Campus News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 12, 2024

ROCKFORD, ILL.- Native American activist, Harvard-educated economist, and author Winona LaDuke will visit Rockford University on Wednesday, September 18, to celebrate the International Day of Peace. 

The event will be held Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 7 p.m. in Fisher Chapel located on Rockford University’s campus. Rockford University is located at 5050 E. State St. in Rockford, Illinois. 

About Winona LaDuke 

LaDuke has devoted her life to advocating for indigenous people’s rights; environmental justice; women’s and children’s rights; rural development, and economic, food, and energy sovereignty.
In 1989, she founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP), a reservation-based land acquisition, environmental advocacy, and cultural organization and one of the largest reservation-based nonprofits in the country.

In 1994, LaDuke was nominated by Time Magazine as one of America’s 50 most promising leaders under the age of 40. She was awarded The Thomas Merton Award in 1996, The Biha Community Service Award in 1997, The Ann Bancroft Award for Women’s Leadership Fellowship, and The Reebok Human Rights Award (which she used to begin the White Earth Land Recovery Project). 

LaDuke was a two-time Green Party running mate for Ralph Nader in 1996 and 2000, and she is an international thought leader and lecturer in climate justice, renewable energy, and environmental justice, plus an advocate for protecting Indigenous plants and heritage foods from patenting and genetic engineering.

Today, LaDuke lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and she is active with multiple organizations. Her latest effort is Winona’s Hemp and Heritage, a farm and nonprofit agency whose mission is to create an Indigenous women-led economy that is kind to the Earth.

Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement 

The Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement (JACCE) advances the ideals of Rockford University through the study and practice of citizenship, service, and lifelong learning. We work to connect the classroom to the community while emphasizing community building and lifetime partnerships.

JACCE is located in Fisher Chapel. Visit us during our open hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, or email us anytime at JACCE@rockford.edu.

Forum Series

The Rockford University Forum Series presents speakers in various disciplines who have achieved success nationally and locally, and performers of stature in the arts. The Forum Series’ central programming focus is geared toward students and seeks to connect the campus to the local community. Lectures and performances are concerned with intellectual, social, and cultural matters of general interest to deepen and broaden students’ education at Rockford University and enhance the rich culture of Rockford.

Local media is invited to the Rockford University campus to cover this event.

To RSVP, please contact Rockford University’s Communications Department at Communications@Rockford.edu by Sept. 17 at 5 p.m.

Contact:

Sara Myers

RU Marketing & Communications

smyers@rockford.edu 

communications@rockford.edu 

815.394.5052