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Celebrate Native American Heritage Month at WSC

Oct. 31, 2011 -- In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Western State College of Colorado (WSC) will host several free cultural presentations in November.

“A warrior is challenged to assume responsibility, practice humility, and display the power of giving, and then center his or her life around a core of spirituality. I challenge today's youth to live like a warrior.” -- Billy Mills, Lakota

On Friday, Nov. 4, the WSC Native American Student Council (NASC) will host a presentation by Ute elder Kenny Frost at 5 p.m. in the Quigley Recital Hall. Frost will speak about Ute culture and history in the Western Slope and Gunnison region, as well as the 2012 Maya Prophecy from a native perspective. Frost is a consultant on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, archaeological laws, Indian laws and treaties, Ute culture and history and Ute sacred sites.

Several renowned Maya experts will present “2012: The End of Time? The Dawn of a New Era?” at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 in the Quigley Recital Hall. The speakers will discuss what the ancestral Maya actually said about Dec. 21, 2012. The event speakers include: John Hoopes, Ph.D., associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Kansas who has blogged and presented papers on the popular-cultural mythology around 2012; Mark Van Stone, Ph.D., professor of art history at Southwestern College, who is an expert on the ancient Maya calendar and hieroglyphics and has written a book on the 2012 prophecy; and Patricia Amlin, Ph.D., who will introduce and screen her animated film, “The Popol Vuh,” on the Maya creation story. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session, and a casual mixer with refreshments in the Quigley Lobby.

The month’s final event is a presentation by Carey Vicenti, professor of sociology at Fort Lewis College, at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 in the Quigley Recital Hall. He will speak about Native American culture and his experience serving as tribal judge for the Jicarilla Apache tribe. NASC will sell hot food as a fundraiser in the Quigley Lobby following professor Vicenti's presentation.

These events are hosted by NASC and the WSC Art Department, with generous support from: Student Government Association, Anthropology, Honors, History, Political Science, Sociology, Center for Environmental Studies, Center for Teaching Excellence, Convocation and Arts and Humanities.

For more information about these events, contact Heather Orr, professor of art history, at horr@western.edu or (970) 943-3031.