The fall semester is almost here. Can you believe it? Time to relish in the fall rush that is about to overtake campus. On behalf of the Center’s staff, I wish a warm welcome to all new freshmen and transfer students! And…of course, welcome back to all returning students.
The Center for Native American Studies is open from 8 am – 5 p.m. Monday-Fridays. Visit our resource room. Students can check out books, not only for classes/research, but also amazing Native literature for your personal reading list. We have a nice lounge area for any students to relax between classes or nibble on lunch.
The Center offers a myriad of events, gatherings, and workshops. This year will be no different. The Center will host its annual fall Open House on Tuesday, September 9 from 4 – 6 p.m. We are located in Whitman 112. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be available for enrolled students who attend. This is a great chance to meet faculty and staff who are associated with the Center as well as representatives from the Native American Student Association and the Anishinaabe News.
There are two conferences on campus in September that are of interest. Sunday – Tuesday, Sept 21 – 23, 2008 is the annual UNITED Conference. Tillie Blackbear (Lakota) is tentatively slated to present. Rev. Kevin Annett will be presenting his film entitled: UNREPENTANT: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide (the untold story of the genocide of Aboriginal peoples in Canada). Annett’s visit is being sponsored by the Office of International Programs. Keep an eye on this web site to learn more information about these two presenters.
Monday, September 29 is the annual Upper Peninsula Indian Education Conference. Nationally recognized Native speakers, including D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas, will be presenting. Visit our web site to learn more about the presenters and topics. This is a free conference and lunch is included. Register today.
The Native American Student Association (NASA) plans to meet once a week. November is Native American Heritage Month which means -- Friday, November 7 is the annual First Nations food taster. More events will be for Native American Heritage month and the rest of the year are in the works. Consider being a part of NASA and the Anishinaabe News. Visit our semester highlights page to see photos from a variety of events from last year.
Grammy-award winning artist, Joanne Shenandoah will be performing on Saturday, November 8. Sponsored by the International Performing Arts Series, this concert will be held at the Kaufman Auditorium on Front Street in Marquette.
Keeping the NAS curriculum updated and fresh is important so enhancements to the Native American Studies minor are being reviewed by faculty. For current information the NAS minor and a list of courses, visit this page.
You may be interested to learn that I have met with staff from the Office of International Programs to investigate the possibility of Faculty Led Study Abroad experience to Australia in December 2009. Nothing is in stone as of today, but this could be an offering of NAS 342 – Indigenous Environment Movements which would work directly with Aboriginal communities.
Speaking of curriculum, if you haven’t already signed up for fall classes, consider taking one of these offerings. There are still openings in the following courses -
NAS 101-02: Anishinaabe Language, Culture and Community
NAS 330-01: Native Cultures and the Dynamics of the Religious Experience NAS 488-01: Native American Service Learning Project (for NAS minors only)
Keep visiting our Web site! We do our best to post information on internship opportunities, scholarships and grants, news about conferences and cultural events, language lessons and news bits from around Indian Country.
Do you have news you would like to share? E-mail us at least two weeks prior to your event. PDFs announcing your event work very well.
Enjoy the final days of summer. For those of you still on the pow wow trail - dance hard and sing loud.
Miigwech,
April
Archives:
Summer 2008 Message from Director
Winter 2008 Message from Director
