Overview of Programs and Events
Peace Tree Ceremony
A highlight of the academic year is the annual Peace Tree Ceremony. The university community welcomes Morgantown-area residents and members of the local Native American communities to campus to join in this important tradition.
The 2006 Peace Studies Lecture and Peace Tree Ceremony took place October 16th and 17th, respectively. We were honored that Chief Arvol Looking Horse (Lakota), along with Paula Horne-Mullen (Dakota) presided. He is the19th-generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe for the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people and founder of World Peace and Prayer Day. Several hundred audience members listened to their words during their two-day visit to WVU.
Over the years, numerous other Native leaders have joined us to commemorate our WVU Peace Tree and share their unique cultural traditions. Most recently, Cherokee/Appalachian writer Awiakta, Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree and his wife Terri Lynn Tall Tree, Delaware/Mohawk traditional teacher and healer Tim Brown “Wut-tun-nee,” and Tuscarora agronomist Dr. Jane Mt. Pleasant have presided.
Elder-in-Residence Program
An important part of WVU’s Native American Studies Program is the tradition of bringing distinguished Native American leaders to campus to lecture and interact with our students and fellow community members (see “Legacy of Distinction”). Many of these honorable guests have been involved in our Peace Tree ceremonies. However, in the past several years, with generous support from the Carolyn Reyer Endowment for Native American Studies, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and others, a formalized Elder-in-Residence program has flourished through the participation of these outstanding individuals:
2006 Dr. Henrietta Mann, Ph.D. ( Cheyenne), public lecture, “Is Nothing Sacred? Native American Views on Reverence and Connection”
2005 Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation, Haudenosaunee, Six Nations – Iroquois Confederacy, public lecture, “Cowboys and Indians: Will it Ever End? Ask Mother Earth”
2004 LaDonna Harris, (Comanche), public lecture, “Indigeneity: Indigenous Leadership in the Face of Global Change”
2003 Peterson Zah, former Chairman and Tribal President of the Navajo Nation, public lecture, “ Winds of Change in Indian Country”
2002 Angaangaq Lyberth, (Inuk), public lecture, “Melting the Ice in the Heart of Man”
Sycamore Circle Lecture Series
The Sycamore Circle series of lectures was initiated in the Spring of 2004. The series consists of informal lectures and discussions meant to highlight and encourage the sharing of research on wide-ranging Native American topics. The Circles are conducted by faculty and students (from WVU and from other campuses) and by scholars and professionals serving in relevant fields. The name of the Series draws upon the historic sycamores that are located near our Peace Tree on the downtown campus. In the words of Dr. Ellesa Clay High, who originated the series, “Historically in Appalachia, huge, old, hollow sycamores provided shelter for both Native and settler alike. And in the tradition of at least one Eastern Woodland tribe, the Cherokee, fire first came to the earth as lightning which established flames inside the bottom of a hollow sycamore. It is in a spirit of illumination that these presentations are offered. ”
Past Sycamore Circle presentations:
Brazilian scholar Dr. Jane Brodbeck shared her research on Native American film maker Sherman Alexi and also gave comparisons between the struggles of Brazil’s indigenous peoples and those of Native peoples in the U.S.
Counseling psychologist Dr. Shari Robinson discussed her research findings, including, “...Native Americans’ anxiety about the loss of culture contributes uniquely to their stress, which in turn impacts psychological distress.”
Award-winning anthropologist Darla Spencer presented, “120 Years Later: A New Look at the Mound Complex of the Kanawha Valley.”
Dr. R. Turner Goins, Associate Director for Research at the WVU Center on Aging, delivered an international videoconference on the topic, “Health and Long-term Care Needs of American Indian and Alaska Native Elders.”
Joe Candillo (Pascua Yaqui), a cultural program coordinator, delivered an interactive, hands-on lecture on “The Enchanted Yoeme Indians of Prehistory and Today.”
Jane Dailey, a member of Mother Earth Beat Drum, discussed changing attitudes regarding the emergence of all-women Native drums and her participation in “Balancing the Sacred Hoop,” a 2005 summer drum feast in California. Jane’s presentation was titled, “The Heartbeat of Mother Earth: Native American Women on the Drum.”
Joshua Masse, a WVU doctoral student in clinical child psychology, shared his survey research findings in a presentation titled, “Native American Perspectives on Parenting.”
NAS Research Colloquium
Students are encouraged to explore their academic subjects in-depth and then share their findings with the university community. The Native American Studies program sponsors undergraduate research colloquia, encouraging our emerging scholars to employ critical thinking and creative approaches to learning. These valuable opportunities allow faculty to mentor promising students and challenge them to consider post-baccalaureate study.
In addition, NAS faculty and other committee members are invited to share their research and creative projects with a community audience.
West Virginia Native American heritage Series
The annual West Virginia Native American Heritage presentation is rooted in WVU’s Mountaineer Week festivities, which take place in November, Native American Heritage Month. The series was established by former NAS Coordinator Dr. Ellesa Clay High.
Several years ago Dr. High observed that Native people and representations of Native culture seemed virtually absent in the typical Mountaineer Week line-up and decided to work to change that. She developed a literary performance program called “Heart Medicine” with colleagues Joann Dadisman and Dr. Anna Elfenbein of the WVU English Department. Mountaineer Week coordinator Sonja Wilson applauded this special program and encouraged Dr. High to continue to add Native programming to Mountaineer Week each year.
Dr. High conducted research throughout the region during her sabbatical leave in 2002-2003. Her work with Native people in West Virginia, and the enormous amount and variety of material she collected, highlighted the many resources available to help convey the Native heritage of West Virginia. Using her own personal contribution as seed money, she was then able to solicit additional funding to support an ongoing series. The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the Reyer Endowment for Native American Studies, Mountaineer Week, the West Virginia Humanities Council, and others have generously helped sponsor the various presentations over the years.
If you’d like to help support the West Virginia Native American Heritage Series, consider making a personal contribution. Click here for more information about giving opportunities.
Past presentations have included:
2003 The Turtle Island Band (contemporary Native American music performance, and storytelling)
2004 Documentary filmmaker Steven Shaffer (discussing his film on the petroglyphs of our region, “Written in Stone: The Prehistoric Native American Rock Art of the Ohio River Valley”)
2005 Dan Cutler as Chief Logan of the Cayugas (History Alive! Presentation)
2006 Doug Wood as Man Killer Ostenaco (Cherokee) (History Alive! Presentation—set for Nov. 6, 2006, look for details on our web calendar)
