Diversity Week Honors Native Americans Nov. 8-15

Akron, Ohio, Nov. 3, 1997 — The arts and culture of Native Americans are the focus of Diversity Week 1997, sponsored Nov. 8-15 by The University of Akron's College of Fine and Applied Arts.

Free and open to the public, Diversity Week events begin Nov. 8 with “The Legacy of Pocahontas,” a presentation about Indian history and traditional regalia featuring Rachel Whitehawk Day, an Eastern Cherokee and Disney's model for the feature film. Whitehawk Day is an Akron resident and a member of the committee that organized this year's Diversity Week.

“The Legacy of Pocahontas” will begin at 7 p.m. at Guzzetta Recital Hall, 157 University Ave., across from E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall.

Diversity Week 1997 concludes Nov. 15 with “Celebration of Unity,” a pow wow at the Gardner Student Center from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. featuring Native American dancers, singers, drums, crafts, story-telling, food, and traditional regalia.

Other events will include a flute concert, cooking demonstration, and “Keepers of Tradition,” a panel discussion featuring Native American women and women of other cultures talking about the challenges of keeping cultural traditions alive within their families and communities. Mini lectures will be presented throughout the week on the history of Native Americans in Ohio, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and Indian boarding schools.

Dr. William Guegold, director of the University's School of Music, is chairing the Diversity Week 1997 committee comprised of campus and community members. Community members include Clark Hosick, Tlinget Indian and director of the North American Indian Cultural Center in Akron; Curtis Crowe, an Ojibwe Indian and social work student; Glenn Tenbuck, Eastern Cherokee and Wyandot, and his wife, Karen, Eastern Cherokee and Blackfoot; and Rachel Whitehawk Day. Campus members include Dr. Lynn Metzger, assistant professor of anthropology; Melissa Paul and Cyndee Ramsthaler of the College; and arts administration graduate students Elaine Mathews and Denee McCloud. A team of graphic design students from the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art has designed posters and other promotional materials.

Diversity Week is one of the 30th anniversary events for the College of Fine and Applied Arts at The University of Akron. Diversity Week 1997 is also supported by the Ohio Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information on Diversity Week 1997 call (330) 972-5196.



Diversity Week 1997

Celebrating the arts and cultures of Native Americans, while honoring unity among all people.



Diversity Week is sponsored annually by The University of Akron's College of Fine and Applied Arts, which is observing its 30th anniversary during 1997-98. All events are free and open to the community.



Saturday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m.

“The Legacy of Pocahontas”

with Rachel Whitehawk Day, Disney's model for Pocahontas

Presentation about Indian history, Pocahontas, and traditional regalia.

Guzzetta Recital Hall, 157 University Ave.



Sunday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.

Flute Concert

Original and traditional Indian flute music performed by Mila Wise, Kathleen Joyce and Shelley Johnson, with pre-concert lecture/presentation by composer David Bernstein, UA professor of music.

Guzzetta Recital Hall, 157 University Ave.



Monday, Nov. 10, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

“Indian Child Welfare Act”

Lecture by Curtis Crowe, an Ojibwe Indian and UA social work student.

Room 464 in the Polsky Building, 225 S. Main St.



Tuesday, Nov. 11, 12:15 to 1 p.m.

“The History of Native Americans in Ohio”

Lecture by Clark Hosick, director of the North American Indian Cultural Center in Akron and a Tlinget Indian.

Auditorium in Buckingham Center, 220 Wolf Ledges Parkway.



Tuesday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.

“Keepers of Tradition”

Panel of Native American women and women of other cultures talking about the challenges of keeping traditions alive within their families and communities.

Oak Room in Gardner Student Center, 303 Carroll St.



Wednesday, Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m.

Cooking Indian Foods

Food science lab in Schrank Hall South, 240 Carroll St..



Thursday, Nov. 13, 12:15 to 1 p.m.

“Urban Indians in the ‘90s”

Lecture by Dr. Lynn Metzger, UA assistant professor of anthropology.

Auditorium in Buckingham Center, 220 Wolf Ledges Parkway.



Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.

“In White Man's Image”

Thought-provoking video and discussion about Native American boarding schools. Featuring Curtis Crowe, an Ojibwe, and Lois Stands-Pruitt, an Oglala-Lakota Sioux Indian who was raised in a boarding school and is now a social work student at UA and a substance abuse counselor. Auditorium in Buckingham Center, 220 Wolf Ledges Parkway.



Friday, Nov. 14, 1 to 2 p.m.

Artist Peter B. Jones

Lecture/demonstration by sculptor and pottery artist Peter B. Jones of the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in New York.

Auditorium in Folk Hall, 150 East Exchange St.



Friday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m.

“The Life of a Drum”

Lecture/demonstration by Wayne Moore, drum keeper and lead singer for Antelope Creek. Discover how the drum is the heartbeat of the Indian nation, and how it demands intense meditation and ritual.

West Hilltop in Gardner Student Center, 303 Carroll St.



Friday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m.

“PowWow Etiquette”

Lecture/demonstration by Andrew Clairmont, singer with Southern Twist. Explore the elaborate protocol of the Indian PowWow.

West Hilltop in Gardner Student Center, 303 Carroll St.



Saturday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Celebration of Unity: Mini PowWow

Native American dancers, singers, drums, crafts, food, traditional regalia.

Featuring Antelope Creek (Northern Drum) and Southern Twist (Southern Drum) with David Buffalohead. Also featuring: Dr. Larry Martin, traditional flute, storyteller, UA Professor of English, and an Ojibwe Indian of the Lac Courte Oreilles band; and flint knapper Carl Fry.

Gardner Student Center, 303 Carroll St.



Throughout November

Bierce Library Special Collection

Fascinating display of books, photographs, U.S. government documents and more about the Indians of North America from Bierce Library's extensive special collection dating from the 1800s.

First floor of Bierce Library, 315 Buchtel Common.

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