Native American Indigenous Alliance

Honoring Native American Heritage Month with the Native American and Indigenous Alliance

Jeannine Harvey — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:17:44 +0000

Honoring Native American Heritage Month with the Native American and Indigenous Alliance Jeannine Harvey Sun, 11/19/2023 - 08:17

^{In 1990, a joint resolution designated November as Native American Heritage Month (NAHM), nationally recognizing what had previously been state-designated holidays. Throughout the month, Americans are encouraged to recognize and uplift the innumerable contributions, both past and present, of Indigenous people.}

��ӽ紫ý’s student organization Native American and Indigenous Alliance (NAIA) is dedicated to promoting Indigenous culture, raising awareness of Native issues, and providing a safe environment for Native and non-Native students. We spoke with members of NAIA to hear about how they’ve found community here at Mason and their perspectives on the importance of NAHM.

"To me, my indigenous heritage means resilience. The Taíno were the first peoples encountered by Europeans and thus the first people that were assumed to be devastated and completely annihilated. Yet at the end of the day, we still exist in various different forms. We still exist."

Richard Lopez-Perez
Puerto Rican of Taíno descent
BA in Foreign Languages, concentration in Korean

"For me, my indigenous heritage is all-encompassing. Ever since I was a kid, up until now, it's something that I've, you know, constantly been raised in and educated under. It provides a sense of community, a sense of family. Coming to Mason really helped me expand upon my sense of pride and who I am. And it gave me a greater sense of family and belonging."

Justin Gray
Piscataway and Rappahannock tribes
BS in Information Technology

"Through the Native American and Indigenous Alliance at Mason, I discovered that being indigenous can have many meanings. I was taken aback to see that I wasn't alone, and that there are other people in my similar situation who are also trying to reconnect back to their roots. As an immigrant at a young age, the alliance has helped me find community on campus, as well as further connected me to my ancestors in Peru."

Macarena De La Cruz Velasquez
Peruvian
BA in Criminology, Law and Society

"Native American Heritage Month is a time to give a voice to people that are normally voiceless. We need to listen to the indigenous community at all times, of course, but this is a time where the general public can publicly platform Indigenous people, Indigenous students, activists, artists, all of it. I think that’s why it’s a very important time of the year."

Ozcollo Espinoza
Quechua Nation; Chichimeca, and Karankawa Kadla tribes
BA in Anthropology

The importance of Native American Heritage Month is that it’s a time for us to really uplift the native community. And that isn't specific to North American natives: there's the indigenous populations in South America, Europe, Africa, and all around. This month is about uplifting all those voices. We’re here to teach people that we're not some fairy tale in a textbook: We're still here. We're present. We're a lot closer to you than what you might think. We're still here, and we're so strong.

Sara Jefferson
Chickahominy Indian Tribe of Virginia
BA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, concentration on interpersonal dynamics

You can view the full video on our Instagram: @georgemasonu

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Native American and Indigenous Alliance builds awareness and ‘family’ at Mason

Colleen Rich — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 16:46:10 +0000

Native American and Indigenous Alliance builds awareness and ‘family’ at Mason Colleen Rich Fri, 11/11/2022 - 11:46

��ӽ紫ý’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance (NAIA) works each semester to foster a sense of community for Mason’s Native and non-Native students. But the month of November is an especially busy time for this student organization.

That’s because November is National Native American Heritage Month (NAHM), an opportunity to honor the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans, past and present.

NAIA’s Spring Retreat to Nanjemoy Creek in Charles County, Maryland, in March 2022. Photo provided

“It’s the reality for many people that they are going to be uneducated about topics like Native American history and culture because the society that we live in perpetuates stereotypes and false histories,” said Domi Hannon, NAIA’s internal president and a senior foreign languages major. “So we are being that welcoming space and allowing anyone to come here and learn about Native American people as an actual people, not just as a stereotype.”

NAIA has filled its November calendar with numerous events, such as attending the dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, and holding a beading workshop led by NAIA Secretary Mariko Nojima-Schmunk of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

The goal is to educate people about Indigenous history but also to “celebrate Indigenous creativity” and have “moments of good times, joy, and family,” Hannon said.

At the start of their general body meeting on Nov. 3—focused on the history of NAHM—members filled their plates with squash, chicken, salad, and other filling foods they made for a dinner together. This, they said, is a tradition they do for anyone who joins their biweekly Thursday meetings.

NAIA members, alongside Yapatoko drum members, at NAIA’s Spring 2022 Powwow on April 23. Photo by Hayley Madl/NAIA

Logan Varker, a graduate student in Mason’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, said he wasn’t aware of NAHM prior to the meeting. Not only has NAIA been helpful with understanding indigeneity, Varker said, but also with his work in his HIST 685 Community Engaged History class taught by Associate Professor Gabrielle Tayac.

Each NAIA event starts with a reading of a land acknowledgement statement, something the group hopes becomes standardized across Mason.

