We sat around a long cloth-clad tables, eagerly waiting to know what the outcome of the night and our discussion would be, and what it would mean for the future of the College. The Monday night dinner, which was originally intended to last an hour, carried on for over three. Students, staff, and faculty sat side-by-side with Christopher Newell and endawnis Spears from The Akomawt Educational Initiative. What were we so earnestly discussing? Native Studies and the presence of Indigenous Peoples and cultures here at Connecticut College—or the lack thereof.
“No student should go through this college without having a deep understanding of the history of what’s happened on this land here,” Newell said, pointing out the lack of knowledge many students have regarding the beautiful campus upon which we have lived.
The current curriculum of the College is far-reaching, but largely lacking in some disciplines — namely, those dedicated to studying indigenous cultures and languages. How, then, can we as a community claim to be dedicated to fostering comprehensive global understanding and literacy if entire peoples and cultures are carelessly omitted from what we teach? We can move a step in the right direction by hiring a scholar who specializes in Native Studies to fill the recent opening for a new professor in the Department of History. Imagine the effect that hiring a Native professor, or at least a formally trained Native Studies professor, would have on the pool of knowledge we as a community draw from.
A group of students have banded together to write an appeal to the hiring committee. We hope that by vocalizing our desire to support the teaching of Native and Indigenous Studies, we can convince the committee to dedicate the search to finding a qualified and dedicated candidate to fill the position. But we need your support. Together we have power to incite change. While there were approximately 20 passionate students, staff, and faculty at the event, we still need the help and support of the rest of the Conn community to actually accomplish our goals. We, as members of this community, have a responsibility to advocate for those whose voices are being disregarded or ignored. Below is a draft of the goals of this initiative:
1. Develop a plan for communicating with officials and/or representatives from local tribes about the overall Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) initiative.
2. Initiate planning towards the development of a NAIS curricular component (i.e. minor, major, pathway, and/or certificate program).
3. Work with the appropriate offices to put forward a policy that Connecticut College replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day on the official calendar.
4. Collaborate with relevant parties to write a formal Land Acknowledgement that is encouraged to be used at College events.
5. Revise the history of the College section on the website to acknowledge the history of Black and Indigenous peoples of this land.
6. Purchase flags from the local tribes to add to the other flags flown at various ceremonies.
7. Collaborate with relevant parties to find an appropriate way to acknowledge the history and land and peoples of this area on campus (e.g. dedication plaques, building names, safe spaces).
Reach out to us, because together we can accomplish our goals — these, and many more. •
