Learning the history of native Americans

Why are you interested in this subject?

I am a Menominee Indian — I am originally from what is now the state of Wisconsin.

We are a small tribe, we have 8,300 members but we are very unique because we are a sovereign nation within the boundaries of the United States.

My people historically have been there in excess of 15,000 years — we have the archeological evidence to support that.

I have been a schoolteacher for twenty years teaching Menominee indigenous culture and language. For most of my career I taught at The Menominee Indian High School and the last ten years at the College of Menominee Nation.

I am the former leader of my tribe — the Chairman of the Menominee nation in 1996 and in 1997.

How will you be introducing such a vast historical presentation?

I want to present a Menominee nation historical overview. Our relationship with the government and the different wars we have been engaged in and land loss etc. In 1634 we had the first contact with the French explorers who came to the Wisconsin and Great Lakes area. We established trade relations with the foreigners who were in our land.

Then we talk about United States Federal Legislation in relation to the indigenous people of the United States.

We have had government to government relations with the United States. It all started with treaty agreements which primarily resulted in the loss of millions of acres of our original homeland. For one I will talk about the Citizenship Act of 1924 when they recognized natives as citizens of the United States. We were not previously recognised even though we fought in the Civil War and WW1 to protect our land and the United States in wars right up to Afghanistan and Iraq as we speak.

What are the main struggles your people have dealt with?

It was to maintain our identity as a sovereign nation within a nation and to retain our identity as an indigenous people who have very much an alive language and culture and song and dance, history and way of life.

Will you bring any items from your tribe with you on your visit?

I have some timelines including significant events, as well as some pictures showing how we dressed and what sort of homes we had. We are a modernised society today yet still maintaining a strong connection to the traditional way of life. We have maintained our language, our song, our religious ceremonies, our artifacts, storytelling, hunting and fishing methods. I am bringing some songs with me and I might perform a song or two.

What will we learn about the UN Declaration of Indigenous People?

In December 2010, President Obama recognized, adopted and signed on to recognize the intent of the 46 articles that are in the Declaration. It identifies that the indigenous people worldwide should be free from discrimination, should be recognized as sovereign states and achieve self-government.

The native people from North America have made good progress in the last 200 years in establishing their remaining land holdings. That has improved a lot in the last 100 years. When the US was established there was a feeling of westward movement to go out and just claim land on behalf of the United States — they forgot there were Indians living there. There was major conflict.

How is the racial situation in America today in your opinion?

The discrimination has changed — it is not so overt anymore as it is covert — racism and discrimination still exists. There can be discrimination in employment hiring, they might not be so keen to rent an apartment to an Indian person. You go to a department store and the employees watch you close. For many, people hold a stereotypical image of the Indian person with the feathers and a bow and arrow and wild dancing. It is painted and a lot of people still ask do we still live in a teepee. This is part of the reason for my presentation — to educate.

As far as being called names that is not so obvious but 50 years it was common practice to make racial slurs. There are even moves in recent years to ban the use of Indian mascots for college or professional clubs including the Cleveland Indians.

We have been writing our own history and making our own documentaries. We have more and more highly educated people and are becoming a more self sustaining people.