American Culture Department
and not a language, or even
in
the
Native
American
Studies
Department,
which
we
should
have?”
Jackson-Tobey
teamed
up with the office of Multi-
Ethnic Student Affairs and
the Residential College to
host
events
throughout
November
for
Native
American
Heritage
Month.
She’s also helping to set the
stage for this year’s Dance for
Mother Earth Powwow, which
will take place in the spring.
Jackson-Tobey emphasized
the importance of respecting
tradition
and
finding
harmony between University
students
and
the
Three
Fires tribes in Michigan, who
participated
in
the
initial
land grant. The University
has a particularly contentious
relationship with tribes in
Michigan. In addition to a
lack of recruitment of Native
American students, there was
the 1902 creation of the racist
honor society Michigamua,
which
appropriated
sacred
native traditions and objects
while
University
officials
participated.
The
name
was
changed
as
recently
as 2007 to The Order of
Angell,
and
has
since
claimed to cease reference
to
pseudo-native
culture.
“This
year,
our
team’s
biggest goal is to bring our
communities back together—
meaning Michigan and our
tribal
communities—
and
asking for forgiveness from
our
tribal
communities,
because
Michigan
has
wronged
them
in
many
ways,” she said. “One of our
biggest symbols this year is a
strawberry, which signifies
forgiveness and friendship.”
Joel Begay, who graduated
from the University in 2018
with a master’s degree in
Public
Health,
is
Navajo
and
moved
to
Michigan
to
pursue
molecular
epidemiology after studying
at Colorado College in an
effort to relate his education
back
to
Native
American
community health. He now
works with the Great Lakes
Inter-Tribal
Epidemiology
Center as an epidemiology
officer and explained how
the region has suffered from
the lack of a large urban
institute for epidemiologists.
“When
we
talk
about
health disparities for Native
Americans
in
the
United
States, we see that Natives are
disproportionately affected in
many ways,” Begay said. “But
just within Indian country
of the Great Lakes region,
the communities in this area
are even more affected in
comparison to other regions.
There is a huge need that I had
an opportunity to improve
American
Indian
health.”
When
coming
to
the
University, Begay was struck
by the school spirit, which
he still holds close to his
heart.
However,
he
also
found
his
identity
deeply
underrepresented and faced
barriers to receiving faculty
and institutional support to
study Native American health.
“As a Native student, I
wanted to not only have
a research mentor to help
me pursue my dreams of
conducting
Native
health
research, but I wanted them
to be Native too,” he said.
“Unfortunately,
I
didn’t
find that, at least not until
Jan. 2017, I met radiologist
Dr. Roubidoux at Michigan
Medicine. And we’ve been
best friends since. Michigan is
a leading research institution,
which
I
appreciate,
and
that’s how I know I picked
the right school. But it seems
like
everybody
is
doing
the
same
work.
Diversity
is more than just a student
body or faculty. It’s a matter
of the things that they’re
doing,
funding
sources.”
In
regard
to
initiatives
within
the
University’s
Diversity,
Equity
and
Inclusion
plan,
Begay
emphasized
the
need
for
both
academic
research
reflecting
DEI
concerns,
especially
in
comparison
to peer institutions, as well
as
faculty
involvement.
“I think if we actually
want to make DEI our utmost
priority, then we need to have
faculty participation,” he said.
“When I go into a DEI event,
I see a bunch of graduate
students, a bunch of undergrad
students, but where is the
faculty? Where is the staff?
Why aren’t they participating
in these conversations? I think
if Michigan really wanted
to take DEI seriously, then
faculty members, regardless of
whether or not it’s in their job
description, should go to DEI
events. The majority of the
student body is committed.”
Begay hopes the University
will
eventually
create
a
physical
space
for
Native
American students to conduct
cultural practices such as
baking fry bread and smudging
–– a ceremony involving the
burning of sacred herbs ––
as well as discussing topics
personal to them. Additionally,
he hopes for a center for
Native
American
health
to
provide
opportunities
for students and create an
expanding effect for diversity
of
research
and
faculty.
“I would love for Michigan
to have a center for Native
American
health,
as
an
opportunity and place for
interdisciplinary
studies
that will incorporate public
health, medical and social
work researchers and provide
a space for faculty to gather
and
generate
hypothesis-
driven,
yet
culturally
sensitive, research questions,”
he said. “And then work with
tribal
communities,
which
would
not
only
increase
the
diversity
of
Michigan
research, but it would
increase
the
diversity
of faculty, and it would
provide more internship
opportunities
for
students, native or not.”
Rackham
Assistant
Dean Ethriam Brammer,
DEI
implementation
lead,
holds
this
issue
personally as a former
first-generation
student
of Mexican indigenous
background.
He
said
many Native American
and minority students,
in general, don’t have
the
resources
to
take
advantage of educational
opportunities.
”Genius
and
talent
exist
in
all
these
communities, they’re just
not fostered or provided
the same resources to
flourish
in
the
same
way,” Brammer said. “If
we’re really intentional
about serving all students
at every point of this
educational
pipeline,
then by the time they get
to graduate school they
should be well represented,
right? The problem is that
with
certain
communities
that are under-resourced and
under-served,
the
attrition
happens
throughout
that
pipeline at a very dramatic
rate. To reverse it, you have
to trace it back to the whole
pre-K
to
Ph.D.
pipeline.”
Brammer said the University
is
especially
accountable
for
acknowledging
its
roots
and
pursuing
educational
initiatives.
“One thing the University
can do better is tell the
story of the founding of the
University, and the role that
the
Native
communities
played
in
that
founding,”
he said. “The Fort Meigs
treaty was intentionally a
partnership to educate Native
children along with European
settlers. It’s better (to tell) that
story, but also recognizing
a certain responsibility to
continuing to work with those
communities to make sure
the education needs of their
young people can be met.”
While
these
goals
are
put on hold, students such
as
Jackson-Tobey
are
burdened with individually
representing
an
extremely
heterogeneous
community.
“When I say I’m Mashpee
Wampanoag, nine times out
of 10, people are asking what
that is,” Jackson-Tobey said.
“Seldom do I meet someone
who’s like, ‘Oh, you’re from
Cape
Cod.’
And
because
I’m brown, people question
whether or not I’m really
native. When our students
are given the opportunity to
learn their own culture and
their
own
language,
they
are learning everything that
they need to know to be the
best them that they can be,
and then they get to higher
education and they’re told,
‘That doesn’t fit here.’ That
gets
you
(the)
American
Culture
minor,
which
truthfully is not dependable.”
Jackson-Tobey
said
to
preserve the future of Native
Americans,
educational
support
is
more
crucial
than
it
ever
has
been.
“The
knowledge
Native
communities
cultivate
can
and should be developed,” she
said. “Because that knowledge
is dying out, and if the
University doesn’t take heed
of that, we’re going to lose
more than just a community,
we’re going to lose a whole
history. And it starts with
acknowledging our students.
We need to make sure that
Native students know they’re
not alienated. No matter how
different you are, you belong
here. Because there’s a place
for you, a place for your
knowledge in this community,
and we are not meant to stay
in the corners of reservations.
You
belong
here.”
2 — Tuesday, October 9, 2018
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