Campus Times
November 5, 1999
Innocent blood was spilled on this land, the same land that is now considered "the land of the free and the home of the brave." The original inhabitants of America were stripped of their culture, traditions and land to make room for the newcomers. The past is grim, straight out disturbing and often times forgotten.
However, this semester at the University of La Verne, various groups have stepped up to the plate to provide the ULV community with diverse cultural activities and celebrations in an effort to create awareness, generate reactions and to remember those who have been forgotten.
November is Native American Month and Campus Ministry, the Honors Program and the Associated Student Federation (ASF) Forum are combining their resources in an effort to provide numerous activities including a guest speaker and a hands-on exhibit and explanation of an Aztec style sweat lodge in an effort to expose all who are willing to Native American traditions.
We all remember the guest speaker Kay Hunani-Trask, who left many upset and uncomfortable during the Hawaiian Celebration. Her outrageous remarks stung and upset many, yet left a lasting impression not to be swallowed easily.
The need to be exposed to and be educated about underrepresented groups is very vital in a college setting. This is a place of learning and a good opportunity for students to become aware of the different historical events which took place, the struggles that different groups have endured and the consequences of historic decisions.
A college setting provides an opportunity to become educated about the past and current struggles in order to have an understanding and attempt to prevent or remedy future injustices.
It is quite easy to forget the past as long as one thinks that it does not have a direct effect. However, as long as the past is generating lasting animosities and spinning off further injustices it will hunt everyone's lives whether directly or indirectly. Often it will lead to unnecessary confrontations and long due remorse that was for years hidden behind a façade of glory and triumph.
College is a forgiving place that provides room for questions, answers, mistakes and shelter. But many people did not have this shelter and had to endure and still endure the burden and the curse of the past that has left them deprived of the basic human rights that the Constitution guarantees. However, many of us are blind to these injustices or are willing to accept them just to avoid being bothered by their grim reality.
There is the story and tradition of Thanksgiving and the wonderful feast that the pilgrims so generously held with the Indians.
The annual traditional celebration, that Americans have grown to love, conveniently excludes the fact that such friendly encounters between settlers and Indians were very rare.
Every year on Thanksgiving, Americans run out and buy a juicy turkey, but many do not take the time to look back at history.
Many follow without questioning and forget that just one generation after the supposedly first Thanksgiving most of the New England Indian population was exterminated in King Philip's War.
Yes, it is important to use Thanksgiving and other celebrations to get together with the family and give thanks but let us not act like the children of the first settlers and forget to whom we owe a great deal of gratitude and an even bigger apology.
Since we are paying such a large sum of money to attend ULV, we might as well take advantage of all the learning opportunities great and small. Many of us take the time out to attend Homecoming, clean highways, raise money to fight diseases and bowl with pumpkins. We should also take time out to learn about the not so great and disturbing historical facts that have led to our being here.