Seminole State College will host Tribal Fest on Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on campus. The event is organized and sponsored by the College’s federal grant programs: Student Support Services/SSS STEM, Talent Search, GEAR UP, NASNTI and Upward Bound.

Tribal Fest’s opening ceremony will feature comments from Seminole Nation Chief Lewis Johnson in the Cook Commons, the courtyard outside of the David Boren Library. Chief Johnson was elected in 2021. He has more than 30 years of experience in tribal government. Prior to his current position, Chief Johnson served as Assistant Chief, served two terms on the General Council and was a Band Chief for the Tallahassee Band.

In the Commons, several tribes will have booths set up, providing information on resources available for education, career, housing, nutrition, graduation regalia and more. The Citizen Potawatomi, Choctaw, Sac and Fox, Muscogee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Absentee Shawnee and Cherokee Nations will all be represented.

Between classes at 8:50 a.m., 9:50 a.m., and 10:50 a.m. fancy dancing and drumming will be performed. SSC graduate and Mr. Indigenous OU Asa Samuels will be one of the performers. Tribal princesses will also be present to meet and greet guests.

At 12:00 p.m., Sicangu Lakota rapper Frank Waln will take to the stage in the Jeff Johnston Auditorium. Waln grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. He has won three Native American Music Awards. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Audio Arts and Acoustics. In addition to a musical performance at the event, Waln will also speak about achieving educational and career goals from a first-generation student perspective.

For more information about Tribal Fest and other upcoming campus events, visit sscok.edu/events.