8pm ET— Protect the Sacred, a grassroots initiative created in response to the COVID-19 crisis on the Navajo Nation, is presenting the Indigenous Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration with Urban Native Era. This livestream celebration on Tuesday, June 30th at 5pm Pacific Time, 6pm Mountain Time, and 8pm Eastern Time will feature Native American singers, dancers, elders and leaders - Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Congresswoman Deb Haaland - as well as celebrity appearances from Ava DuVernay, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Zahn McClarnon, Sean Penn, Wilmer Valderrama, Paul Rudd, Dawn-Lyen Garnder, Chris Evans, Taika Waititi, Piper Perabo, Jewel, and Jordan Nolan.
Celebrating the class of 2020’s accomplishments amid adversity of COVID-19, this initiative aims to empower Indigenous youth as they enter the next chapter of their life. This star-studded event will encourage Indigenous young adults to shape their futures and invest in their communities by filling out the 2020 United States Census and registering to vote.
The virtual commencement can be accessed live here on June 30th, and on YouTube and Facebook afterward. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP with Protect the Sacred prior to the event but forgetting to do so does not restrict you from viewing the livestream, which will be made public for all to view. Native youth are encouraged to sign up for the Hero Challenge on Protect the Sacred’s website.
The Navajo Nation is America’s largest, self-governing indigenous reservation with a population of over 250,000—including many youth and young adults. Many of these young adults are now or will soon be 18-years-old, so the Indigenous Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration will help them navigate civic duties. During a pivotal point in America’s history, Indigenous youth across the country have the power to preserve and grow their tribal nations by participating in democracy.
The new generations of Native youth represent the voice of change for Indigenous peoples—and protect and represent their communities amid the global COVID-19 crisis. The Navajo Nation is currently working towards recovering from a widespread bout of the novel coronavirus, while neighboring tribes, the Pueblo and Apache are now seeing the highest rates of COVID-19 per capita in the country.
As an extension of the virtual graduation celebration, Protect the Sacred invites Indigenous youth from across the country to join in the Indian Country Hero Challenge, a four-part challenge that encourages children and teens to stay home and connect with their Native cultures. Activities are designed for participating youth to learn more of their culture, stories and languages from their elders and share on social media.
“My colleagues, community, relatives, friends, and allies are incredibly proud of our Native youth across Indian Country for pushing through a difficult several months and sacrificing their big moment walking across the stage,” said Protect the Sacred Co-Founder and Director Allie Young. “They graciously accepted virtual celebrations with their families and friends in lieu of large celebrations to keep our people and elders safe. They are selfless and they are our future. They are more connected to the vast information and technology in the world, and combining that knowledge with the values, medicine ways, and cultures that root us in the land of who we are - the Original Peoples. They are coming up with new and inventive ways of revitalizing language and culture, and that gives us so much hope in these uncertain times. We’re excited to honor them with this virtual celebration to show our appreciation because they deserve it and should know that they are not the forgotten class. They are the brave, strong, resilient, Indigenous class of 2020, and they are seen!”
Urban Native Era, a Native-owned company, is presenting this event alongside Protect the Sacred and has designed the official Indigenous Class of 2020 t-shirt.
For more information, visit: www.protectthesacred.care.
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