By Steven Dlugosz


“Native Americans are indigenous people, not Indians. The word Indian is not synonymous with Native American people,” said Ryan King, president of the Native American Student Organization at Buffalo State College.

The statement was one of many from King during “We can’t stand it- Minorities and Stereotypes.” The event, presented in Assembly Hall, was part of Native American Heritage Month and brought many BSC minority groups together to discuss what needs to be done to eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings of their cultures.

The event featured discussions among different groups that dealt with many false impressions many people have of them, such as “Native Americans only live in teepees and wear feathers,” as Ryan King said. King, who is president of the Native American Student Organization at BSC, spoke to the audience with many fellow BSC Native Americans beside him.

“We’re not savages or hostile, and we don’t appreciate being called ‘redskins’ or other disparaging terms,” King said.

King went on to say that Native Americans are not that much different than other people,

“We’re just as diverse among Native people as people are in general. There’s as much diversity among Native nations on their own as there is in the general population in the United States,” King said.

To end negative stereotypes against Native Americans, King thinks BSC starting a Native studies course is a step in the right direction.

“I think what we honestly, truly need is a Native studies class, because a lot of people don’t know about Native culture, and they’re just clueless…Native Americans are one of the most ignored minorities in Buffalo State and the entire nation. Thus, I think a Native studies course would be beneficial to the college,” King said.

Another prevalent group at the event speaking to the audience was the BSC Latino population. Coordinator of Latino-Caribbean Student Services at BSC Daniel Velez and other Latinos at BSC discussed popular misinterpretations against them, such as that “Latinos are drug dealers, gang members and uneducated.”

Velez thought that that the event taught the audience a valuable lesson.

“I think this event is a scratch on the surface. I liken oppression to being a huge tent with rips in it that covers everyone. It’s everyone’s responsibility to start mending individual rips of the tent personally. This event will teach people that by working together, they can mend the entire tent and end oppression,” Velez said.
Velez also said the event was a showcase of what needs to be done in the future to change negative stereotypes.

“I think that continuing programs like this around campus and creating a link between what we do in Student Affairs, and how we educate students in these kinds of workshops, can be brought to the classroom experience,” Velez said.

King agreed with Velez’s opinion.

“This event was good because it got our voice out in the open to be heard, and the audience could hear the issues that minorities have to deal with on a regular basis. There were a large population of diverse students here tonight- black, white, Native American and Latino, that heard each other’s situation,” King said.

Additional Links:

montoul@buffalostate.edu (for more information on upcoming events)
Event 1
Event 2