Native American Heritage Month activities begin at BSU

November is Native American Heritage Month, and the Boise State Cultural Center will be celebrating with numerous events and workshops.

On Nov. 8, Living Voices will present “Native Vision: The Navajo Experience in the 1930s and 1940s” at 3 p.m. in the Lookout Room, Student Union Building. The story of a Navajo girl incorporates theater, video and live interaction as she explores her family’s past and struggles to keep her culture alive while attending a government-run boarding school. The event is free and more information is available at www.livingvoices.org.

Intertribal Native Council of BSU Vice President Pat Garcia will present a free Native American Dream Catcher Workshop on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. in the Cultural Center, and will instruct participants how to make a dreamcatcher. Materials will be provided. Call 426-5950 to register.

On Nov. 16 at 1 p.m., Nancy Eagen of the Boise-based Women of Color Alliance will lead a discussion of the S-word (“squaw,” according to www.wocaonline.org) and its removal from Idaho landmarks. The free event will be held in the Cultural Center.

“The Life of Leonard Peltier” will be presented in the Cultural Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17. The movie is free and profiles Peltier, the American Indian activist whose trial and conviction for murders of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975 has been widely criticized.

On Nov. 30 at 6 p.m., “Speak Up Forum: Native American Mascots in Sports” will be held in the Jordan Ballroom in the SUB.

The panel will discuss the tradition of using Native American mascots for U.S. sports teams. Perspectives will range from opposition to native mascots to acceptance if respectful. Participants are encouraged to join the discussion of this timely topic.

More information is available by contacting Cultural Center Coordinator Ro Parker at 426-4317.

Sara Bahnson / News Editor

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