On Nov. 16, Grand Rapids Community College’s Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion hosted a “White Washing Indigenous Cultures” panel discussion at the Applied Technology Center. The goal of the event was to have “conversations to begin a discussion about how Native American and Indigenous cultures are whitewashed and Americanized and to give the GRCC campus actionable ways to authenticate this narrative accurately.”
The panel participants were Lisa Carlson who identifies as American Indian, Tari Mattox who identifies as Native Hawaiian, Andrea Riley who identifies as American Indian, Myriah Williams who identifies as American Indian, and Samira Kimo who identifies as Native of Ethiopia. All were GRCC affiliates.
Carlson, a Support Professional in the WorkForce Training Department talked about how important it was for this panel to happen at GRCC.
“I think it was just time to bring a voice to the whitewashing… the dictionary definition (of whitewashing) even says these things are being covered up.” Carlson said. “Because it is Native American Heritage Month, we want it to be about culture and the whitewashing of indigenous culture.”
There were many questions asked in regard to treatment toward Indigenous people. Kimo responded by describing how she felt about a recent panel discussion about the Israel-Hamas conflict during which a GRCC professor described Native Americans as “little better than animals.” The faculty member later explained that he was role-playing and did not actually believe the views he presented.
“After that panel, I was just so shaken up,” Kimo said. “I knew about this panel and how it was going to take place, but I was hesitant to join because I’m not Native American and I don’t really share the same experiences as them, but I am Indigenous, so the panel about Palestine and Israel affected me negatively just because of how closely I relate to the topic… so listening to that panel was really hard for me and it was more of a reason to share my viewpoints and educate people and have that dialogue.”
Toward the end of the discussion, an audience member asked about Thanksgiving and whether it was problematic to celebrate.
Carlson explained that Thanksgiving is not something that Indigenous people celebrate.
“In written history, this was a way for the non-natives and Abraham Lincoln to show that we are unified and it’s one of those things that are rooted in something that’s negative and it’s a mourning, a time of sorrow for Indigenous people,” Carlson said.
Kimo also had strong feelings about Thanksgiving and based on the history behind the holiday, she doesn’t celebrate it.
“I think Thanksgiving has a terrible history with where it comes from and I don’t personally celebrate it,” Kimo said. “(My family doesn’t) condone the Thanksgiving that is shared here in America because I never grew up celebrating it or talking about it and as I grew up and learned the history behind it, was more of a reason to not celebrate it.”
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is located in the Woodrick Center for Equity and Inclusion, Library and Learning Commons, room 119.
