Students learn about Native American culture through immersion

What is an “Indian”? And is that even the proper term to refer to Michigan’s first people? U-M students were recently asked to explore these questions and others through a unique Archives and Oral Histories course, which gave them rare access to Anishinaabe rituals, customs and celebrations. (Anishinaabe refers to the Ojibwe, Odawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi peoples of Canada and the United States.)

The idea for the course came to Anita Gonzalez, U-M professor of theatre and drama, after she went on the annual U-M Road Scholars tour. Organized by the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations, the trip takes faculty on a five-day tour throughout Michigan in the spring to expose them to the state’s economy, government and politics, culture, educational systems, health and social issues, history and geography.

While on the trip, Gonzalez feel in love with the Upper Peninsula and was surprised to learn that there was no connection between the university and a tribe the tour had visited: the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewas. Gonzalez approached Road Scholars organizer Dana Sitzler, associate director of state outreach, about co-writing a Third Century Initiative grant to develop a course that would develop that connection.

Sitzler knew the only way the project could work was if tribal leaders were on board, so she took the idea to Cecil E. Pavlat Sr., retired leader of the Sault Chippewas, and Jacqueline Minton. Minton, cultural buildings coordinator for the tribe, manages the Mary Murray Cultural Camp on Sugar Island, across from Sault Ste. Marie. She regularly organizes events to help students in the tribe better understand their culture. Pavlat and Minton were happy to participate in a project that would increase understanding about native people living in Michigan.

The team arranged meetings in Ann Arbor and on Sugar Island, culminating in a four-day immersive experience that allowed students to learn a number of traditions firsthand, including corn teachings, a sweat lodge, sunrise services and storytelling. The first part of the course immersed students in the culture of Native Americans and the second part asked them to take what they learned and turn it into a performance piece.

By the end of the course, student questions about the appropriateness of the term “Indian” were finally was resolved. Pavlat told them that its use was all about the intent of the user—as simple as that.