Weeklong events shed light on native cultures of the Southwest

In an effort to bring awareness of American-Indian culture to the UNM community, eight campus organizations have put together a week of lectures, concerts and demonstrations.

Nizhoni Week began Sunday and is designed to inform the public about different tribes and their cultures, said junior Allicia Waukau, vice president of UNM's KIVA Club.

"Nizhoni Week is a traditional event, and we are trying to keep the tradition going," Waukau said. "We want to get our voices heard."

The KIVA Club has always played a major role in sponsoring the event, but this year's program is a collaborative effort between different American-Indian student groups and ASUNM.

The American Indian Business Association, the American Indian Science & Engineering Society and American Indian Student Services, among others, have worked to get the event off the ground.

UNM junior Onawa Lacy won Miss Indian World 2003-2004 and will take part in some of this year's events. She said Nizhoni Week is important because it allows for all American-Indian students on campus to share their culture with the entire student body.

"All of the activities are unique to tribes particularly of the Southwest, so it shows the differences between us as tribal nations," Lacy said. "We each have our own stories, dances, languages and traditions. Nizhoni Week is imperative in allowing our non-Native community to learn more about our histories and people."

Nizhoni, a DinÇ word for "beautiful," encompasses everything the event is trying to portray, said Leona Morgan, KIVA Club president.

"The idea that you should live in beauty, harmony and balance entails everything about our cultures," Morgan said. "Nizhoni Week is an opportunity for us to show the rest of campus how beautiful our culture is."

The week started with the Freshmen Honoring Banquet that honored American-Indian students who completed their freshman year at UNM.

Tonight, Dennis Banks, an activist, entrepreneur and consultant on American-Indian rights, will speak at the SUB Lobo Conference Rooms A and B at 6:30 p.m.

Banks co-founded the American Indian Movement in 1968 and founded the non profit Nowa Cumig Institute that supports American-Indian youth programs and communities.

The rest of the week will feature student presentations on American-Indian topics as well as the 2004-2005 Miss Indian UNM Pageant on Tuesday night.

Over the weekend, the Southwest Film Center will feature films by and about American Indians, including films by local American-Indian filmmakers.

"This is a celebration of our culture, we are proud of who we are and we want to share that," Morgan said.

The events are open to the public and most of them are free.

"We are alive and well and we have a unique culture that we want to show to everyone else," Waukau said.