2006 Native American Heritage Month

Art Exhibit:

"Decorative Gourd: A Natural Medium for Art" by Patria Smith

A gourd artist who started out as an oil painter, Patria Smith creates decorative gourds, which she grows herself, with Native American designs and motifs.  Sometimes the design will tell a story or maybe a personal experience.  Even though she employs modern tools in her craft (like a wood-burning pen), her gourds reflect her strong sense of personal aesthetics and Miami cultural heritage.  Her decorative gourds have been featured at the Eiteljorg Museum and the Smithsonian Museum.

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"A Tribute to the Native American Flute" by John De Boer

John De Boer (flutist & storyteller) and Jr. Smith (guitarist) took the Wright State community on a Native American flute journey of the heart. To touch and feel, to hear and see the beauty, the wonder and the magic of the world that still surrounds us. There also was be a display of Native beaded jewelry.

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Brown Bag Lunch: “The Circle of Courage: A Traditional Path for Liberation from Self and Other Imposed Forms of Incarceration.”

Dr. Robin Herman, Dr. Robin Herman, adjunct professor, Department of Psychology, Wright State University, discussed issues of imprisonment of Native American persons in the U.S. correctional system. He further discussed the Circle of Courage in a broader and more global sense as it pertains to all people and their freedom from encumberment.

For more information, please contact the Asian/Hispanic/Native American Center, (937) 775-2798