The University of Illinois is joining in a celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday, with UI graduate Charlene Teters as the keynote speaker.

Indigenous Peoples' Day, seen as an alternative to Columbus Day, has been celebrated for years at the university, led by native students, La Casa Cultural Latina and the Native American House.

This is "the first time it will be a university-level event," campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said to The News Gazette.

Commemorating Indigenous Peoples' Day was one suggestion in the report from last spring's "critical conversation" on Chief Illiniwek and Native American imagery in sports.