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[article provided by Native American Student Union/
AIM Mississippi. Thanks!]
Monday February 14 2:48 PM ET
Students Object to Indian Rituals
AP Photo
By DAVID GOODMAN Associated Press Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Eight minority students have seized the office
of a
distinguished University of Michigan organization for more than a week
to
protest the group's alleged use of Indian symbols in its rituals.
The protesters say the 99-year-old Michigamua student society, which
counts
former President Gerald Ford as an alumnus, has not honored a 1989
promise
to drop Indian-style rituals.
The protesters want the university to evict the group from its seventh-floor
office in the Michigan Union.
``Our voices have been continually ignored,'' said Joe Reilly, 21, one
of
213 American Indian students on the 36,600-student campus. ``We had
no
alternative to accepting the continued degradation of our people but
to
stand up for ourselves.''
Michigamua, which counts six women and eight minorities among its 24
current
members, claims it rejects the old practices.
But the protesters don't believe it and say they have evidence such
as
Indian pipes, drums and headdresses found in Michigamua's office and
a
recent photo showing a member holding a peace pipe in one hand and
a glass
of beer in the other.
As many as 100 supporters of the Students of Color Coalition have slept
outside the locked door since the protest began Feb. 6. Others have
brought
in food or offered to do laundry for the protesters.
``People see this fight as symbolic of the racism on campus,'' said
Jessica
Curtin, a 25-year-old graduate student and Michigan Student Assembly
member.
``There's been a steady decline in minority enrollment.''
Enrollment of blacks, Hispanics and Indians at Michigan has fallen from
14
percent in 1995 to 13 percent in 1999. A rising number of Asian-American
students has kept total minority enrollment steady at 25 percent.
Two lawsuits by opponents of Michigan's use of affirmative action in
admissions could further reduce the number of minorities on campus.
Administrators and campus police have taken a hands-off approach toward
the
sit-in. Royster Harper, interim vice president for student affairs,
said she
urged the protesters on Monday morning to talk with university officials
and
members of Michigamua.
``The university has a rich tradition of protesting in this manner,''
Harper
said. ``We have pretty much allowed this kind of expression.''
Michigamua (pronounced mi-chi-GAW-muh) was founded in 1901, its name
taken
from the Ojibway words for ``great water.'' It annually invites a small
number of campus leaders - all male until this year - to join.
>From the beginning, each got a ``tribal'' name upon initiation. Ford,
a
football standout and 1935 graduate, was dubbed ``Flipp 'Um Back''
Ford.
Ford ``always have 'um time to powwow with Old Braves,'' said the caption
for a picture of the former U.S. president at a 1978 reunion. ``He
speak 'um
wise words to the Tribe of '78.''
Ford, who lives in Rancho Mirage, Calif., was out of his office Monday
and
could not be reached for comment, said his scheduler, Judi Risk.
Other Michigamua rituals included wearing loincloths, body painting
and
holding ceremonies around a totem pole. In response to growing criticism,
the group promised in 1989 to abandon such practices.
The current members reject the past practices and are ``trying to alleviate
the pain'' they have caused Indians, said spokesman Nick Delgado, a
21-year-old political science and sociology major from Chicago.
Michigamua's rituals were overhauled in 1990 to comply with the agreement,
Delgado said.
``It's important that we go through this healing process, especially
with
the Native American community,'' he said. ``It's important that we
build
bridges.''
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