“It’s important to know whose land you’re on and the history of what these Indigenous people had to go through so that these huge buildings could be built,” said Sara Jefferson, NAIA’s external president who is also a junior conflict analysis and resolution major and a member of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe of Charles City County, Virginia.

NAIA is unique, as it’s a group for both the more than 45 Indigenous students on campus this semester and also for allies, Jefferson said. “We find strength in numbers, so having these allies come together to learn and amplify our voices is important.”

To honor LGBTQ+ History Month in October, NAIA collaborated with the LGBTQ+ Resources Center and the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment for a virtual conversation with Two-Spirit Elder Elton Naswood of the Near to the Water People Clan.

Naswood explained that a “two-spirit” is a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous tribes to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity.

“Terms are validating and understanding,” Naswood said. “If we had terms in our Native communities, that means we existed.”

Learn more about NAIA’s events on Instagram at @gmunaia.

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Mason researchers partner with Indigenous nations to promote environmental resilience

Mariam Aburdeineh — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:29:47 +0000

Mason researchers partner with Indigenous nations to promote environmental resilience Mariam Aburdeineh Fri, 09/02/2022 - 16:29

In This Story

Thomas Wood

It’s common to think of Indigenous peoples as living in the past. We may think of them around Thanksgiving or in old films and books. But Native Americans are very much here and now, said Jeremy Campbell, and after decades of struggle, that’s starting to be recognized.

Dancing at an Upper Mattaponi Powwow in May 2022.

In 2018, U.S. legislation granted federal recognition to six tribes in Virginia. A ��ӽ紫ý team has been partnering with two of them, the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy nations, as they embark on being sovereign nations.

“What really has been an honor to be a part of is building the capacity and the sovereignty of native tribes,” said Campbell, a College of Science professor co-leading the Mason team with School of Integrated Studies professor Tom Wood. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us, as a university, to build a sustainable and respectful relationship that has the potential to last for decades.”

Supporting Tribal Sovereignty

When tribes become sovereign nations, they must set up governments and structures to communicate with the U.S. government, said Campbell, associate director for strategic engagement at Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth. That includes a department of environmental management, which both tribes are setting up.

That’s where Mason comes in.

Over the summer, Campbell and Wood led a multidisciplinary team of 10 undergraduates and two graduate researchers to collect environmental data in partnership with tribal governments as part of a Summer Impact Project. Their research will support tribes in making informed decisions for their communities when it comes to conservation, restoration, and environmental matters.

Chickahominy Connections

��ӽ紫ý student Sara Jefferson is a member of the Chickahominy Tribe. Photo provided.

For junior psychology major Sara Jefferson, the project hits home.

“My favorite part about working on this project is being able to teach others about my culture and my people, while also learning about the natural world around me,” said Jefferson, a member of the Chickahominy Tribe and of Mason’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance.

Jefferson is part of three groups supporting the Chickahominy tribe in food security, wildlife assessment, and digital mapping.

“In the food security group, we’re researching the accessibility to different food sources in the surrounding Charles City area, and assisting the beginning process of community gardens within the tribe,” she said.

Jefferson is also part of a wildlife assessment group that’s identifying wildlife commonly found in the area and declining species. This involves expeditions along the Powhatan (James) River at dawn—when animals are most likely to be out—and recording where and when animals are discovered.

“This project has been very valuable to the Chickahominy Tribe, as it’s helped us establish a baseline of information about our tribal lands and waters that will help us as we make decisions going forward,” said Dana Adkins, tribal environmental director of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. “As we work to strengthen our community’s role as stewards of our ancestral lands, it’s been great to partner with the students and learn from them as they learn from us.”

The team during a wildlife assessment. From left to right: Brian Jiménez, Olga Cheltsova, Maiya Justice, Dominique Hannon, Dana Adkins (Chickahominy Tribal Environmental Director), Dr. Tom Wood, Guadalupe Meza-Negrete.

Uncovering What Was Lost

In the wildlife assessments, the teams are also tracking what they didn’t find, such as native plant species being pushed out by invasives, Campbell said. Talking with their Indigenous partners helps them understand what the ecosystem should look like.

Collaborating with the tribes is of utmost importance for upholding tribal sovereignty, and for expanding students’ understanding.

“Leading with humility is really important, especially when you’re working with a group that’s been historically marginalized,” said senior sociology major James Condo. “Understanding that you’re going to be a student of everyone else around you is really important to keep in mind for research and in life.”

That mindset can be powerful, Campbell said, especially as the system most people are used to has ignored or marginalized Indigenous ways of knowing.

“If we connect with those ways of knowing and relationships, it can enrich our personal lives, and our ability to perceive and interact with nonhumans, and other communities, in a way that leads to more profound awareness.”

Prof. Tom Wood, Brian Jiménez and Mason team members using a spotting scope during a wildlife assessment.

Going Digital

The Mason team is also training tribal members in how to create geospatial information systems (GIS) databases. These include information about landscape changes, and air and water quality.

