November 2012
Native American Heritage Month is a celebration of the history, culture and traditions of Native Americans. The celebration originally began in 1916 in New York State when it declared the first “American Indian Day.” On August 3, 1990 President George Bush declared the first National American Indian Heritage Month.
The purpose of Native American Heritage Month is to honor and recognize the original peoples of this land. At Grand Valley, we strive to provide an educational platform that addresses and celebrates the history of Native Americans through cultural events, speakers, art and music.
2012 Native American Heritage Month
Native Culture, Tradition & Heritage
Speaker: Frank Ettawageshik
Thursday, November 1, 2012
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Grand River Room Kirkhof Center, Allendale
Frank Ettawageshik is an Odawa Indian from northern Lower Michigan and grew up in Harbor Springs, on Little Traverse Bay, in the Odawa homeland of Waganakising (the Crooked Tree). In 1989 Mr. Ettawageshik was elected to the board of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB) where he served as Vice- Chairman until April of 1991, then as Tribal Chairman through July of 1999, and then as chairman of the Tribe’s Economic Development Commission from 2002-2003. In 2005, Mr. Ettawageshik was elected Chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands Executive Branch under the Tribe’s new Constitution which separates the powers of the three branches of government: the Legislative (Tribal Council), the Executive (Chair and Vice-chair), and the Judicial (Tribal Court and Tribal Appellate Court). He currently serves as a Board Member of the Michigan Indian Education Council, the Crooked Tree Arts Center, Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, Great Lakes Resources Committee, and sits on the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. Mr. Ettawageshik works to revive the making of traditional Indian pottery in the Great Lakes area and is a storyteller following the tradition passed down from his father. LIB 100 and US 201 Approved.
Diversity Brown Bag Series Presents: American Indians Today
Speaker: Levi Rickert
Thursday, November 8, 2012
12:00 - 1:00 pm
2204 Kirkhof Center, Allendale
Levi Rickert serves as the editor-in-chief of the Native News Network, which he co-founded in February 2011. Mr. Rickert is a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and is the former executive director of the North American Indian Center of Grand Rapids. His community involvement includes the Grand Rapids Historical Commission; vice chair of the City of Grand Rapids Community Relations Commission, among several others. During 2011 he has traveled to some 25 American Indian reservations in Indian Country and covered American Indian events in Washington, DC; Chicago, Illinois; San Diego, California; Raleigh, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rickert is the author of many essays including “Indian Pride” which appears in "Voice on the Water: Great Lakes Native America Now” and “Even Though I Was Not ‘Raised Indian’” for “Thin Ice: Coming of Age in Grand Rapids”. LIB 100 and US 201 Approved.
Professional of Color Lecture Series Presents: Global Unity
Speaker: Billy Mills
Monday, November 12, 2012
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Cook DeWitt Center, Allendale
Our world is changing. Entire governments have been dismantled, new governments created, existing governments redesigned, universities reengineered and businesses reconstructed, all to better prepare you and I for a rapidly changing world. Billy will share what remains constant in our changing world. How we address this consistency is our key to global unity through the dignity character and beauty of global diversity. He takes his audience on a compassionate and powerful journey, weaving stories of his young life as an orphaned Native American child living in poverty while encountering the ignorance of racism. How Billy draws strength from the virtues and values of diversity and his Native American culture will help all individually and collectively to meet change by reaching within the depths of our capabilities and performing to the greatest of out potential. We leave knowing it was the daily choices he made in life, not just the talent he possessed, that choreographed his quest for Olympic glory. LIB 100 and US 201 Approved.
Violence Prevention in Indian Country: Traditional Teachings for Today
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
4:00 - 5:30 pm
Grand River Room, Allendale
Steven (Naganashe) Perry descends from The Naganashe family of the Waganakising Odawa and The Shingwauk family of Kitigan-zeeping Ojibwe Reserve in Ontario. He has a BS in Business, a BSW in Social Work and a MA in Education with a major in Native American Studies. He was a Post-Graduate Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University and is a graduate of their Educational Management program. Over the past 25 years, Steven has served in various teaching capacities, including a Tribal School administrator, and lectured at the undergraduate/graduate level at several Michigan Universities. He has created for and integrated specialized curriculum into many schools across the U.S. and Canada using Native traditions, and Earth Mother as a classroom. In addition, he is recognized for his work with youth and a family intervention programs which brings traditional practices and beliefs into the teaching and instruction of Native people and professionals working with Native populations. LIB 100 and US 201 Approved.
Power in the Blood? Moving Towards Better Standards for Indigenous Identity
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
4:00 - 5:30 pm
215 Eberhard Center, Pew Campus
This presentation will examine the existing issues surrounding questions of tribal membership vs. nation citizenship as well as blood quantum vs. citizenship requirements. Gyasi Ross is a member of the Blackfeet Nation and his family comes from the Suquamish Nation. He is a practicing attorney and his practice is centered around economic development for tribes. Building tribal infrastructure is Gyasi’s passion. Gyasi’s maternal grandfather gave him his Indian name, “Oo-ni-koom-sika,” which means “Little Big Man” because Gyasi’s inquisitiveness and conversational style reminded his grandfather of an old man. Gyasi comes from a family of storytellers and community leaders and he works hard to carry on the legacy. LIB 100 and US 201 Approved.
Contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 616-331-2177 for parking information or special accommodations.
Native American Heritage Month Sponsors:
Anthropology Department, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
Division of Inclusion and Equity,
Native American Student Association, Native American Advisory Board,
Office of Multicultural Affairs, Women's Center, WGVU
Page last modified October 22, 2012
