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| From flickr.com |
by: Keith Bistodeau, Lauren Bjork, and Kristin Proell
On Tuesday, March, 29 at 6 p.m.there was a Cultural panel held in the Meadow-Lark room in the Memorial Union on NDSU's campus. The main focus of this panel was to inform the public about the situations faced by Native Americans in our community and to spark an interest in starting more positive change in Fargo.
Before this panel there was an open meeting at NDSU's Equity and Diversity Center to have open discussion about issues as well as to meet the presenters on the panel. This was a change to the proposed agenda on the organizations web page.
Background Information of Speakers
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From Left to Right: Jaclynn Davis Wallette, Willard Yellow Bird, and Donna Grandbois |
Jaclynn Davis Wallette, the director of multicultural programs at NDSU.
Willard Yellow Bird, the Native American cultural planner for the City of Fargo and a member of the Native American Commission.
Donna Grandbois Ph. D, R.N., an associate professor in Nursing at NDSU.
Panel Discussion (what they talked about)
To start off the panel, all three speakers talked about their experiences here in the F-M area. They focused on the interactions they had with other Native Americans, adjusting to the culture off the reservation and complying to societal norms and stigmas about them and their culture.
Wallette talked about how she grew up on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, N.D. Upon graduation she attended the Univeristy of North Dakota, where she became a single mother during her studies. She married after graduating from college and moved back home to Belcourt with her husband to help care for his sick mother.
During her five years back on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, Wallette worked at the Tribal College and volunteered in many organizations in the community.
After those five years her family uprooted and moved to West Fargo. It was in Fargo where she started to feel distant and apart from her heritage. Their customs were not openly accepted in the new urban community. "It is hard to move away from your home and feel so distant from your people." said Wallette.
The second speaker was Willard Yellow Bird. He explained the hardships he endured while trying to adapt to white society off the reservation. Being away from his ancestral home and burial ground in the outer world is hard for him and his people.
He started working a number of jobs, including working for the post office, a bank and other odd jobs until he started working for the City of Fargo, where he is currently employed.
Yellow Bird now focuses on teaching those who plan to leave the reservation how to adapt in white society. One example he gave was for Native Americans to avoid having their hands in their pockets in stores because it looks like you are stealing something.
Although he pointed out the struggles he and other Native Americans go through, he keeps a positive outlook. "If you have tough skin and ignore it you will be fine. If you go looking for prejudice, you will find it." said Yellow Bird.
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| Willard Yellow Bird and Donna Grandbois |
Donna Grandbois Ph. D, R.N. was also from the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, N.D. Her family's house burnt down when she was 4, and when the winter came and her parents could not keep her and her siblings warm and safe, they were sent off to boarding school.
In boarding school, "We did not receive all of the education she deserved because not much was expected from Native American students." said Grandbois. She left the boarding school in the fourth grade, but decided to return to finish schooling.
After graduating from the boarding school she was part of the first Native American group to attend Minot State University- Bottineau. She became the first Native American faculty member at the University of North Dakota after graduation from college, and is currently the only Native American Nursing faculty at North Dakota State University.
Questions and Answer Period
There were three questions asked to be address by the panel.
"How law enforcement in the Fargo area treat Native Americans?"
The responses from the three speakers were about the same. None had personally had any issues with law enforcement, but all knew of Native Americans and other people who had.
"Does Fargo embrace your culture?"
"Our traditions are over 100,000 years old. Although a culture may try to push our people back to the reservation, our family and our heritage will always remain." said Yellow Bird. This idea was echoed by Grandbois and Wallette.
Wallette elaborated by telling a story about her daughter, who struggled in her youth with school in the Fargo community, but through her faith to her family and heritage has persevered through it all.
"How are "Urban Indians" treated on the reservation?"
"We are caught between two worlds. Our culture and heritage are the same, but the worlds we live in are different." said Yellow Bird. Wallette expanded by explaining that it is easy to go back to visit, but it is the idea of moving back that is viewed down upon.
More Information
For more information about what you can do you can contact the organizers of this event which was Sponsored by Tribal College Liaisons.
