Office of Institutional Safety & Equity (OISE) November 2021

IN THIS ISSUE Message from Dr. Oke Reconciling Our Complex Histories PAFA Celebrates Native American Heritage Month Looking Forward DEIB Conversations in the Museum & HigherEd Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020 Was the Deadliest Year for the Trans Community What is Movember? The Popular Men's Health Awareness Trend From Our Collection Native American Beadwork In the United States, the month of November is an annual recognition and celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Movember, and Veterans Day. In the landmark 1832 Supreme Court case, Worcester v. Georgia, the court ruled that tribal communities had inherent sovereignty and the authority to make and enforce their own laws within their lands. In his ruling, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that "tribes possess a nationhood status and retain inherent powers of self-government." Land sovereignty continues to be a contested issue among native and indigenous communities, leading many to refer to Native American tribes as the indigenous, first Inhabitants of the Americas and the land that later became known as the United States. Land acknowledgement statements have been offered in many spaces to serve as an ongoing reminder that we live, extract, and work on occupied land. Last month, in the October issue of our monthly Diversity Awareness newsletter we took a step in acknowledging this history and the rights of Native American communities by celebrating Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day. By moving to 'unlearn Columbus Day' we

challenged ourselves to grapple with the tense, violent, and unpleasant parts of our shared history and create new strategies to prevent further harm to members of these living communities. We continue this practice this month by unlearning other prominent American traditions, and invite you this month to 'unlearn Thanksgiving' and correct the myths we inherited about Thanksgiving Day we also work together to develop our cultural competency and educate ourselves about tribal communities. Did you know that in 1992 the National Historic Preservation Act was amended to include and clarify the roles and responsibilities of Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations? Did you know that the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate was Joy Harjo? (There's even a commemorative event happening tonight Nov 1. at 7pm via YouTube) Did you know that Marie Watt created a piece to honor veterans? Her 2004 piece, Edson's Flag honors her great-uncle Edson Plummer, who served in the Air Force during World War II. Did you know that in 1943 Minnie Spotted Wolf was the first Native American woman to enlist in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve? On November 11th we will celebrate Veteran's Day, the day that originally marked the temporary armistice and the formal end of World War I (the peace treaty was signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month). Veterans Day was initially founded as a way to honor veterans of WWI. Now this day celebrates and honors veterans of all wars. As of 2010 there are around 21.8 million veterans in the United States, about 9 million veterans over the age of 65, and about 1.6 million veterans are women. Some PAFA's faculty and staff are proud veterans and we boldly honor them this month. At times it seems hard to reconcile the fact that we are settlers on stolen land while also celebrating those who fought to protect our rights on this land. This month we are reminded that we can do both: we can honor our veterans while also honoring the indigenous communities that first cared for this land. Likewise, we can work to correct the erasures and violences that have been part of Indigenous histories all while thanking veterans personally for their sacrifices and service. The mind and the heart are capable of wondrous feats. The presence of this supposed cognitive dissonance should not create a stumbling block for us; instead we embrace this opportunity to stretch ourselves. We take seriously our work to become a more responsible and accountable community, -- Dr. Ronke Oke The Office of Institutional Safety & Equity http://oise-hr.pafa.org

The changing face of America's veteran population There are around 19 million U.S. veterans as of this year, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, representing less than 10% of the total U.S. adult population. Here are key facts from the VA, the U.S. Census Bureau and other... Read more www.pewresearch.org

Native American Heritage Month

In 2020, the number of people who identified as Native American and Alaska Native (AIAN) alone and in combination with another race was 9.7 million, up from 5.2 million in 2010. They now account for 2.9% of all the people living in the United States, according to the Census Bureau.

