Native American Month kicks off in Nov.
November is the celebration of Native American Month and marks a number of events to raise awareness about the native culture that hits very close to home at CMU.
All events are sponsored by Native American Programs, the Native American Indian Student Organization and the Student Budget Allocation Committee.
The keynote speaker for Native American Month, Edward Benton-Banai, spoke on Tuesday about "Anishinaabe in Y2K."
Adam Haviland, vice president of NAISO and Lansing senior, said he was affected by Benton-Banai's message about the role of traditions in curriculum and everyday life.
Haviland said he sees Native American Month as a time for the recognition of native culture.
"History books put us in the past tense. We don't live in the past tense. Our culture is still around, we're still living," Haviland said.
Haviland said he has Odawa roots and is Native American, but does not belong to a federally recognized tribe.
Melissa Valtierra, Larzelere Hall multicultural adviser and Saginaw junior, says Native American Month is one of the least-recognized heritage months. However, CMU is offering a number of programs to raise awareness of the culture.
"Even though the reservation is close, we don't have a very large native population. I would challenge people to check out some programs because we are Central and we are the Chippewas," Valtierra said.
Thursday marked the second event in the month-long program. Keynote speaker Benton-Banai spoke about "Meeting the Needs of Native Students" over a breakfast program in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.
Todd Williamson, interim director of Native American programs, said there are still many programs left to attend, even though Benton-Banai is gone.
"A lot of opportunity for learning has expired because our keynote speaker just left campus, but there are still a lot of opportunities for students to learn about Native American peoples and themselves," Williamson said.
The next event is the beginning of a four-part film festival. "Smoke Signals," the story of two Native American men linked together by a tragedy in their past, will show at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Pearce 127.
"The four films we are showing will help break down stereotypes for different audiences," Williamson said.
At noon Nov. 11, in the Down Under Food Court, there will be a drumming presentation by the Five Mile Creek Drum. They will perform again at 7:30 p.m. during an Anishinaabe food taster at the Wesley Foundation.
"We usually get a good turnout for the food taster and drummer. It will be entertaining and interesting. There will be a variety of foods that are indigenous and traditional to this area like venison, whitefish and wild berries," Williamson said.
The film festival continues with the showing of "Pow Wow Highway" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in Pearce 127.
Jeff Falcusan, 1999 CMU alumnus and former president of the Student Government Association, will present a speech titled, "The Chippewa Nickname at CMU" Nov. 19 in the UC Lake Michigan room.
The third film in the festival series is titled "Naturally Native" and will be shown for the first time at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 in Warriner Auditorium.
"You're going to see it here first. I'm very excited about that," Haviland said.
Native American Month concludes its series of events with the final film titled, "Dance Me Outside." It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29 in Anspach 162.
With a month full of activities, there are many opportunities to learn something new and grow as a person, Valtierra said.
"I would encourage students to step out of their comfort zones. Go check out a program and see what you can learn. It can't hurt you. If anything, it will help you to better understand someone else's culture," Valtierra said.
