Newsletter: November 2026 Issue 1
November is Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month
Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month, observed each November, honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of Native American and Alaska Native peoples. Its origins trace back to the early 1900s, when Native leaders such as Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca educator, and Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapaho priest, advocated for national recognition through the Society of American Indians. After decades of advocacy, Congress designated November as National American Indian Heritage Month in 1990. Today, it is a time to celebrate Indigenous resilience and acknowledge Native peoples’ ongoing presence and contributions.
To honor this month, check out our colleague Curiosity Based's 2026 Native American and Alaska Native Authored Leadership Books. The list includes nonfiction and memoirs listed in alphabetical order. Other ideas for celebrating this month at your workplace include:
Hosting a lunch and learn with a Native speaker, being sure to provide an honorarium.
Find out whose land you are on using Native Land Digital and consider doing a land acknowledgement.
Donate to Native programs such as Real Rent Duwamish, Chief Seattle Club, Na'ah Illahee Fund, and more.
Spend at Native owned businesses. You can find ones near you using Intentionalist's guide.
Be sure to read our newsletter archives to read our interviews with bead artist Cynthia Masterson, who provides bead making team building workshops for organizations, and artist, writer, and singer Sondra Seguro.
Leading When You're Activated Lunch & Learn
The first in our Train the Trainer Lunch and Learn Series, "Leading When You're Activated" is happening next week, followed by "When You Disagree." These one hour mini-workshops are a great way to dip your toe into our Train the Trainer curriculum. There are four sessions total and each one is $25.
Choose however many sessions you want or attend them all!
Session 1 (11/3): Leading When You’re Activated
Session 2 (11/10): When You Disagree
Session 3 (11/17): Asking Questions with Genuine Curiosity
Session 4 (11/24): Diving into the Tension
All sessions meet at 12:30-1:30pm PT / 3:30-4:30pm ET on Zoom. Visit the link below to learn more and register!
Subscribe to our Virtual Diversity Calendar 2026-2027
Our virtual Diversity Calendar is now available to add to your Google calendar. While we released our PDF version during the summer, subscribing to our virtual calendar will populate your Google calendar with significant dates so that you can plan your events and meetings more inclusively.
If you subscribed to last year's calendar, there is no need to do anything. This year's dates were added to last year's. Visit this link to subscribe and do share our calendar with your colleagues and friends.
Cultures Connecting at the Bridge Conference
Members of our Cultures Connecting team presented at the 2026 Bridge Conference held by School's Out Washington on October 26 & 27. This year's theme was "The Art of Being Water."
Dr. Caprice Hollins and Ilsa Govan co-presented "The Art of Facilitation: Leading through Emotions in Discourse about Race" and Richard Kim presented, "Weaving Without Erasing: Equitable Enculturation for Diverse Communities." Ilsa shared about her experience,
"SOWA's Bridge Conference rocked this year! Caprice and I led a session on The Art of Facilitation: Leading through Emotions in Discourse about Race to an amazing group of reflective folks. One shared afterwards how much she appreciated have clear strategies to apply in the many moments she, as a woman of color, feels activated throughout the day.
One of my favorite parts of tabling at a conference is the opportunity to see people we've known for years in racial justice work, and hear the stories and make connections with new people. Knowing so many are engaged everyday in centering belonging while elevating youth voice truly left me feeling more energized and hopeful. A huge shout out to Kerry Wade at Best Starts for Kids who had the awesome photo booth right next to us (see image below) and shared details of how she co-designed the Youth Bill of Rights with young people!
If you missed our workshop, we'll also be talking about this at our first lunch and learn next week!"
Correction: In our last issue, we gave credit to Dr. Imani Chapman for his article, "Young White Men: Angry, Scared, Cynical" when the article was written by Paul Kivel. Dr. Chapman and Mr. Kivel created the video together.
It's a new month which means taking a look at our Diversity Calendar to look at significant dates to consider when planning meetings or events to create greater inclusion. Click on the name of the day to learn more.
11/01: All Saint's Day (Anglican & Roman Catholic)
11/08: Bandi Chhor Divas (Sikh)
11/09-10: Birth of the Báb (Bahá'i)
11/06-10: Diwali (Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist)
11/11: Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá'i)
11/24: Birthday of Guru Nanak (Sikh)
11/26: Day of Mourning (United States)
11/27: Native American Heritage Day (United States)
If you'd like to add our Diversity Calendar dates to your Google calendar, you can add it using this link.
Upcoming DEIB/Social Justice Events
For details on these and other events, workshops and conferences happening in the social justice space, visit our Events Calendar. If you have an event you would like us to share, please reach out to us!
11/01: Race Forward Cultural Week of Action
11/01: NAAM: Unblackable: Reflection and Conversation with TR Miles
11/01: Riff Raff League for Political Action
11/02: Unwind with Guided Meditation
11/02: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation and Mindful Living
11/03: Train the Trainer Lunch & Learns: Leading When You’re Activated
11/03: NAMI BIPOC Support Group
11/04: Unspoken Truths Gallery
11/04: Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Action Hour
11/05: NAMI LGBTQ+ Support Group
11/06: Resistance Fridays at Common Power
11/06: Community Care Yoga and Mindfulness
11/07: Families Shoulder to Shoulder: Hope and Second Chances Bing
11/07: Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In
11/10: ToP Facilitation Methods
11/10: Train the Trainer Lunch & Learns: When You Disagree
11/11: Intensive Restorative Practices
11/12: Are You Controlling AI Responsibly and Efficiently, or Is it Controlling You?
11/12: Film Screening: Unrecognized
11/13: What's Next for DEI? The Legal and Political Landscape After the Midterm Elections
...and so much more! Visit our Events Calendar to see the most up-to-date full schedule.
*Cultures Connecting workshop.
