The Echo
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Staff
  • Join Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Archives
The Echo
  • Home
  • News
  • A & E
  • Sports
    • SNU Athletics
  • Opinion
  • Galleries
The Echo
  • Home
  • News
  • A & E
  • Sports
    • SNU Athletics
  • Opinion
  • Galleries
Native American Heritage Month No More

Opinion

Native American Heritage Month No More

By Alex GrahamNovember 25, 2019

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush approved a resolution to designate November as Native American Indian Month which was later changed to Native American Heritage Month. This is a time set aside to pay tribute to the first Americans. Amidst changes, Southern Nazarene University (SNU) continues to honor this month and group of people here on campus. 

This month, SNU has hosted several events to honor Native Americans and educate students on traditions that people outside of the tribes may not know about. SNU hosted three events aimed at making an effort to unify and inform. 

The first event hosted included a Native American dance group. Students and faculty met with the intention to learn about traditional garb and watch performances of traditional dances. Little did they know that the crowd would be asked to join in! Students came to the floor and danced beside the dance group as they learned the steps and meanings behind some of the dances. 

There was also a Native American Heritage coffee shop talk where people grabbed warm drinks and joined in on discussion about this month and its significance. Alongside the coffee shop talk, there was a Native American heritage movie discussion event. While all of these events were fun to attend, they also were effective in enlightening students in a responsible and respectful way on a culture that may be new to them. 

Dr. Lauren Brand of the History Department here at SNU spoke on these events, saying, “By attending or participating in events for Native American History Month, students can learn things that may help them understand the contexts in which indigenous peoples live today. This seems particularly important to me because we are in Oklahoma which has the second largest population of indigenous people in the nation. We need context to understand the issues that face our Native American neighbors today.”

Right before the month of November began, the White House released a statement that President Donald Trump signed, renaming November to be “National American History and Founders Month.” The addition of “founders” as well as the subtraction of “Native” has created mixed feelings from the public. 

The statement from the White House includes the following quote: “Studying our country’s founding documents and exploring our unique history—both the achievements and challenges—is indispensable to the future success of our great Nation.” This is some of the reasoning for the new title for November. 

Some students feel that this new title takes some of the focus away from the study of Native American history and the respect that the month deserves. Student Stevie Jackson commented on the subject, saying, “I feel like it is just another effort to whitewash a holiday meant for a minority group here in the United States.” 

Dr. Brand added, “I think we have plenty of monuments, museums and celebrations for the ‘founders’ of the nation, particularly the white male ones. None of this history has ever been de-emphasized in American schools or in American culture.”

Clearly, this is an issue that is very close to home here on SNU’s campus, situated in the heart of Oklahoma. It is important to remember to celebrate different groups that surround us and learn about other cultures. Don’t forget to ask questions, celebrate differences and never stop learning. 

(Photo by MJ Tangonan on Unsplash)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Tags

Dr. Lauren Brand Hot topic Indigenous People Intercultural Engagement National American History and Founders Month Native American History Month November Stevie Jackson

By Alex Graham

Prev PostBi-Weekly Video #6: Homecoming Edition
Graduates throwing their grad caps to look like a rising sun
Next PostTo Our December Graduates 
  • Comments (0)

What do you think? Cancel reply

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

New Stories

Black-Owned Businesses In OKC
Black-Owned Businesses In OKC
February 24, 2021
Coach Webber’s Final Season
Coach Webber’s Final Season
February 22, 2021
5 Romcoms to Watch this Valentine’s Day
5 Romcoms to Watch this Valentine’s Day
February 14, 2021
Storming with Confidence
Storming with Confidence
February 10, 2021

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,174 other subscribers

Tag Cloud

A&E abby felter advice Alina Scott amy calfy athletics baseball basketball Byron Crouch campus carlos font celeste forrest chapel Christmas classic view college community Covid-19 crimson storm David Peterson food football Friends grace williams in review jake the movie guy jim wilcox katelyn lamb love mike vierow movie review movies music news OKC opinion Review Ronna Fisher SGA SNU snu athletics sports student life summer howard the echo
The Echo
The Echo is an online student newspaper and a product of Southern Nazarene University in Bethany Oklahoma. Since 1928, The Echo has striven to be Our Voice.
© 2021 The Echo. All right reserved.
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Staff
  • Join Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Archives
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.