Powwow and land Acknowledgement shed light on native roots

Oklahoma City University and the University of Central Oklahoma hosted a Spring Powwow in the Freede Wellness Center on April 16. This is an annual event that the OCU and UCO native societies were heavily involved in. This year’s Spring Powwow occurred while the university works on the implementation of an official land acknowledgment.

President Evans attended the Powwow as a guest of honor and participated in the Gourd Dance. During the Gourd Dance attendees were able to purchase merchandise from vendors and enter raffles. “The Gourd Dance is warming everyone up, especially the dancers and it is getting the drum[mers] and the singers [ready],” said Gutierrez.

Juliana Wahnee the President of the OCU Native American Society said that the Powwow is a gathering for natives to dance and celebrate. “It also [The Spring Powwow] is making sure that OCU is being shown in a good light. People come from all over the state, all over the nation, people non-native and native. It is a time for everybody to come and appreciate the culture,” Wahnee said.

The university provided financial support for the Powwow. On March 24 the SGA Senate passed resolution 018-2122 unanimously which provided $3,250 to cover powwow expenses. The initial amount the Native American Society requested was $4,000. SGA worked with President Evans to cover the remaining expenses.

“The Powwow is important because it is really a gathering and a celebration of being native,” Gutierrez said. “It keeps us natives sort of connected to our culture, but it also allows us to share with the greater world, especially the western world that we are still here, we exist, and we are having a good time.”

“There was a time in our history when we weren’t supposed to be here. They tried to wipe us out. But we look around tonight adorned in our beautiful outfits. I might say that it is an awesome feeling,” announced Randy Frazier the Spring Powwow Arena Director. “There are a lot of empty chairs, a lot of relatives that went on into the spirit world that are no longer with us.”

The SGA Senate passed Resolution #001 unanimously on February 17. The resolution called for SGA to allocate the necessary funds to put a land acknowledgment plaque on campus. Former Senator Robert Gonzalez and Senator Penelope Hughes co-authored the resolution. “A land acknowledgment displayed in a high traffic area will allow for educational dialogue that promotes inclusivity to take place amongst the campus community,” the resolution states.

“I think this resolution was important not only for our indigenous individuals on campus but also for the education of the land OCU is on,” said Hughes

Robert Gonzalez says the Native American Society and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion have been working together to create a land acknowledgment statement for the university. “Once an official acknowledgment has been decided upon in collaboration with NAS, the creation of [the] display will be initiated. NAS will continue to be consulted as the project moves forward,” Gonzalez said.

Former SGA VP Brittany Wyatt and the new SGA secretary of DEI said the SGA is waiting for Dr. Talia Carroll to finalize the land acknowledgment before they can work on implementing the resolution. Wyatt said that she is overseeing this project with President BreAuna Shaw and former President Reid Powell. “We are hoping this will be finished by the end of the semester, but we are unsure!”

In an interview on April 18. Gutierrez said he had not yet been informed of the SGA resolution. After a brief explanation, Gutierrez expressed his belief that this initiative was a step in the right direction. “I think [it is important] for every event that is [held] on native land or I guess prior native land, stolen [land] to acknowledge that this was native land and people used to live here and existed before they were removed. I guess you could call it a first step to making things right,” Gutierrez said.

The School of Law has a land acknowledgment statement on its website. This statement has many similarities to the land acknowledgment statement shared by the Native American Society at the Interfaith Chapel Service on November 8. It is unclear how closely these statements will resemble the official university acknowledgment.

Land Acknowledgement Statement provided by the Oklahoma City University School of Law

“We would like to recognize that our campus is on land indigenous to the Osage, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita tribal nations, and that the lands extending throughout the state were originally inhabited by many tribes, including those that were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory under harmful federal policies.  We acknowledge that the 39 sovereign tribal nations inhabiting what is now Oklahoma originate from all four corners of the North American continent and we commit ourselves to honoring the land and the people who have stewarded it since time immemorial. We also commit ourselves to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit for future generations.”

Land Recognition Acknowledgement stated by the Native American Society at the Interfaith Chapel Service on November 8:

“We acknowledge that we create, lead and serve on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Comanche, Kiowa, Osage, and Wichita tribal nations. We acknowledge the forced removal, harmful federal policies, broken treaties, genocide and systems of oppression that have dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their lands that Oklahoma City University is now settled upon, and we have much honor and respect for the diverse and beautiful Indigenous peoples still connected to this land. We recognize that the 39 sovereign tribal nations inhabiting what is now known as Oklahoma originate from all four corners of the North American continent. We honor the land and the people who have stewarded this land for generations and those who continue to steward it to this day. We recognize that Indigenous people everywhere are alive and flourishing members of society and of our local community. Furthermore, we commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we now inhabit for future generations.”