And now:Sonja Keohane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
I'd be interested in any thoughts about this. I guess from a
financial point I know why they are doing this, but I think I am
disappointed that they have chosen this way to raise awareness.
I spoke with David Cournoyer ( see below) and asked if they
considered that fact that for many Native people this is a national
day of mourning, he said he understood my point but thought it was
going to be a beneficial thing for the American Indian College Fund.
I also said that it reminded me of the times that the
students in the Residential schools were forced to march in their
uniforms in local parades to show how "civilized" they had become.
If anyone would like to comment further his email address is:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: Katosha
Belvin or David Cournoyer
NOVEMBER 16, 1999
American Indian College Fund (303)892-8312
AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS
TO LEAD 1999 MACY*S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE
Dozens of students from tribal colleges will drum and dance on parade's
first float, as millions of Americans watch on NBC & CBS television networks
-----
Students celebrate 10th anniversary of American Indian College Fund
(DENVER)--Travelling from Indian reservations across the nation to
Broadway Avenue in New York City, 23 American Indian college students
will share
tribal songs and dances on the very first float of the 1999 Macy*s
Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hailing from reservation-based tribal
colleges, these students will wear the colorful, traditional attire
of 20
different Indian tribes. Macy*s has invited the students to join its
lead float in order to showcase tribal culture and Native peoples'
contributions to the Thanksgiving holiday.
The American Indian College Fund is sponsoring the students' trip to
New York City to kick off the College Fund's 10th anniversary in
support of tribal colleges' scholarship and endowment needs. The
college students will be seen by a nationwide audience on the NBC and
CBS television networks.
"For all Indian people of this country, it will be a wonderful way to
help celebrate Thanksgiving in a sacred way," said Monroe Weso, a
business student at College of the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin.
Tribes to be represented include the Arapaho, Arikara, Cheyenne,
Cherokee,
Chippewa-Cree, Choctaw, Crow, Gros Ventre, Haida, Hidatsa, Klamath,
Lakota Sioux,
Lummi, Mandan, Menominee, Modoc, Mohawk, Navajo, Nez Perce, Omaha, Pueblo and
Tlingit.
"Indian culture is not a thing of the past," said Richard Williams,
American Indian College Fund executive director. "Our students will
show parade viewers that Indians today are making a
contribution to America, while using education and modern skills to
advance our culture into the next
millennium."
Macy*s began its parade in 1924. That same year, Congress granted
citizenship to all American Indians. Over the past 75 years, the U.S.
government's relationship with more than 550 different tribes has
evolved.
Today, Indians have more self-determination over their health,
economic and educational priorities than ever before. In 1968,
Indians founded the first of 31 U.S. tribal colleges, which are
dedicated to fighting high rates of poverty and unemployment that
confront the colleges' home reservations.
Hugh Big Knife will travel from the Rocky Boy's Reservation in
northern Montana, where the unemployment rate tops 30 percent. Big
Knife speaks the Cree language and is the top student at his tribal
college, where he is working on two degrees. "Not only will we be
proudly representing our
own traditional dance styles," he said, "but we'll also celebrate
Thanksgiving, a uniquely American tradition that we all share."
The nonprofit American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest
provider of Indian college scholarships. It was originally created in
1989 by tribal colleges to raise private support for scholarships,
endowments and operations. These colleges serve poor, isolated Indian
communities in
12 states from Michigan to California. In 1997, the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching called tribal colleges
"the most significant development in American Indian communities
since World War II."
To support more students through the American Indian College Fund, call
(800) 776-FUND or go to the website at www.collegefund.org.
###
Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade American Indian College Fund Tribal
College Participants
Vonnie Jo Alberts; Fort Berthold Community College; New Town, North Dakota
David Bigby; Fort Belknap College; Harlem, Montana
Hugh Big Knife; Stone Child College, Rocky Boy's Agency, Montana
Robyn French; Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute; Albuquerque,
New Mexico
Patricia Jackson; Northwest Indian College; Bellingham, Washington
Vanessa Kee; Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute; Albuquerque, New Mexico
Lisa Lopez; College of the Menominee Nation; Keshena, Wisconsin
Roger Other Medicine; Little Big Horn College; Crow Agency, Montana
Thomas Parker; Little Priest Tribal College; Winnebago, Nebraska
Juan Perez; Salish Kootenai College; Pablo, Montana
Pete Plenty Wounds, Jr.; Si Tanka College; Eagle Butte, South Dakota
Tamara Red Tomahawk; Sitting Bull College; Fort Yates, North Dakota
Nonabah Sam; Institute of American Indian Arts; Santa Fe, New Mexico
Melanie Two Eagle; Oglala Lakota College; Porcupine, South Dakota
Sunny Walker; Sitting Bull College; Fort Yates, North Dakota
Monroe Weso; College of the Menominee Nation; Keshena, Wisconsin
Clarissa Young; Northwest Indian College; Bellingham, Washington
(Drum Group Singers) Charles Gopher; Jonathan Gopher; Josh Lamere;
Marlon Roasting Stick; John Roasting Stick, Jr.; Stone Child College;
Rocky Boy's Agency, Montana
