Service Learning at the Mahkato Wacipi PowWow
It is one of my goals to provide undergraduates with learning and cultural understanding of the cultural communities in our own region. I believe firmly that including relevant native perspectives will help the College of Education produce graduates with:
- Increased adaptability
- Reduced stereotyping
- Increased understanding of other cultures
- Increased preparedness for multicultural public schools
- Enhanced global-mindedness
Although I prefer to avoid the tourist-curriculum, sometimes I am not the best person to provide understandings of other cultures, and I want my students to participate in special cultural events as part of the intentional instructional design. Since 2009, I have been networking with Dakota people, such as David Larsen, former Assistant Director of American Indian Affairs in MSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs. I learned that none of the other EEC faculty members were incorporating the Mahkato Wacipi / Pow Wow into their courses during Fall semester. This is an opportunity too good for our students to miss. David Larsen inspired me to consider the event as an opportunity for the entire class. In several course syllabi, I include the opportunity for students to earn extra points by attending special events, such as the Mahkato Wacipi. This shows that I considered such events to be valuable even from the very beginning of the semester.
2014 Pow Wow photos from Education Day (Friday) are here. And photos from the 2014 Pow Wow are here.
2013 Pow Wow photos. 2011Pow Wow video. 2011 Pow Wow photos.
MSU, Mankato holds several important goals for all its students, including (1) understanding issues of diversity in a multicultural society and (2) recognizing and appreciating the contributions, culture, norms/value, oppression which groups experience in our society. The Mahkato Wacipi PowWow and its Education Day constitute a significant event that, when facilitated, enables our students to encounter the indigenous cultures, learn about the region’s history of oppression, build relationships around cultural interactions, and grow in their cultural competency.
As the Native artists demonstrate their creative works (silver work, writing, music, drumming, quilting, food preparation, painting, beading, story-telling, and more), they also tell stories of history, tradition, and values. In the Native culture, artists are often also the teachers, role models and healers in the community—roles with great impact. The Mahkato Wacipi PowWow and its Education Day facilitate a transfer of knowledge between generations. Our students increase their awareness of Native cultures and Native arts, which leads to the breakdown of stereotypes of Native Americans and Native arts. My course evaluations have documented that MSU students increase in their cultural competency as a result of participating in the Pow Wow.
This is an awesome article about Service Learning here.