“We pull it into a system like ArcGIS, and overlay culturally significant points,” Campbell said. “We’re working with the tribes to train them, so that, if we’re successful, we can stand back and just stand ready for the new kinds of questions and challenges that might come up.”

Students also benefit.

“This has started to get me versed in GIS, and geospatial data is on the cutting edge of a lot of social science fields,” Condo said. “It’s really a great access point for a lot of interdisciplinary spaces.”

Mason students working with Chickahominy participants in a GIS skills building workshop.

Protecting Indigenous Data

“Tribal sovereignty is at the heart of this partnership, which is necessary and important,” said Leigh Mitchell, environmental and cultural protection director of the Upper Mattaponi Indian tribe. “Indigenous priorities have led the way in this research.”

For the Upper Mattaponi, who recently took land into trust, one of those priorities includes documenting how their landscape—which borders on the edge of urban expansion—has changed over the past 50 years, and how people are interacting with the land.

The Mason team is also constructing protocols to ensure that Indigenous people have control of their data in accordance with the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty—the right of a tribal nation to govern the collection, ownership, and application of its own data.

“[Indigenous Data Sovereignty] encourages us to think of data as another kind of valuable resource that people need, use and care for, the way we might think of natural resources,” Campbell said. “As Virginia’s tribal nations reassert their sovereignty, it is important that their control over information pertaining to their communities, landscapes, and waterways be securely and affirmatively under their control.”

One of the team’s next steps, Campbell said, is to create a digital environment where tribes can grant tiers of access to non-native collaborators.

Research in Dialogue

Learning directly with the tribes has been a major draw, Jefferson and Condo agreed.

In addition to providing tribes with information needed to make informed environmental decisions, relationship building has been at the project’s center.

“It’s very much a dialogue,” Campbell said.

From left to right: Adam Edwards, Olga Cheltsova, James Condo, Patricia Troup, Elizabeth Schierbeek, Dr. Jeremy Campbell, Upper Mattaponi Chief Frank Adams.

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School of Integrative Studies

Mason students inspired by connection with leaders of Peruvian indigenous group

Colleen Rich — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 18:49:03 +0000

Mason students inspired by connection with leaders of Peruvian indigenous group Colleen Rich Fri, 04/29/2022 - 14:49

Students watched “Guardians of the Forest,” an award-winning documentary produced by Mason professor Michael Gilmore. Photo by Madison Rudolf/Strategic Communications

For Amy Fuller, the screening of the documentary “Guardians of the Forest” and the talkback with leaders of the Maijuna indigenous group in Peru was a one-of-a-kind experience.

“It was really special,” said Fuller, a ��ӽ紫ý senior and president of Mason’s Student Environmental Justice Alliance (SEJA). “It’s not something that has happened on campus before.”

“Guardians of the Forest” is an award-winning documentary produced by Mason associate professor Michael Gilmore, who for 24 years has worked closely with the Maijuna, an endangered group fighting for biological and cultural survival among the pressures threatening the greater Amazon rainforest: logging, poaching, industrial agriculture, and mining.

The Peruvian government is also planning to build a highway through the Maijuna’s heavily forested ancestral lands, which the group says will devastate the area.

After the documentary viewing, Mason students had the opportunity to speak with leaders of the Maijuna indigenous group in Peru. Photo by Madison Rudolf/Strategic Communications

While the screening was impactful, Gilmore said it was the associated virtual Q&A with two Maijuna leaders and their subsequent conversation with members of Mason’s Native American Indigenous Alliance (NAIA) that was most compelling.

“What I hope the students got out of it,” said Gilmore, who is part of the School of Integrative Studies (SIS) “was an appreciation for indigenous cultures, the Amazon rainforest, and the challenges that face indigenous people worldwide in the fight for their ancestral lands and cultural survival.”

Also appearing at the April 13 event, presented by Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth and SIS, were Andrew Wingfield, an associate professor in SIS and Mason alum, who has played a leading role in integrating sustainability into Mason’s curriculum; Jeremy Campbell, assistant director for strategic engagement at ISE and a cultural anthropologist who studies land conflicts and environmental changes in the Brazilian Amazon; and Jacob Wagner, the film’s director.

Mason psychology major Sara Jefferson, NAIA’s vice president of outreach and a member of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe of Charles City County, Virginia, called the event mind-broadening.

“I feel a lot more motivated to be able to help the Maijuna,” she said. “I feel really fortunate to have had this opportunity to be able to talk with them one-on-one and learn more about the differences and similarities between North American Natives and South American Natives.”

Mason history major Mariko Nojima-Schmunk, NAIA’s treasurer and a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, said the event reminded her of what NAIA is all about: “the collaboration and the allyship that we can build with Indigenous communities across the globe to help make a real change.”

“I was so inspired by the solidarity between the Maijuna and students of Mason’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance,” said PhD student Elizabeth Schierbeek, a member of the event planning committee and a graduate teaching assistant in Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy. “I hope that they and other Mason students feel empowered to stand up for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination in the Amazon, the United States, and around the globe.”

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