By Felicia Byrd

The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity 2013 was a great experience for me.  I enjoyed the institutes I was able to attend.  I was able to share some of my past experiences, and learn from the past experiences of others.  I made valuable connections with student representatives from other campuses who have agreed to keep me posted on their progress as far as their movements for sustainable inclusion on their campuses and vice versa.  The Conference was, to me, the epitome of “diverse” from the range in age, representatives from different universities and colleges, and finally cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

On Tuesday, May 28 I attended Advancing Your Career: What You Need to Know to Advance in Higher Education-From Hair to Credentials hosted by Narcisa A. Polonio, Ed.D.  Mrs. Polonio is the Vice President for Education, Research, and Board Leadership Service at the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).  I really enjoyed the message Dr. Polonio taught to us.  She was straight forward and to the point.  She gave us a list of rules to live by in whether in School, or the Work force.  One never quit a job before you have another one.  It is important to remember that some of the jobs we perceive as less than or bad; would be cherished to others.  The second rule is that people in your work space or environment will remember you for what you last position was in the company or organization.  You should not take this offensively you should take this as an opportunity to show how willing you are to learn and adapt to different situations.  She gave an entire check list to of things you need to know in order to advance in Higher Education.  The List ranged from Appearance to Credentials to a Readiness Profile.  For each step she walked us through a process to gauge our position or rank in or professional lives and how we could progress.  My favorite piece of advice that Dr. Polonio gave was that we should always dress two positions above our actual rank because would never see an athlete wear a suit and tie at their game; no they dress for the part.  I truly valued that piece of wisdom.

Another lecture I attended entitled Finding Your Voice: The Keys to Your Greatest Potential which was hosted by one of the keynote speakers, Charles Holt, Actor, Recording Artist, Author, Charles Holt Productions—Los Angeles, CA.  I really enjoyed this lecture as well because I was able to hear people’s perspectives and experiences with recognizing diversity on their college campuses and creating a tangible spirit of inclusion.  Mr. Holt focused on five key principles community, excellence, equanimity, faith and service.  He used these principles to spark questions and discussion amongst our group so that we were able to create our own definition of community and what we feel a community should look like, and be a role model for the type of community we like to have on our campuses.

During NCORE I attended at least two workshops a day some I really enjoyed, and some I felt I could have spent my time more wisely.  I had heard from others that S. Michelle Coleman of California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA had given a lecture called I Am Not My Hair: Honoring the Hairstory in Your History which was very popular amongst all women who had attended NCORE in the past.  When I first arrived I was under the impression that we would actually be discussing the history aspect of women and our hair and what our hair meant to us.  I really did not enjoy it that much because I felt we spent too much time discussing our present struggles with our hair, and I felt it became repetitive and redundant after a while.

Finally the most thought provoking experience I had while at NCORE was when I attended the Film Preview and Discussion for  The N!GGER Word: Is the a Message in the Madness? This film uses interviews and commentary from a diverse multitude of people.  In the film questions like; What is the meaning of the N!gger word in society today?  Will it ever die out or lose its power?  Is there a subliminal message behind the word?  Can something that was meant to be derogatory now be uplifting? The one thing in the video that stuck with me the most is when one of the people who were interviewed said they viewed the use of the word as a form of self-oppression. They felt that because African Americans still harbored so much pain from how their ancestors were treated that they see it as taunting past oppressors as if to say You can’t say it, but I can!.”  This is normally because people of the fairer race fear the consequences of using that word around African Americans.

All in all I think NCORE 2013 was the total experience.  I met new people from all over the nation and I got to experience Higher learning in a predominantly diverse setting.  I do not even possess the words to describe how great a time I had in the city of New Orleans alongside my peers.  I feel that NCORE will only get better with time; and I would recommend the conference for anyone looking for guidance on improving relations on University and College campuses across the US.

by Isaac Lorton

Well first and foremost, the food was the most important thing on the trip. It was delicious. It spoke to me and was very inspiring to me as I move forward in my life and future career. I now know where I will be taking my business trips.

