NEWS
Students celebrate Native American heritage
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by Natalie Rhoads
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Signs decorated Bascom Hill Tuesday as part of Native American Heritage Month. The signs, which are positioned again today, represent various Native American tribes present at the University of Wisconsin and is one of many efforts made by UW students to educate their peers about Native American culture.
Wunk Sheek, a UW Native American student organization, and the American Indian Studies Program is sponsoring events throughout the month of November to promote awareness of Native American culture and teach UW students about the culture’s heritage.
The two organizations hope the events will draw Native American and non-Native American students to learn more about the cultures represented at the UW campus.
Nearly 250 UW students are Native American, making up a small portion of the UW campus. Wunk Sheek co-president David O’Connor said because Native American representation on campus is so small, it is important to raise the awareness of the Native American culture among students.
“The campus has a small population of Native Americans, so it is important to show students what tribes are out there,” O’Connor said.
There are eleven recognized Native American tribes in Wisconsin, representing approximately 75,000 people, but most of the community does not know about the culture of these people, according to O’Connor.
UW freshman and Wunk Sheek member Roscelle Butterfield agreed with O’Connor about the lack of awareness by UW students of Native American cultures.
“A lot of people don’t know anything about Native Americans and just assume certain stereotypes that may not be true,” Butterfield said.
O’Connor said he hopes Native American Heritage Month will create awareness on campus so stereotypes about the average Native American family are diminished.
“Our main goal is to promote our culture and create awareness on campus — decreasing stereotypes is a nice benefit,” O’Connor said.
Campus events during Native American Heritage Month include a lecture by Bill Gartner addressing indigenous agriculture in the Americas, taking place tonight in the Red Gym. Gartner will speak on agriculture and foods that were originally thought to be European but are actually indigenous, according to O’Connor.
UW sophomore Katie Jerek attended Tuesday’s dream-catcher workshop and plans to attend Gartner’s lecture. She said the events were something different for UW students to attend.
“It is important to learn not just about Native American culture, but also about all cultures,” Jerek said.
Other events include a Native American dance workshop Thursday in Union South and a corn-husk doll workshop Nov. 30 in Chadbourne Residence Hall.
Wunk Sheek has successfully created awareness on campus based on the number of attendees to past events, O’Connor said. The Wunk Sheek-sponsored powwows have attracted nearly 3,000 people in the past.
Wunk Sheek also works to promote awareness of the Native American culture throughout the year. By sponsoring these events, Wunk Sheek provides a place for students to share knowledge and pass stories and facts about their culture to other students.
