In 2003, Darius Lee Smith created a curriculum to dismantle the myths of American Indians as sports mascots, cartoon figures and dead fables.
His curriculum has changed the way American-Indian history is taught in Denver Public Schools, he said.
Smith, the director of Indian Education for Denver Public Schools, presented an hour-long lecture on Monday, discussing what he called diversity redefined from an indigenous people's perspective.
"I wanted to attend because I thought the subject matter was really interesting," student Neomi Gilmore said. "It's good to hear about issues that directly relate to Native Americans."
Gilmore, a member of the Navajo Nation, said she is often frustrated with common misconceptions of American Indians.
"I've been asked whether I still live in a teepee," she said. "I think these misconceptions come from a lack of diversity and a common misunderstanding among students."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Smith said it is really important to recognize who people are as individuals.
A Navajo and an African-American, Smith grew up in a predominately African-American neighborhood in Denver but spent summers with his maternal grandmother on a Navajo reservation.
A self-described poor student, Smith said a course on African-American history he took during his last year of high school changed his life.
"For the first time in my life, I saw myself in the curriculum," he said.
Smith said he wanted to do the same thing for the American-Indian population by integrating an indigenous people's voice into the public education system.
His first challenge was to dismantle the myth behind the American-Indian as a romanticized symbol, he said.
"I created a curriculum that's now being used in Denver Public Schools," he said. "It's called 'American-Indian Mascots: Hype, Insult or Ignorance.'"
Smith's curriculum outlines popular American-Indian stereotypes used by university and professional sports teams such as the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins.
Such images of stereotypical Indians are an inaccurate representation of American-Indians and are racist, Smith said.
"Why is it that Native Americans are the only ethnic group still used as mascots?" he asked.
Gilmore said she hopes such lectures will enable a greater understanding of the differences and similarities among American-Indians and non-Native people.
Smith's presentation was followed with a more detailed lecture. Guest speaker Mark Tafoya joined him in discussing contemporary issues affecting the American-Indian community.
Tafoya, who is working toward a doctoral degree from the University of Colorado at Denver, said it's his personal campaign to conduct such workshops in order to educate those with misconceptions about the lives and contributions of American-Indians.
"It was a complete success," said Rebekah Horsechief, student coordinator for the lecture.
Her job is to plan speaking events that outline the contemporary concerns that affect the Native community, she said.
"I do it because I'm very impassioned," she said. "It's important to debunk the myths regarding indigenous peoples and highlight their contributions to society."
Horsechief said she's proud of how UNM is one of the most diverse campuses in the Southwest.
Nearly 1,500 American-Indians attend the University, according to the spring 2005 official enrollment report from the Office of the Registrar.
Monday's talk and brown bag lunch was sponsored by the Indigenous Nations Library Program. Dozens of students and University faculty members showed up to participate in the panel discussion held in Zimmerman Library.
Three more lectures are planned throughout the semester.
