Navajo students share culture

Georgia College & State University students experienced an abundance of cultural exchange last week as students from a Navajo dance troupe in Monument Valley, Utah stayed with them in the residence halls, talked to classes and performed a traditional Navajo pow wow.

Associate Professor of Government & Sociology Dr. Robin Harris has been coordinating book drives for the Navajo students since last year. Various campus organizations have collaborated in collecting books taken to the school by Harris and her husband, Don, who are active members of a service project with an elderhostel.

“I just didn’t want to go out there empty-handed. I wanted to take the students something that they needed, and I called the principal, and she said books are always needed,” Harris said. “Last fall, the Honors Program did a book drive, with the History Club and the Mary Vinson library contributing, and then I did another call for books in the spring and we got even more. Books were also collected in the residence halls this year when students checked into their rooms.”

Harris and her husband delivered 700 books to the high school during their first visit to Utah, and currently have over 1700 to deliver during their future visits. Harris takes extra books to a nearby mission school and family life programs. They are planning their next trip for March 2006.

“When the (Navajo) students performed for us, I immediately knew I wanted to bring them back to the college,” Harris said. “I really wanted their trip here to be a time of real interaction and civic engagement between the two cultures because it’s difficult to be a recipient all the time, and I wanted them to know how much we value them coming and sharing their culture with us.”

Senior Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of University Housing Dr. Paul Jahr helped with the logistical components of the cultural exchange.

“We lined up residents within the residence halls who had helped with the book drive to serve as hosts and hostesses,” Jahr said. “Two of our guests stayed with students in the Sanford Honors Community, and the other students were spread out among four other residence halls.”

Jahr said the funding for the Navajo students to come came from Dr. Harris’ initiative and through grants from the Coverdell Institute and Multicultural Affairs.

“Dr. Harris and I thought it would be nice if we could actually have some physical connection between our students and the Monument Valley students,” Jahr said. “I think it was a wonderful opportunity.”

The students of the dance troupe agreed, and a majority of them said they would like to attend college at GC&SU in the near future.

“Staying in the residence halls was really cool,” Sivei Martin, a Monument Valley High School student said. “Everyone was so alive and nice here. It was just a fun environment.”

Harris said she would ultimately like to see some of the Navajo students consider attending college at GC&SU.

“One of the things I would like to see come out of this long range is for some of those students to come to school here,” Harris said. “What a great opportunity that would be for us! Having established a relationship that we know will continue is more conducive to us and is a great connection.”

The students arrived in Milledgeville on Thursday night and had a welcome reception in Wells Hall. On Friday, they spoke with students in Dr. Megan Melancon’s English 1101 class and Dr. Carol Ormond’s Community Health class. They also attended the Edgar Heap of Birds art exhibit and took a campus tour before their dance performance on Friday at 5 p.m. in the A&S Auditorium. Their stay ended with pizza and a movie in Sanford Hall.

“We talked to the classes about our Navajo culture,” Mesan Yellowman, a Monument Valley High School student, said. “We told the class what it’s all about and where we stand. Everyone has been so open to our culture.”

Chaperone Bessie Holiday said the dance troupe is used to traveling.

“They’ve danced in so many different places, like Wales, England and Hawaii,” Holiday said. “They also travel to different campuses across the United States to perform.

The dance troupe has additionally performed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

“We have some the top students from the school performing with us,” Holiday said. “We have the captain of the football team, the president of student council and the president of the senior class. I think [the students being here] opens up eyes from both our side and yours. We’re seeing things we’ve never seen before and interacting with great people. I think it’s good exposure for them to try new things and expand their horizons.”

Harris said the pow wow is an integral part of the Navajo culture.

“It’s a way of helping the sustaining the Navajo culture because their culture is very important to them,” Harris said. “It’s a high-quality performance, and they make all their costumes.”

Harris said civic engagement was the most important factor in the Navajo students’ visit to GC&SU.

“It’s been a real collaborative effort. Lots of people from across the college have chipped in and made this work, and it’s not really associated with any one department,” Harris said. “It shows what we can do, and it completes that circle of civic engagement that is so important. When you can put faces with who you’re giving to, it makes it so much more real and significant.”

Aside from Martin and Yellowman, other members of the dance troupe include Valerina Adakai, Mallory Bennett, Jose Herrera, Angelena Holiday, Pamela Holiday, Shilo Johnson, Monique Mose and Sloan Oskianna.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 18 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry