Native American Heritage Month events set

Native American Heritage Month at SIUC will feature a variety of films and guest speakers throughout the month of November.

The University's Multicultural Programs and Services office coordinates the annual observance. The School of Architecture, the fine arts activity fee, Native American Students Association, Graduate and Professional Student Council, WSIU Public Broadcasting, the University Museum, Black American Studies program, Black Affairs Council are co-sponsors. All events are free and open to the public. The full schedule follows:

Wednesday, Nov. 1

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Ballroom A. Native American Heritage Month kick-off. Come and taste America's original "fast food." Bison Bluff Farms owners Clifton and Kim Howell will discuss what is involved in running a bison farm, why bison is the healthiest red meat and the importance of bison among many Native people.

Thursday, Nov. 2

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Mississippi Room. Film and discussion, "Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire." The 90-minute film takes author LeAnne Howe (Choctaw) to the North Carolina homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee to explore how tourism, cultural preservation and spirituality is working to insure their tribe's vitality in the 21st century.

Monday, Nov. 6

• 7 p.m., - Student Center, Missouri Room. Lecture, "History of the Montana Salish" presented by Lanell Matt. Doctoral candidate in anthropology and enrolled member of the Bitterroot Band of the Salish Tribe will speak about the history of her people.

Wednesday, Nov. 8

• 7 p.m. - Faner Hall University Museum Auditorium. Lecture, "Illinois Indians." Curriculum and instruction-social sciences doctoral candidate Daniel W. Hechenberger brings the story of Native Americans in Illinois into historical times.

Thursday, Nov. 9

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Mississippi Room. Lecture, "Black Indians," Black American studies professor Pamela A. Smoot will speak about the unique relationship between African Americans and Native Americans. Find out what brought these two cultures together, what drove them apart and the issues they face today.

Monday, Nov. 13

• 6:30 p.m. - Parkinson Hall, Room 124. Lecture, "The Process of Creating Organic Architecture" by Douglas J. Cardinal. Architect will speak about his work on the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. A reception is at 7:30 p.m. at University Museum.

Tuesday, Nov. 14

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Auditorium.Lecture, "Diné" by John Feodorov. Diné artist will address the clichéd modern archetype of Native peoples through a humorous interjection of "sacred" items into recognizable consumer products.

Wednesday, Nov. 15

• 6:30 p.m., Student Center, Missouri Room. Film and discussion, "Trail of Tears." This documentary explores one of America's darkest period: President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to Oklahoma in 1838.

Thursday, Nov. 16

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Mackinaw Room. Film and discussion, "Looking Toward Home." This one-hour documentary explains how government relocation programs in the 1950's pushed significant numbers of Native Americans to leave the reservation for life in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

Monday, Nov. 27

• 7 p.m. - Student Center Auditorium. Lecture, "Native American Sovereignty" by Steve Russell. A Cherokee, Russell, a former trial court judge in Texas and current professor of criminal justice at Indiana University will speak about Native American sovereignty

Tuesday, Nov. 28

• 7 p.m. - Student Center Auditorium. Lecture, "Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara" by Zig Jackson. The Native American photographer will address issues confronted by contemporary Native peoples including tourism, land rights, sovereignty and tribal traditions through his photography.

Wednesday, Nov. 29

• 7 p.m. -Student Center, Missouri Room. Lecture, "Urban Indians" by Joseph Podlasek. The Ojibwe director of the American Indian Center of Chicago will speak about urban Indians, the fastest growing Native American population.

Thursday, Nov. 30

• 7 p.m. - Student Center, Ohio Room. Film and discussion, "Mino-Bima-Diziwin: The Good Life" narrated by Winona LaDuke. On the White Earth reservation in Minnesota, harvesting wild rice is an annual tradition. This one-hour documentary depicts hardships and rewards experienced by those who continue to live off the land.

Native American Heritage Month Exhibitions

Oct. 31 – Nov. 14 - A Celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Student Center display case.

Nov. 1 – Dec. 15 - Native American Exhibits, Faner Hall, University Museum.

"Live through Time"

The prehistory of American Indians in Southern Illinois is divided into Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods. Curated by Robert D. DeHoet, SIUC University Museum education director.

"The Illinois Indians - Relationships"

Views of the Illinois Indians through the focus of their relationships with the land, other Indians, the French, the British and the Americans. One of the dominant images of the exhibition will be a reproduction of the Illinois thunderbird, a painted hide that is part of collection at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, France. Curated by Daniel W. Hechenberger, SIUC curriculum and instruction-social sciences doctoral candidate.

"Native American Culture," part of the University Museum's permanent collection. Curated by Lori C. Huffman.

Native American Programming on WSIU-TV

• Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 11 p.m. "Indian Country Diaries: A Seat at the Drum Part 1/2"
• Nov. 1 at 11:30 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m. "Gallery: National Museum of the American Indian"
• Nov. 2 at 11 p.m. "Looking Toward Home."
• Nov. 9 at 11 p.m. "Vis-à-Vis: Native Tongues"
• Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. "Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire Part 2/2"
• Nov. 14 at 11:30 p.m. "Silent Thunder"
• Nov. 15 at 11 p.m. "Independent Lens: Chiefs"
• Nov. 16 at 11 p.m. "Aboriginal Architecture: Living Architecture"
• Nov. 20 at 11 p.m. "The Early History of Illinois Indians"
• Nov. 22 at 11 p.m. "Aleut Story"
• Nov. 26 at 12 a.m. "Mystery of Chaco Canyon"
• Nov. 27 at 11 p.m. "Teachings of the Tree People: The Work of Bruce Miller"

Sundays at 11:30 a.m. "Seasoned with Spirit" 5-part series hosted by a Native American chef.

• Nov. 5 "Gulf Coast Original"
• Nov. 12 "Cuisine of the Desert Southwest"
• Nov. 19 "Return of the Buffalo"
• Nov. 26 "Bounty of the River's Edge"
• Dec. 17 "Food Upon the Water"

-- Sun Min