots, logos, and stereotypical imagery are not isolated symbols. Instead, they are manifestations of a broader colonial legacy that has long reduced Indigenous peoples to caricatures while obscuring Native sovereignty, humanity, diversity, and the contemporary existence of Tribal Nations.

The Spulock Museum of World Cultures (600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana) will serve as the venue for programs happening between 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Curious about what NAH is up to this October? We have a packed schedule with Indigenous People's Day, Dinner on Us, Read...
10/01/2026

Curious about what NAH is up to this October? We have a packed schedule with Indigenous People's Day, Dinner on Us, Read & Resist, Book Club. Additionally, we have drop in hours from our embedded supports with the Counseling Center, Career Center, and the Jeffries Center. Make sure to stop by!

Address

1206 W Nevada Street
Urbana, IL
61801

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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