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Warne leads discussion on taking meaningful steps to decolonize the holidays and honor indigenous peoples’ experience

SM��������is holding the newest webinar in its Educational Equity Webinar Series, titled “Decolonizing the Holidays with Educator-Advocate-Filmmaker Jim Warne,” on November 17, 2022, at 11:00am MDT. The event is part of a public series intended for educators, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) practitioners, higher education leaders and administrators, employers, nonprofit organizations, government affiliates, and SM������ faculty, staff, students, and alumni across the globe.

Jim Warne, filmmaker, educator, advocate, and member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation, leads the webinar to provide a forum for active learning about the tragic and complex history of Thanksgiving that was not taught in U.S. schools, as well as the effects of colonization on the contemporary world.

“We learn a lot about genocide in other countries, but we don’t learn about the genocide that happened here,” Warne shared in his 2020 short video,��.��“When you look at the Wounded Knee gravesite, my family is number 18 on the list of families that perished that day. Being an American citizen, many of us don’t have that experience of visiting a mass grave, of feeling that trauma from many generations ago…Black Elk said it would take seven generations to heal our circle after Wounded Knee, so as we gather on this special holiday, let’s give thanks for inclusion, let’s give thanks for culture, let’s give thanks for who we are, as two-leggeds.”

Participants of the webinar will have the opportunity to explore the following as a learning community and share their insights:

• How can we change the narrative around the celebration of Thanksgiving while honoring the true history and sacrifices of our ancestors, the indigenous peoples native to the lands we have the privilege to live in?
• What are meaningful steps leaders, educators, and organizations as a whole take towards decolonizing the holidays?

As President of��, Warne consults for government agencies, organizations, Tribal Nations, and academia including, the Arizona College of Medicine Sonoran Center. Warnes’ experience includes Congressional testimonies, cultural diversity, workforce inclusion, film production, actor/stuntman, professional football, youth athletic/life skill camps, and grant & organizational development. His WSD Productions Film Division produced “7th Generation” an award-winning documentary. His Emmy nominated short film, “Oyáte un Itówapi-Pictures of my People” aired on Fox NFL Pregame Show Thanksgiving 2020, and FOX “Voices” on MLK Day 2021. His most recent film is “Remember the Children,” honoring the missing children of the Rapid City Indian Boarding School.

The discussion will be hosted by Tondra Richardson, MBA, director of Student Diversity & Inclusion and Saray Lopez, MBA, director, Student Diversity & Inclusion, both with the��Office of Educational Equity��at SM������.

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Previous webinars can be accessed here.

About��SM������

SM������ is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life® help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.��

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