A email message I received from the Native American Student Association chair- Nickole Fox about Michigamua
Hello,
After creating beautiful powwow diag boards until 2am tonight, a group of
dedicated NASA members were about to venture home. However, we were caught off
guard by a suspicious group of students gathering near the fountain in
Michigamua Plaza (outside the union), appearing to hide something. These
students muttered “its NASA” and “ooo…the Chief.” While we are not certain
of their affiliations on campus, it was clear they didn’t want to be around us
and it reminded me of what time of year it is: Michigamua recruiting time.
If you do not know, Michigamua has a long history of degrading Native American
Culture. They would wear loin clothes, paint themselves red and give each other
suto-indian names and use language of a broken English sort, like “me like um
squaw.” They have been pictured in the yearbook smoking a pipe, with beers in
hand, on the presidents lawn. While these examples are wrong on many levels, I
encourage each person who receives this email to educate yourself about this
organization. I know it can be hard to understand some issues concerning
Native people, so to help you understand…if there is anything that confuses
you, think about the action if it was against another group of people. Think
about blackface, think about the KKK…
What I am asking of you is to
1) if you are a junior, and they want you to join, say no, no matter how much
the connections will benefit you. If you are interested in the community
service aspect of the org, join another group that does community service,
there are a ton of them, and if you need help finding one, I will gladly help.
2) If you are a current member: get out. its not worth it. the group may or
may not have changed their practices (they said they would change in the 70’s,
again in writing in 89 and didnt!) but the history they carry in the name is
not worth your time. Imagine if the KKK decided one day to not be a racist
organization any longer….would KKK still mean the same thing to the people it
hurt? yes. Would you then join the KKK? Please know the history and know that
you are a part of an organization that was founded on hatred, do you really
want to be associated with that?
3) if you are alum of gamua: see #2
4) if you don’t fit any of the above, educate yourself, and everyone you know.
Here are some links:
Sorry if you receive this email multiple times. I just think this is something
everyone needs to know about, especially University students, alumni, faculty,
and staff.
Hoping for social justice,
Nickole Fox
Filed under: General
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