In honor of Native American Heritage Month this November, the Delta State Quality Enhancement Plan Committee, the Diversity Advisory Committee, Phi Alpha Theta, and the Division of Social Sciences and History present a series of events.
“Mississippi has a rich Native heritage, so for that reason and because Native Americans are critical to understanding American history and culture, we wanted to make this happen,” said Dr. Ethan Schmidt, assistant professor of history. “Additionally, native people represent a diverse array of cultures, traditions and tribal entities who inhabited this continent long before Europeans arrived — and who have continued to persist here despite the tremendous disruptions to their way of life wrought first by the European invasion and then by the onslaught of American settlers.”
The schedule kicks off Nov. 2 beginning with a film festival featuring “After the Mayflower” at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Bologna Performing Arts Center. The film tells the story of the first Thanksgiving from the vantage point of the native people who participated in it, and it also examines what happened after those events.
Mark Howell, director of the Winterville Mounds Park and Museum, will provide a lecture in the Capps Archives Seminar Room on Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. Howell, an enthomusicologist by training, will discuss pre-contact Mississippian musical instruments.
Two more film screenings keep the series going at the BPAC with “Who Owns the Past” on Nov. 9 and “We Still Live Here-As Nutayunean” on Nov. 16. Both will be screened at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
“Who Owns the Past” examines the critical contemporary issue of sacred native sites and their desecration throughout the years by museums, treasure hunters and amateur archaeologists.
“We Are Still Here” tells the gripping story of Jesse Little Doe Baird and her quest to recreate the long lost language of her people, the Wampanoag. The film powerfully demonstrates the importance of language as an instrument of cultural unity, as well the undying spirit of Jesse and the Wampanaog.
Finally, Dr. Robbie Ethridge, chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Mississippi and editor of the journal Ethnohistory, will conclude this inaugural Delta State Native American Heritage month celebration with a lecture on pre-contact Mississippian leadership practices. Ethridge’s lecture takes place Nov. 19 in the Recital Hall of the BPAC.
“It is my hope that these events will help to educate our students, our campus community, Cleveland and the Delta about both Native American history, as well as the issues faced by contemporary native people today,” added Schmidt.
All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact 662-846-4177.
