Asian and Native American Center: R.E.A.C.H. Fest - Native American Heritage Festival

The ANA Center is pleased to partner with R.E.A.C.H. Indigenous Advocacy to host the 3rd annual R.E.A.C.H. Fest, a Native American Heritage Festival, at Wright State University!

R.E.A.C.H. Fest begins at 4pm with a joint session with the Runkle Woods Symposium. Panelists Jill Krieg-Stover, Gwynn Henderson, and Dave Pollack will discuss  regional work toward compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Student Union, Discovery Room).

The festival's opening dinner will follow in the Apollo Room, with doors opening at 5:30. Dinner tickets are $50 per person or $25 per student. Purchase tickets here.  Dinner is catered by Indigenous Chef, a Native-owned food truck based in Cincinnati. There will be a short keynote regarding advocacy by photographer Angel Horn (Mohawk), a presentation of the annual Empowered Ally and Warrior in the Arena Awards, and flute performance by Fred Keams (Navajo) and hoop dance by Rachel Secody (Lumbee/Tlingit). The evening will conclude with a “Night Market,” giving dinner guests first look at what vendors will be offering throughout the weekend.

The festival will continue on Saturday, 11/16 (10a-7p) and Sunday 11/17 (11a-6p) and these portions are free and open to the public and include family-friendly programming. Visitors can look forward to Iron Lightning (Lakota) drum performances; an exhibition of historical photos by Edward S. Curtis with responses by contemporary artists and living relatives; Cherokee Elders storytelling; demonstrations, including, marble games, stickball, smoke dance, water drum, and horn rattles; children’s craft activities; the Indigenous Chef food truck; Native Women Veterans Panel (Saturday), and a live podcast recording by Urban Native Collective (Sunday). The detailed schedule is available here.