"In honor of Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., Google's interactive Doodle—illustrated by Zuni Pueblo guest artist Mallery Quetawki —celebrates Zuni (A:shiwi) Native American fiber artist, weaver, and potter the late We:wa (wee-wah). As a Łamana (thah-mah-nah), the late We:wa was a revered cultural leader and mediator within the Zuni tribe, devoting their life to the preservation of Zuni traditions and history.  As advised by the Zuni tribe, it is discouraged to speak of community members who have passed on within the present tense. Therefore, we refer to We:wa as “the late We:wa” out of respect for their memory and spirit." Read more here Martin Sensmeier, a member of the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s epic Western drama series Yellowstone, talks about the lack of Native representation in Hollywood. Alaska Natives About 15% of Alaska's 660,000 residents are Alaska native. In general, there are five groups of Alaska Natives identified by region – Iñupiat & St. Lawrence Island Yup'ik in the Arctic; Athabascan in Southcentral and Interior Alaska; Yup’ik & Cup’ik, Unangax̂ and Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) in Southwest Alaska; and Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit in Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage. (Source: Travel Alaska) Native Hawaiians "Native Hawaiians, also known as Kanaka Maoli, are the indigenous or aboriginal people (and their descendants) of the Hawaiian islands. Their ancestors were the original Polynesians who sailed to Hawai’i and settled the islands around the 5th century AD. “Native Hawaiian” is a racial classification used by the United States. In the most recent Census, 690,000 people reported that they were Native Hawaiian or of a mixed race that includes Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. There may now be as few as 5,000 pure-blood Native Hawaiians remaining in the world." (Source: Wander Wisdom)

Learn Morn about the Illuminating Native Peoples Project

Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang Abstract: Our goal in this article is to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization. Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. The easy adoption of decolonizing discourse by educational advocacy and scholarship, evidenced by the increasing number of calls to “decolonize our schools,” or use “decolonizing methods,” or, “decolonize student thinking”, turns decolonization into a metaphor. As important as their goals may be, social justice, critical methodologies, or approaches that decenter settler perspectives have objectives that may be incommensurable with decolonization. Because settler colonialism is Read the Full Article Online

The Art of Looking | Nov. 19 at 1pm In honor of American Indian Heritage Month, Kay WalkingStick's il sogno del cortile (The Courtyard Dream) is the inspiration for this interactive conversation. Join us and share your observations, interpretations, questions, and ideas, and build... Read more www.nga.gov

Looking Forward: Museum Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance We are an organization dedicated to restoring the food systems that support Indigenous self-determination, wellness, cultures, values, communities, economies, languages, and families while rebuilding relationships with the land, water, plants,... Read more nativefoodalliance.org Looking Forward: HigherEd Indigenous Perspectives on Native Student Challenges in... This post is part of the series Beyond the Margins: Meeting the Needs of Underserved Students. While the number of Native American students on college campuses has increased over the last 50 years, this broad... Read more www.higheredtoday.org

Transgender Day of Remembrance

"Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice." -- Gwendolyn Ann Smith Founder, Transgender Day of Remembrance

Founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith on the 20th Anniversary of... Today, trans people are gathering all over the globe to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance, when the names of all the murdered trans people from this past year will be read aloud at somber community-based events. This year marks the 20th... Read more www.vogue.com

Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in honor of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. What began as a vigil for one soon came to commemorate all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) began collecting data on trans violence in 2013. In 2020 HRC reports 44 total violent deaths of transgender or gender non-conforming people, making 2020 the deadliest year for trans people. The majority of these deaths in 2020 were Black and Latinx transgender women. HRC reports that 43 deaths have already occurred in 2021. Image Source:Jesse Costa/WBUR

Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19, 2021) is celebrated one week before Transgender Day of Remembrance.

PAFA Celebrates Movember!

No-Shave November No-Shave November Educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle. What is No-Shave November? No-Shave November is a month-Iong journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke... Read more no-shave.org

What is Movember? Movember, also known as Mustache November or No Shave November is a men's movement seeking to bring more awareness around men's health and cancer prevention. They also encourage men to get screened, make PCP appointments, and to challenge themselves to be more health conscious for the entire month. Oh yeah, and to (temporarily) join the #BeardGang. How does it work? According to No-Shave.org, "The rules of No-Shave November are simple: put down your razor for 30 days and donate your monthly hair-maintenance expenses to the cause."  What Health Issues Does Movember Highlight? Prostrate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Mental Health, and Suicide Prevention.  Learn More: Did you know that there are between 10,000 and 20,000 hairs on a man's face and the average mustache has about 600 hairs. Did you know that the oldest recorded mustache dates back to 300 BCE? Learn more interesting mustache facts here.

From Our Collection

[ BEADWORK ] Northwest Native American

We challenge you to check PAFA’s Diversity Awareness Calendar monthly and attend monthly OISE sponsored events. The purpose of this calendar is to celebrate and raise awareness of religious obligations, ethnic and cultural festivities, and significant events that may affect students, colleagues, and friends in the PAFA community.  Office of Institutional Safety & Equity Being an ally for a S.A.F.E. Community at PAFA