Sharon Day

Sharon Day is an Ojibwe leader, Native American activist, artist and writer from Minnesota.

Day started off Speaker Day with her keynote. Within, Day emphasized the importance of diversity within a community- while diversity is a necessity to our community it is not always “that nice.”

In her keynote, Day also utilized her creative impulses to tell personal messages and anecdotes as forms of activism. Day believes that writing and art have allowed her to share her personal thoughts in a more poetic way. That art is also what clears a path in activism.

Day started off the keynote by sharing a song she self-composed as a child. This song was in the Ojibwe language, not her native tongue but her parents and grandparents. Day shared that her father had sent her to a public elementary school where they spoke English because “that was the way of the reservation.” At home, her parents also spoke English to her instead of Ojibwe. Nevertheless, Day still thought it was necessary for her to use her “elementary Ojibwe” to write down her thoughts about the land. She said, “recognizing the land we are on is Native Indigenous land starts with recognizing the language.

Next, Day read a piece of writing that contains her thoughts on the current and past injustices and events of society. Listen

Day’s hope for the current generation of students is to bring the world one step closer to the top of the hill where freedom exists for all. Day ended with a message to the students, “Every generation has a job. Hopefully, ours [the students] will bring more equity.”