Native American Heritage Month 2025 at UIUC will feature Dr. Jessica Hernandez, an Indigenous environmental scientist and author, as a keynote speaker. She will participate in a full-day campus visit including a “Dinner on Us” lecture, guest lectures in university courses, and a community welcome event. Her visit will explore Indigenous knowledge systems, climate justice, and environmental stewardship through a culturally grounded lens. Programming is designed to engage students, faculty, and the broader campus community with interdisciplinary learning at intersections of STEM, sustainability, and Indigenous knowledge systems.

This proposal directly funds:
1. Speaker honorarium
2. Bento boxes and glass water bottles