Community invited to celebrate spring at campus pow-wow
The University of Wisconsin–Madison community is invited to a spring pow-wow on Saturday, April 10.
The pow-wow, hosted by the Native American student association Wunk Sheek, will run from 1-9 p.m. in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, 601 W. Dayton St.
The event will kick off with a seminar earlier that day, hosted by the School of Education’s American Indian Curriculum Services Office. The program, “Pow-Wow 101: An Introduction for All the People,” is designed to give students, staff, faculty, community members and their families the knowledge and experience to engage in the pow-wow and integrate an understanding of American Indian history, culture and sovereignty into their personal and professional lives.
The seminar will go from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Room 228 of the Educational Sciences Building, 1025 W. Johnson St. The program combines background knowledge, tangible experiences and topic specific discussions about the pow-wow and how it relates to diverse areas of education.
“Pow-Wow 101 is the culmination of a yearlong focus on American Indian issues in education,” says Ryan Comfort, coordinator of the UW–Madison Office of American Indian Curriculum Services. “But exposure to other cultures is an ongoing process that anyone can embark on at any time, so we want to share this tradition with the community.”
During the past academic year, the School of Education launched a common read of Sherman Alexie’s “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” along with a series of seminars on American Indian culture and history for future teachers, faculty and staff, Comfort says. His office plays a pivotal role in preparing Wisconsin teachers to include information on the state’s American Indian nations in school curriculum as required by state law.
“From visiting artists and lecturers to the key role played by the Children’s Cooperative Book Center, we’ve had a great year looking through the indigenous lens, and we’ll still be here to assist teachers and guide future teachers,” he says. “But on April 10, it’s all about joining the student tribal members in a traditional day of sharing and celebration.”
For more information on American Indian Curriculum Services and the guests who visited during the past year’s look at American Indian culture, visit http://www.commonread.education.wisc.edu or http://aics.education.wisc.edu.