On a more serious note, I did not make many connections, but the few I did will be helpful to NASAND, myself, and Notre Dame as a whole. One of the connections made was a former NASAND president Lakota Mowrer. She was at NCORE with the Teach for America group as a former teacher and facilitator with the organization. Teach for America presented its American Indian initiative and how they are attempting to recruit Native students to teach in areas densely populated by Native students, like New Mexico, South Dakota, Hawaii and Oklahoma. The Peace Corps was supposed to come and talk to NASAND this year, but it fell through twice; so one possibility, would be to have someone from the Teach for America’s Native Achievement Initiative come in and speak to NASAND. As for MSPS, most groups under MSPS are socially conscious, but often times the plight of the modern Native American goes unnoticed. It would be a good idea to have Teach for America come in and speak about the Native Achievement Initiative to all groups because many people do consider teaching after college for groups like Teach for America or Americorps and are socially aware.

Another connection I made was to Ariel Luckey. He is a hip hop theatre artist, director, poet, scholar, and organizational consultant whose works have an aim for social change. He performed part of his work “Freeland” which highlights his unknown connection to U.S. and Native American relations in history. Other than “Freeland,” Luckey also does work about other social issues, including immigration. For NASAND it would be interesting to do a possible event with Luckey some time throughout the year, possibly during the big Spring Visitation weekend. It would incorporate modern music with Native American issues. Since we are such a small group, we could possibly team up with some acting/dancing troupe at Notre Dame to put on a show. That way we are getting our message across in an entertaining way and getting other groups involved. Right now, NASAND does not have a huge event which is able to draw all of the prospects or students in, so it would be cool if we had a larger event that weekend. I think it would also be an idea if MSPS contacted Luckey to help with the big events like Latin Expressions.

In a similar vein to Luckey, I heard the talk “Contemporary Native Music and Identity” by Alan Lechusza Aquallo, PhD. His works are more scholarly, he wrote his dissertation on Native Americans in the Hip Hop industry. His presentation highlighted some of his findings and research from his work “Without reservations: Native Hip Hop and identity in the music of W.O.R. (With Out Rezervation).” I was unable to make a connection with him, but he would be a great person to invite to speak. His talk was both scholarly and entertaining. It was engaging, interesting, and involved hip hop and rap music – how can you go wrong with that? Again, NASAND could benefit from having a speaker like him come to campus, team up with us, and give a presentation as one of the talks during Native American History Month in November. It would be beneficial for NASAND, MSPS, students in the American Studies program, and Notre Dame as a whole.

The best talk I heard at the conference and possibly ever in my life, was given by Candy Chang. She is a community developer and has done projects in numerous cities all around the world. She is a TED senior fellow, whose works aim at bringing communities closer together by establishing common grounds and interests. Some of her work was inspiring and helpful for my internship this summer at Experience Baseball, an urban community development organization in cities home to baseball. I just hope some of my work will be even half as good as hers. She would be a great person to bring in and speak not only to MSPS but to Notre Dame as a whole. On a larger picture, as Notre Dame continues to reach out to the South Bend community and work with them to create a better relationship, I think Chang would be a great asset to have in the process. There is definitely a divide between the Notre Dame’s “bubble” on campus and the immediate surrounding community. It is my understanding that Notre Dame and South Bend have been working towards a more “college-town feel.” Why not bring in someone, like Chang, who has a vast amount of experience and still a modern perspective on community development. Even on campus, I think Chang could help establish a gathering place for everyone to feel welcome. I was sadly unable to meet with Chang, but I am pretty sure Ally met with her.

Overall, my experience at NCORE was extremely beneficial. I was able to relate with the Native representatives there during the preconference sessions. NASAND and I am pretty sure MSPS and the school shared similar concerns involving Native students in higher education with other colleges. There was a lot of administrative stuff that was talked about which went over my head, but it makes me feel like Notre Dame needs to get Laurie Arnold, or someone like her, back.