MSUM Celebrates American Indian Heritage Month
November 2013
Wednesday, November 6
Building of Sweat Lodge and Q&A (Sustainability House)
Laidman (JR) Fox will be available for questions/answer session during the building of a Sweat Lodge on the MSUM campus. Building of the sweat lodge will begin at 10:00 AM and continue throughout the afternoon.
Thursday, November 7
12:00 Noon Opening Pipe Ceremony (Library Front)
Laidman (JR) Fox, Jr., spiritual advisor from Spirit Lake, ND, will conduct an opening pipe ceremony to welcome in American Indian Heritage Month on the MSUM campus.
2:00 PM White Earth Constitutional Reform (CMU 203)
This discussion will review the need for constitutional reform at White Earth and other Indian nations, the process White Earth is currently engaged in, and a brief look at what might happen if the Proposed Constitution is approved or rejected.
Terry Janis serves as Project Manager for the Constitution Reform Process at White Earth Nation.
Friday, November 8
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM Indigenous Peoples’ Symposium (CMU 101)
Dr. Erma Vizenor, White Earth Chairwoman, will describe the importance of constitutional reform for White Earth and other tribal nations.
Professor Tadd Johnson, director of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota Duluth, will explore 400 years of U.S.-tribal relations.
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Dr. Kandace Creel Falcon, Reflecting on Experiential Ways of Knowing, Institutional Violence and the Pathways to Diverse Student Empowerment
Monday, November 11
2 p.m. Revitalizing Native American Languages One at a Time (CMU 208)
Presented by Jim Green, Pine Ridge Oglala
When the Maoris of New Zealand revitalized their language, it wasn’t the elders and fluent speakers who led the way. It was people – like you – who learned to speak the language through the Silent Way and then created preschool ‘language nests’ for the children. If interested, come see how it works for Lakota, Dakota, Anishinabe, etc.
3:30 p.m. Native American Beadwork – Make Your Own (CMU 208)
Bernice Catches (Lakota) gets you started on your own beaded earrings or bracelet. Supplies and band-aids provided.
Tuesday, November 12
1:30 p.m. Dreamcatcher Craft Workshop (CMU 216)
In this workshop American Indian Student Association members will help you create a dreamcatcher using twine, beads, etc. In Ojibwe tradition, only the good dreams pass through the web and the bad dreams become entangled. When the sun rises and the first rays of sunlight touch the dreamcatcher, the bad dreams dissolve.
Monday, November 18
4:00 p.m. Traditional Native Handgames (CMU 101)
Members of the American Indian Student Association will provide instruction on rules and
strategies as well as play games with participants. Handgames require observation, strategy, intuitive skills, team effort, and fun.
Tuesday, November 19
1:00 p.m. Dakota POW Letters (CMU 101)
Dr. Clifford Canku, Dakota Studies Professor at North Dakota State University, unveils the history of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa Native American prisoners and their families by translating Dakota letters. The letters were written in the Dakota language and offer a glimpse into the experiences of the prisoners of the 1862 Dakota Conflict.
As a native speaker of Dakota, Dr. Canku is leading a team translating the letters from Dakota into English for publication.
Wednesday, November 20
6:30 p.m. Movie: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (CMU 101)
Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee intertwines the perspectives of three characters: Charles Eastman, a young, Dartmouth-educated, Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation; Sitting Bull, the proud Lakota chief who refuses to submit to U.S. government policies designed to strip his people of their identity and their sacred land; and Senator Henry Dawe, who was one of the architects of the government policy on Indian affairs.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Refreshments provided at most events
Sponsored by MSUM American Indian Student Activities, American Indian Student Association (AISA), MSUM Student Senate, White Earth Program, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, and Fargo Native American Commission
For more information, contact Cera Swiftwater, AISA President, swiftwatce@mnstate.edu or Jody Steile, AISA Advisor, steilejo@mnstate.edu, 477.4272.