Student group aims to stop American Indian stereotypes

When Sam Spence watched the movie "Dances with Wolves," he said it taught him all about American-Indian culture.\n"All Indians killed buffalo because back in that time, they could sell buffalo hide for a lot," the 8-year-old said.\nMisconceptions like this one led the Native American Graduate Students Association to team up with the Mathers Museum of World Cultures to host the annual Celebrating Kids and Culture event Sunday. The groups put on the event with the help of the American Indian Student Association and First Nations, to help dispel stereotypes and focus on the true culture of today's American Indians.\n"(The stereotype) just carries on something that's not true," said Dennis Lamenti, co-chairman of the Native American Graduate Students Association and member of the Navajo nation. "It perpetuates more stereotypes."\nWhile the misconceptions often attempt to depict the American-Indian lifestyle, some make assumptions that go \nmuch further.\n"I think the most damaging stereotype is that American Indians have been wiped out," said Rebecca Riall, co-chairwoman of the group and a member of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama. "People think we're stuck in the past."\nOn the contrary, American Indians are still very much a part of modern society and the general community, these students say. Though they are not as prominent as they once were, American Indian nations are far from gone, Riall said.\n"When November rolls around, teachers sort of drag (American Indians) out of the closet, so people think Indians belong in museums," Riall said. "We want people to see us as humans that are still alive. We're modern people that can have a good time, and you can be around us without being scalped."\nThe event at Mathers included storytelling by elder Marilyn Cleveland, as well as various booths, where children could design their own masks and pots and participate in Navajo string games. Kids were also asked to bring in toys and games that depict Indians as people of the past for a showcase about stereotypes. The showcase included things such as Playmobil sets and even a Cheeseburger in Paradise T-shirt.\n"This is great," said Judy Maple, a Bloomington resident who brought her grandchildren to the event. "Most kids don't get to see these things. They just don't get exposed to it other than the television, and sometimes the television is distorted. If the kids can walk away with something, that's wonderful."\nTaking something away is just what Lamenti wants kids to do. For him, the event was about having a good time while learning about American-Indian culture.\n"This is mainly for fun and awareness," Lamenti said. "It's so little kids will know. If you learn more, you appreciate more."\nParents were also interested in educating youth on the topic. Audrey Spence has an anthropology degree from IU and said that she is "interested in other cultural activities and experiencing the community." She brought her two sons, Paul, 10, and Sam, 8, to the museum.\n"This is important because (American Indians) were the people who lived here before us," Audrey Spence said. "You have to maintain a respect for their culture and what I think is their land."\nBut despite all the effort to educate Bloomington's young people, some still believe schools are to blame for the prevalence of so many misconceptions, Riall said. She explained that while November is National American Indian Heritage Month, many teachers focus on the topic around Thanksgiving and put it away again for the remainder of the year.\n"I haven't really learned anything in school about Indians," Sam Spence said.\nThe Native American Graduate Students Association hopes to solve this problem by sponsoring more outreach programs with local schools and continuing work with the Mathers Museum to make American-Indian heritage a larger part of mainstream curriculums.\n"It's about living in the world with other people," Lamenti said.