Maria Lago/Staff Writer
The FIU indigenous community will be raising awareness on indigenous cultures, issues and different perspectives on climate change just in time for Columbus Day.
FIU Indigenous Day will occur on Monday, Oct. 14 and a panel called ‘Democratizing the Conversation on Earth Citizenship. An Intercultural Dialogue from Indigenous and Western Perspectives on Humans and Nature’ will occur on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
“The main purpose of these events is to highlight that we’re still here,” said Joey Morales, president of the Global Indigenous Group (GIG) and a member of the Pijao people of Colombia.
Morales referred to the lack of knowledge on how close indigenous communities are to other communities.
“A lot of people think that we are gone but we are literally ten minutes away from Big Cypress Reserve on 8th Street,” said Morales, referring to the Tamiami Trail by the Miccosukee casino and how the Seminole and Miccosukee people are near the area.
GIG doesn’t just represent Native Americans from North America; it also represents groups globally, from Central to South America to Asia.
The Indigenous and Western Perspectives event will feature two guest speakers: Rubi Hurtado, founding member of the FIU Global Indigenous Forum, and Thomas Pliske, Lecturer Emeritus in the Department of Earth and Environment and the Department of Religious Studies.
Pliske wants people to know that despite the different beliefs of Western culture and Indigenous people, we still share the same planet.
“We are a family. We are on the same planet and we have to work in common to be more respectful and to base our actions on that,” said Pliske.
Pliske wants to highlight to students that indigenous people have a closer connection to nature that a lot of Western cultures don’t have, and wants to have a conversation on how we can apply those concepts to our society to make the world better.
Starting in spring 2020, Pliske will be teaching a new Global Learning course with indigenous content called “Spirituality and Sustainability.”
The 2019 FIU Indigenous People’s Day, is the third edition of the event, according to Morales.
“This is one of the few years where Indigenous Day will be celebrated instead of Columbus Day,” he said.
FIU Indigenous Day will be taking place on Monday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Graham Center lawns.
The panel on ‘Democratizing the Conversation on Earth Citizenship’ will occur on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 3:15 to 4:50 p.m. at the School of International & Public Affairs building in room 103.
For more information about the events, visit https://indigenous.fiu.edu/events/2019/#fiu-indigenous-day.
UPDATE:
The FIU Global Indigenous Forum has updated its list of events to celebrate Indigenous Day throughout the week of Oct. 14.
The following list has been provided by GIF from their email.
Monday, Oct. 14. 10:00 to 2:00 PM. Graham Center north lawn. Indigenous Day at FIU. Aztec Dancers, South Asian poetry, Photograph series of South Florida water ceremonies. Seminole Ah-tah-thi-ki Museum. Tables with students and faculty information. Global Indigenous Group and Global Indigenous Forum. https://indigenous.fiu.edu/
Tuesday, Oct. 15. 3:15 to 4:50 PM. SIPA Room 103. Democratizing the Conversation on Earth Citizenship. An Intercultural Dialogue from Indigenous and Western Perspectives on Humans and Nature. Quechua leader Rubi Hurtado and Dr. Thomas Pliske. Global Indigenous Forum.
http://indigenous.fiu.edu/
Wednesday, Oct. 16 (two events)
12:30 to 2:00 PM. Green Library 220. Ancestral Communities in the Andes. Graduate student research supported by the Tinker Foundation. Paola Andra Sanchez-Castañeda “Territorial Appropriation within the Muisca Community of Suba”, and Gloria Lopera Mesa, “Indigenous Litigants and Privatization of Resguardos in Colombia, 1873-1950”. LAAC-Andean Studies. https://lacc.fiu.edu/events/
6:30 to 8:00 PM. Amphitheatre next to DM Building. Palestinians: The Indigenous Peoples. A discussion of the land and what it means to the Palestinians. SJP Palestinian student club.
Thursday, Oct. 17 (two events)
12:30 – 2:00 PM GC 150. Film Screening: The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada). Quechua and Spanish with English subtitles. Discussants Dr. Michaela Moura and Dr. Maria-Luisa Veisaga. Andean Studies. https://lacc.fiu.edu/events/
3:15 to 5:00 PM. SASC 302. South Florida Native Plants and their Ecosystems. Love the Everglades. Miccosukee Houston Cypress.
Friday, Oct. 18. 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. SASC 302. Movie Night and Indigenous Week Finale: “Smoke Signals.” Classic Native American film discussion and dialogs. Global Indigenous Group and Global Indigenous Forum.
About Post Author
