Jodi Rave: Native women should meet more often
Friday, April 17, 2009
Filed Under:
Opinion
"The final summation was unanimous: “We need to do this more often.”
On Wednesday, I had the honor of joining Native women of all tribes - peers, mentors, students and professionals - on the University of Montana campus to talk about careers, culture and college life.
“It's nice to see us all together,” said Laura John, a UM clinical psychology doctoral student. “It's so easy to get caught up in our own little corners on campus and it can feel isolated.”
John said the UM women's get-together left her feeling energized, reminding her of an eons-old tradition in which gatherings of Native women were the norm, a societal tradition now often ignored. “It charged my battery,” said John, who is Blackfeet. “I hope they keep doing this. It acknowledges our humanness and our strengths.”
Organizers of the “Imparting Wisdom to a Younger Generation” panel and luncheon said that's exactly what they plan to do. “The feedback is, we have to do this more often,” said Fredericka Hunter, UM director for American Indian Student Services Program. “You would never know there are more than 600 students on campus.”
As one of five invited panelists, I applaud the coordinators - AISSP, the Student Assault Resource Center and the group, LISTEN, for bringing us together. We all need to have friends and mentors who will encourage and push us to do our best. That's precisely why people such as Hunter, Ciara Hansen, Kate Pruitt-Chapin and Erin Scott organized the panel and luncheon."
Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Native women's gatherings should be more common
(The Missoulian 4/17)
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