The Multicultural Center will be hosting several events on campus this week in celebration of American Indian/Indigenous Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “A People Rich in Culture.”
Trent Everhart, a fifth-year in political science and vice president of the American Indian Council, has been working with the Multicultural Center for six months to help prepare for this week’s events. Everhart said the awareness week is important because it lets the campus population know that American Indians are a part of the campus community.
American Indians make up less than one percent of the campus constituency, he said.
“Indians just aren’t out West and on reservations,” Everhart said. “We’re still here. We do have a rich culture and tradition. Tradition is very important to us.”
The week of events will include film viewings, lectures, discussions and dance demonstrations, and it will end with a two-day powwow. Special guests for the week include Olympic track star William “Billy” Mills, who was the second Native American to ever win a gold medal.
Everhart is one of two lead dancers for the powwow event that will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Tom W. Davis Gym in the RPAC. He said he will be dressed in full regalia.
The event will have vendors, basket makers and silversmiths. Everhart said there will be music, dancing and singing.
Traditionally, powwows have been viewed as big social gatherings of family and friends. It is a time to get together with people you haven’t seen in years and have fun, Everhart said.
A native of Bryan, Ohio, Everhart said that most people don’t realize that he is American Indian. He said the misconception about American Indians is that they have a dark complexion and long black hair. American Indian is not Everhart’s only ethnicity, and he does not have a dark complexion.
“I basically look like everybody else. When I tell people I’m Indian they say, ‘Well you don’t look Indian,'” he said.
Everhart said there are a lot of issues facing American Indians today, such as their fight to keep their land and reservations. With new housing developments and businesses being built, he said traditional burial grounds are being destroyed by companies. Everhart said these burial grounds are no different than cemeteries, and no family would want to see their family member’s grave destroyed.
Organizations such as the American Indian Council have served as a family away from family for American Indian students, Everhart said. He said he hopes that this week builds awareness about this population on campus and hopefully reaches out to American Indian students who might not know these organizations exist.
“We are very close-knit,” Everhart said. “We want other students to know that they can come and be a part of it and be enriched.”
