A-Infos (en) {{{Native University Students in Colorado Occupy Admin. Office}}}

[Beezee Evans <bee3xxx@yahoo.com>]

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     A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 17:32:12 -1000 
Reply-To: kanakamaoliallies-l@hawaii.edu 
From: Teanau Tuiono <teanau.tuiono@minedu.govt.nz> Add to Address Book 
To: "kanakamaoliallies-l@hawaii.edu" <kanakamaoliallies-l@hawaii.edu> 
Subject: Native University Students Occupy Administrative Office, Make
Demands
###############################################################################

For many years native students (in general, students of color &
under-represented groups) at the
university of colorado at boulder have been fighting for programatic
enhancements within the
system in an effort to create a more welcoming, culturally receptive,
and responsive environment;
thus allowing the minority and under-represented populations the
opportunity to succeed and thrive
within a mainstream, white institution.  
	However, the administration and board of regents have failed to meet
the demands of the students.
 So once again, we have voiced our demands and we ask for your
support.  Below is a copy of an
opinion piece (op-ed) that was submitted by OYATE- Native American
Student Organzation, to the
Colorado Daily.  We ask that you send this email to as many people as
possible to help us in our
efforts to improve the conditions and struggles of the native students
and other under-represented
groups at CU boulder. Any questions/concerns please call OYATE at
(303) 492-8874.

				peace.................
					

This op-ed piece is being submitted on behalf of Oyate- the native
american student organziation
to be run on the ucsu op-ed space.  UCSU does not necessarily endorse
this op-ed, they are simply
donating the space, hence ucsu should not be identified with this
piece, recognition should be
give to oyate.  any questions please call shendo(303) 492-3227(oyate),
jeremy (ucsu) at (303)
492-4174.

(please bold) We are here because our ancestors died for us  Our
tuition is paid in blood and land

It is nature that our leaders have forgotten And we struggle daily for
survival(end bold)

(please italicize) ...for every hundred Native American students
entering ninth grade, sixty will
graduate from high school, about twenty will enter a postsecondary
institution, and perhaps three
will receive a four year college degree. (Tierney, 1992).(end italicize)

There are 184 Indigenous students enrolled here at CU-Boulder, a mere
0.7 percent of the total
student population(Office of Student Affairs, Institutional Research).
 Of those, the leadership
is a collective of many nations from across Amerikkka.  We are Oyate
-- The People-- Native
American Student Organization.  

The time has come for our voices to be heard.  For too long have our
spirits been contained within
a system of oppression.  Because we live in a modern day massacre
where institutional genocide
thrives, we are destined to die.  Where is this institutions
commitment, if we are abused by those
who lead us?  How is it that we continue to fight without support from
those administrators whose
charge is to serve students? Specifically, the regents and the vice
chancellors of this
institution who have failed to understand our issues and demands. 
These leaders have established
a strong historical system of oppression against our people
specifically, and people of color in
general, on this campus.  

We come from a place of solutions now, because we have learned that to
speak of the issues gets us
nowhere.  We have enough to worry about:
maintaining our identity and spirituality, the burden of assimilation,
maintaining grades, to be
responsible for collective thinking, cultural competency, and movement
for change.  We are tired
of talking about the problems, we want answers and we want action.  We
are sick of listening to
political rhetoric just to appease the masses.  When is this
institution going to wake up and
answer to our families, to our communities, to our leaders?  We hold
this university accountable
for the countless number of Indigenous students that have fallen
through the system because of the
false promises that are uttered through forked tongues. And now we see
that we have no value.  Now
we understand, that who we represent, what we believe, and who we are
does not matter.  We are
forgotten.  But, no more!!!!!

We demand:
  (bullets)
	*In-state tuition for all American Indian, Alaska Native, and
	Native Hawaiian students, 
	*Native American Student Services Program Director,
	*Native American Theme house and cultural center,
	*Preservation and restoration of Hogans, southeast of Williams
	Village (traditional navajo dwellings, with spritual significance)
	(end bullets)

These services exist for other Indigenous communities on campuses such
as Arizona State
University, Brigham Young University, Dartmouth College, Harvard
University, Little Bighorn
College, Montana State University, Nebraska Indian Community College,
New Mexico State University,
Northern Arizona University, Portland State University, Stanford
University, University of Alaska,
Anchorage, University of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles,
University of Iowa, University of
New Mexico, University of South Dakota, and University of Washington.
(National Institute for
Native Leadership in Higher Education)  
  If CU has the cash and time to create and staff an Associate Vice
Chancellor for Diversity
position, then we believe they have the cash and time to create
services to recruit, retain, and
graduate people of color and other underrepresented groups.  Now!!!!!

 Mitakuye Oyasin,  (all my relations)

Oyate Native American Student Organization



Hello everyone,

	This is to inform you of the recent happenings.  This morning at 9:00
am students representing
various student groups initiated a sit in of the vice chancellor of
student affairs office, jean
kim.  We requested a response to an open forum that had occured on 4th
feb which they said they
would respond to by the 20th and have not.  They gave us a print out
of the responses that fell
under the umbrella of  the student affairs office, but was not quite
what was expected.  And the
students voiced their concerns and called jean kim out on her
responsibility to the students and
the issues and asked her what role, she really plays.  It began to get
into admistrative rhetoric
so we said we did not want to discuss, we proceeded with presenting
the her with our collective
list of demands,  we stated we are tired of talking and that we wanted
them to absorb our demands
that we had, which are following and we will share with you. 

The office is being currently occupied and is where this email is
coming from.  We have had some
media come in to cover this but we still need to get the word out.  So
if you  could get this out
in support emails can be directed to jean.kim@colorado.edu in support
or phone calls to (303)
492-8477.  

The demands are:   1)  The university must implement in-state tuition
for all native american,
alaska native, native hawaiian students, along with free tuition for
the southern ute and ute
mountain  ute (two tribes presently in Co.)

2)  the university must provide administrative support for removing
the board of regents
prohibition on the use of general funds for GLBT issues, including
domestic partner benefits for
GLBT staff and faculty.  The unviersity must sign a letter of support
for these issues to each
university of colorado regent.

3)the university must create a more specific "diversity" definition
and enforce mandatory
diversity training for all staff and faculty.

4) the university must broaden racial and ethnic categories to be more
inclusive of the students
that attend CU boulder.

5)  the university must lift its prohibition on the use of
administrative funds for speakers and
increase funding to latino advocacy, black advocacy, asian american
committee on education, and
american indian advocacy.

6)  the university must create program directors for the native
american, latino/a, african
american and asian american communities to suplement the current work
of the cultural unity
student center(a counseling center for students of color)

7)  the university must include a 75% representation of diverse and
inclusive students on all
university committees that affect student life, student services, and
student interests, with the
specifics to be jointly areeed upon by the authors of these demands
and the university
administration by the last class day of the spring 1998 academic
semester

 We have been occupying her office space and have forced her to
vacate, the morning has been
filled with cycles of studying and every so often chanting
phrases......"Power to the
people"......"The people united, will never be defeated"

We have made it clear to her and her office that we will stay for as
long as we please and will
leave on our terms.  print media has been around and channel 9 from
denver has informed us that
they will be arriving soon. Again, please show us your support by
responding to jean kims office,
we have much admistrative and student support but are needing outside
influence to make our
demands and fight stronger.

			we thank you, we are united and our hearts remain strong and we are
not about to give up.

			fight the power

				-the coalition





==
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