The first of November was welcomed with cold weather while the beginning of Native American Heritage Month was welcomed with a flag raising. Despite the cold temperatures, people went to the German Club to listen to speakers and see the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women flag raised.
Introductions were made by Sam Ortiz, director of the Myatt Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Ortiz said that it is “important for us to show solidarity and commitment during these times and I appreciate it seeing you all here today.”
The first speaker of the event was Youssef Abdelhamid, a senior marketing major and Undergraduate Student Government Association vice president of community, advocacy and diversity. Abdelhamid said that Native American Heritage Month allows students to come together to celebrate and honor diverse cultures along with the traditions and contributions of Native Americans and Indigenous people, who are the original inhabitants of this land.
“As we delve into the spirit of Native American heritage month, it is essential that we not only celebrate [the] beauty of their culture but also reflect on the challenges as faced by the Native American community,” said Abdelhamid.
Abdelhamid said that Native American and Indigenous people have battled against marginalization and the denial of their rights for centuries.
“In our role as students, faculty and staff, we should work together to increase the visibility of Native American voices and experiences,” he said.
Abdelhamid urged attendees to create “platforms for open dialogue and inviting Native American speakers and providing a safe space for Native American students to express their unique perspectives.” Native American and Indigenous voices should be heard and celebrated, said Abdelhamid.
The next speaker was Seher Afroz Fazal, a graduate student who studies human resources and is vice president of administration for the Graduate Student Council. Fazal said, “Today we stand on sacred ground, and it is our responsibility to repress and respect the enduring heritage of First Nations.”
“As we reflect on the beauty and complexity of indigenous cultures, let us also acknowledge the challenges and injustice that have been faced throughout history,” said Fazal. “Today we commit ourselves to promoting awareness, understanding and justice for being with these communities by acknowledging the truth of the past and pave the way for a more inclusive and equal future.”
Alicia Lind-Windham, the vice president of New Haven’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a junior criminal justice major whose grandfather belongs to the Pueblo Indigenous tribe.
“My grandparents’ home was full of Pueblo style pottery, storyteller statues and my great aunt’s paintings of the beautiful Pueblo villages,” said Lind-Windham. “Growing up, I have been fortunate enough to have some ties to my heritage, its beauty and its importance to who and what being Pueblo Indigenous means and reflection of where I am now.”
Lind-Windham said they recognized that some Indigenous people are not so lucky, then said they recognized the hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people who have experienced an erasure of their culture and heritage.
“The United States was not built out of nothing, and the fact that Indigenous cultures are not part of the dominant culture is a calculated action,” Lind-Windham said. “This erasure does not mean that Native American cultures do not exist, or that our relationship with the lands on which this settler colony is built are any less valid.”
When talking about themself and other Indigenous people Lind-Windham said, “We are still existing.”
Destiny Ray, president of Pride and a senior cybersecurity and networks major, who is also a member of the Eastern Pequot tribe, said “I’m here to shed light on the profound and lasting impact [and] effect of colonialism on our community that affect us and many other indigenous tribes.”
Ray talked about the genocidal war waged against the Eastern Pequot tribe, which resulted in the deaths of 300 to 700 children, adults and elders of the community from 1636 to 1637, all at the hands of a colonial militia. This was used as the foundation of Thanksgiving, acknowledged as a National Day of Mourning for the Native Americans and Indigenous people.
Ray said, “Indigenous people use this day to honor the memory and suffering inflicted in the 1620s to highlight the ongoing challenges they faced today, including the issue of violence against Indigenous women and girls.” Ray also said that according to the 2022 FBI National Crime Information Center’s Missing Person and Unidentified Person document, there have been 5491 reported cases of missing Native American women and girls.
In honor of them, Ray and Abdelhamid raised the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women flag. Check out the Myatt Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Instagram page for posts about upcoming events for this month.