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Hi,
I’m a student at William and Mary, enrolled this semester in my first Native American history class (I hope to create my own double major with this and biology). The other day the profesor brought up the issue over the school’s mascot “The Tribe” and the recent political controversy surrounding it. I know we are also having a student-led debate on the issue, which I’m a little afraid to attend considering we have about 6 Native American students in the entire school. I know this question is brought up all the time, but I was just wondering what everyone’s thoughts were on this subject. Personally, the “Tribe” doesn’t bother me as a name, but what does bother me is the way the school consults with a few local Indian leaders and decides, based on those meetings, that it’s ok to have this as our mascot. I don’t think any small group of people should be responsible for speaking for the entire race, but then again, I don’t know the specifics of how the school went about this, so I could be wrong.
Also, a friend and I are in the process of creating a Native American club at W&M (Surprisingly enough, the “Tribe” doesn’t already have one…), and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how we could raise student awareness of the existence of local tribes and their cultures. We were hoping to host a pow-wow, much like UVA did back in the Fall, but I’m not really sure how we’d go about it. We also wanted to do something in protest to the government’s refusal to recognize several Virginia tribes. So anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I’d be more than happy to hear them. Thanks
William and Mary was one of the first, if not the first, Indian schools initiated by Euros and has a significant place in history in that regard. Does the school do anything to commemorated this part of their heritaage and former mission?
Good luck to you!
Brenda
We have this building on campus with a sign saying it used to be a boarding school for Indians, the Bradford School I want to say. But then again, thats mixed-feeling history. I like that the sign is there in memory, but Indian boarding schools aren’t always remembered fondly… I kind of wish there was something else there to commemorate that part of history. I think its important to remember the good, but also the bad so we don’t end up repeating or own mistakes. Sorry for the cliche. Anyways, I respect the fact that they have the sign. We have a meeting coming up to discuss the formation of the club, so hopefully all goes well. Thanks for your interest
I found the following testimony from one of your professors at WM through my library on line. I will only copy enough here so you can find it. Her testimony is extremely well- worth reading, but more importantly to your situation, if she is still at WM perhaps she can help you link up with some supports and like minded folks.
“TRIBAL FEDERAL RECOGNITION:
DANIELLE MORETTI-LANGHOLTZ, PH.D.
Congressional Testimony
Statement of Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D. American Indian Resource
Center, Coordinator Testimony for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee
on House Resources September 25, 2002 Mr. Chairman, members of the committee
and guests, I am Dr. Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, coordinator of the American
Indian Resource Center at the College of William & Mary and Visiting Assistant
Professor in the Department of Anthropology. I am pleased to have the opportunity
to address you today on this important issue. For the record, more extensive
treatments of Virginia Indian history have been submitted by me, Dr. Helen
Rountree, professor emeritus of Old Dominion University and Dr. Jeffrey
Hantman, of the University of Virginia and Mr. Edward Ragan of Syracuse
University. The history of Virginia’s indigenous population is uniquely
intertwined with the history and founding of the country we know today
as the United States of America. Widely known is the story of the great
Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas and their interactions with
some of the earliest English-speaking settlers at Jamestown during the
early 17th century. Less widely known is the story of what became of Virginia’s
indigenous population and their struggle for the survival of their culture,
communities, and identity during the intervening four centuries. Today,
representatives of six of these native tribes are before you seeking support
for the passage of legislation to extend federal recognition to them…….”
Good luck and let us know how things are going for you!
Brenda
The person I share an office with is a graduate of William and Mary (We teach in the Midwest.). He is descended from some of those tribes that were early driven out by whites.
Try sending a private email to the person who started this forum. Maybe she has some ideas and/or contacts for you. She is Linda. She is the dark-haired woman – well, I guess just about all pictures have dark-haired women. She manages the forums at the top of the page. She should be there. Look in the postings for her name. There will be a button called pm. With this, you can send her a private email.
Techteach
Thank you both very much. Actually, the woman you refrenced, Brenda, is my teacher. She is extremely well-educated in Native American issues, and I will definitely ask her help in this. I will also send Linda an email. Thank you again for your help, and I’ll let you know how it’s going.
Do that. We will be interested to hear how things work out. I will pass it on to my office mate too. He will be interested. I forgot to say earlier that, he grew up in the Piedmont region.
W & M played a role in the lives of the ancestors of several of us on this forum. If you search for Stacey, she posted lots of original source material about the Saponis who were taught by a Mr. Griffith who also was the teacher for the indigenous school established at W & M.
Teachteach
Welcome to the forum, Saloli, and thanks for writing me. I’ve met Danielle. She liked the gourd drums I was making at a NA festival in New Kent, I did some work for her, inputting some original source material for a CD project she had a grant for. I typed in all the references to Indians in the Executive Journals of the Virginia Colonial council. I have it published here:
Didn’t the Powhatan revolt start as a student revolt at the W&M Indian school? (Sounds like something out of the sixties!)
I know a few people in that locale who might be of help. I’ll ask them to contact you.
Thank you so much! Everyone here is so incredibly helpful, I can’t even believe it. I’ll have to tell her I talked to you! I’m not sure about the Powhatan revolt, but I’ll definitely check it out. Thank you all again
Saloli,
I am glad that you were able to find some help here at the forum. There are lots of good folks. And it certainly appears like you will have a good teacher as your education progresses!
Helen C. Rountree’s work, POCAHONTAS’S PEOPLE: THE POWHATAN INDIANS OF VIRGINIA THROUGH FOUR CENTURIES also has information on the school at William & Mary.
Till later,
Brenda
This week we met with Prof. Moretti-Langholtz and also the head of Student Multi-cultural Affairs, and they both seem very excited to make this club a reality. So that’s exciting. Also, they brought up the possibility of holding a Native American film festival for one of the club’s activities. I think I remember someone on the board mentioning that somewhere else, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for good movies to show. So if anyone has any ideas, let me know, and I’ll keep you posted on the state of the club. Thanks – saloli
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