Native American month at CMU to feature films, food, speakers, workshops and artwork

Observer Staff

11/8/2002 12:00:00 AM

A prolific Native American scholar, author and outspoken activist will deliver the keynote address during Native American Month at Central Michigan University.

Ward Churchill, a professor of ethnic studies and coordinator of American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado, will discuss his book, "A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in Finch Fieldhouse on the CMU campus.

Earlier that day, he will discuss, "The Tragedy and the Travesty: The Subversion of Indigenous Sovereignty in North America" during a "Breakfast With�" program at 7:30 a.m. in the Bovee University Center Terrace Rooms.

Both the talk and breakfast are free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required for the latter. To register, call (989) 774-2508.

"Ward Churchill is one of the most prolific Native scholars in North America," said Todd Williamson of CMU's Native American Programs office. "His broad topics of research range from Native American representative in the media to land claims and treaty rights to opposition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterintelligence program, which he says uses taxpayer money to suppress dissident groups."

Other activities for Native American Month, which runs through November, are listed below. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call (989) 774-2508.

Nov. 4 through 30-Sculptures by Jason Quigno, an Ojibwe and member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, are featured from Nov. 4 through 30 in the Multicultural Education Center, located on the lower level of the Bovee University Center, Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

Nov. 4-The film "Incident at Oglala," which details the story of Leonard Peltier, a former leader of the American Indian Movement convicted of the killings of two FBI agents, and the disagreement over his guilt or innocence, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Pearce Hall 127.

Nov. 5-An Anishnaabe food taster with drum begins at 6 p.m. in the Bovee UC Terrace Rooms.

Nov. 11-The film "Dance Me Outside," a dark tale that involves a killing on the fictional Kidabanesee Reserve and the characters' struggle with their moral dilemma, begins at 7:30 in Pearce Hall 127.

Nov. 14-Delores Fisher, an Ojibwe who lives on Walpole Island near the St. Clair River, leads a workshop on using Sweetgrass, a sacred medicine used in Native ceremonies, to make baskets, jewelry, coasters and other- items from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Bovee UC Room 125. Seating is limited. To register, call (989) 774-2508.

Nov. 18-The film "Windtalkers," in which Nicolas Cage stars as a battle-weary Marine who guards, and ultimately befriends, a young Navajo trained in the one wartime code never broken by the enemy, the Navajo code, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Pearce Hall 127.

Nov. 19-Winnay Wemigwase, a CMU alumna and assistant director of education for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Ottawas, discusses "Native Women in Education" during a Soup and Substance luncheon at noon in the Bovee UC Terrace Rooms A and B.

Nov. 21-A reception for Jason Quigno, who is exhibiting sculptures in the Multicultural Education Center, runs from 5 to 7 p.m. in Bovee UC Room 125.

Nov. 25-The film "Honey Moccasin," an all-Native production set on the Grand Pine Indian Reservation that examines Native identity in the 1990s, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Pearce Hall 127.

Keynote speaker Churchill explores the themes of genocide in the Americas, historical and legal reinterpretation of conquest and colonization, literary and cinematic criticism, and alternatives to the status quo in his many writings and books.

In addition to "A Little Matter of Genocide," Churchill also wrote "Agents of Repression," "Fantasies of the Master Race" and "From a Native Son." He is co-author of "The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States," which "documents the continuing war, real and symbolic, that the FBI wages against a variety of protest groups during the early 1970s and since then as well," according to American Indian Quarterly.

He is a past national spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, which works to free Peltier.