By Sandra Kelly
Beads, dreams and lacrosse are just a few of the workshops
that will be presented during the Native American Heritage
Celebration sponsored by the Native American Student Organization
at Buffalo State College.
Every year the NASO celebrates American Indian heritage
during the month of April with free hands-on workshops,
lectures and presentations that are open to everyone.
There will be a lacrosse stick-making presentation at 7:30
p.m. on April 26 in Bacon 116 from Patterson Lacrosse Sticks,
which is based in Sanborn on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation.
During Bengal Pause on April 21 in the Student Union lower
lobby near the bookstore there will be a “Tree of
Peace Beadwork Project” instructed by Sam Thomas,
a beadwork artist from Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve.
“Students will be welcomed to help create a beaded
pine tree, symbolic of the Iroquois Tree of Peace,”
said Laticia McNaughton, NASO president.
Thomas’ beadwork is part of permanent collections
at the Canadian museum of Civilization in Quebec, The Royal
Ontario Museum in Toronto and The Rochester Museum. He has
also won the Judge’s Choice Award at the Mashantucket
Pequot Museum and Research Center in Connecticut.
McNaughton will instruct the Dreamcatcher Workshop during
the event. Students will learn about the tradition and stories
behind dreamcatchers as well as make one of their own.
Based on attendance, this is one of the most popular events
that happens every year, she said.
Students who are interested in the events should visit the
Native American Student Organization Web site at http://ipa.buffalostate.edu/~usg/organiz/naso.htm.
A complete list of events should be posted within the next
week.
These events started when the NASO was founded in 1990,
said McNaughton.
“It started…as a means of heightening the awareness
of the Buffalo State campus students, faculty and staff
on the various and diverse aspects of Native American culture,”
she said.
After 15 years the event continues to honor and celebrate
Native American accomplishments and cultures, said McNaughton.
“The celebration essentially comes to show that Native
American culture has not faded, but has persisted through
the many challenges it faces today,” she said. “Despite
these adversities, Native American culture has flourished,
becoming more rich and diverse, and the Buffalo State College
Native American Heritage Celebration comes to show this
very fact.”
This year there are about 16 events; compared to last year’s
22, according to McNaughton.
“This year we decided to narrow it down and focus
on fewer, but more interesting and appealing events,”
she said.
For as long as the celebration has been at Buffalo State,
not many students have heard of it.
Senior Otis Collymore said he is not aware of the event,
but would attend.
“I think it would be very beneficial for me and my
friends,” he said.
Collymore said that this is a good opportunity to learn
about another culture. He admits to not knowing much about
Native Americans, but would like to learn.
Alicia Pinkard, a junior, said she heard about the celebration
from guest lecturer Barry White, a professor of Native American
Studies at the University at Buffalo, in her Minority Voices
in the Media class.
She would be interested in the workshops that are offered.
Pinkard said this event is good for the college.
“There are so many minorities that attend this school,
it’s good to expose people to different things,”
she said.
Any student who has questions about the upcoming event,
who is interested in joining the Native American Student
Organization, or helping with the celebration can contact
McNaughton at 990-0928 or NASO2005@hotmail.com.
Sandra Kelly can be reached at sandykelly@gmail.com
Links:
http://www.pattersonlacrosse.com
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3808/
http://www.ncnw.net/Craft7.htm
http://ipa.buffalostate.edu/~usg/organiz/naso.htm
|
