Native American Heritage Month: Native American Stories by Lloyd Arneach
Born and raised on the Cherokee Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina, Lloyd Arneach learned his first legends as a child. Arneach presents his stories in a style that is humorous, informative and deeply moving. Besides the traditional Cherokee legends, Arneach also presents modern tales from a variety of Native American tribes. His stories range from creation stories to behind the scenes of blockbuster movies such as “Dances with the Wolves, “Billy Mills (Olympic Champion),” etc.
Arneach has told stories at the Kennedy Center, National Folk Life Festival, the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.), schools, universities, powwows, and other venues throughout the United States.
Native American Heritage Month Lecture: Living Between Two Cultures: A Navajo Woman Surgeon’s Journey to Combine Traditional Navajo Healing and Conventional Western Medicine
Bridging two worlds of medicine, traditional Navajo healing and conventional Western medicine, to treat the whole patient, is the focus of Dr. Lori Alvord’s talk. Dr. Alvord will discuss intriguing ideas about human health care and her path to integrating traditional western medicine and technology with the traditional Navajo philosophy of balance and harmony known as “Walking in Beauty.” Dr. Lori Alvord is associate dean for student affairs and admissions for the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, and professor of the college’s Department of Surgery.
A member of the Navajo tribe, Alvord received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1979. She earned her M.D. degree from Stanford University in 1985, and completed a surgical residency at Stanford University Hospital, serving as chief resident in 1991. She is the first Navajo woman to become a surgeon. After receiving traditional medical training, Dr. Alvord returned to the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico. She soon discovered the need to merge her state of the art skills with indigenous healing customs and practices. Dr. Alvord is the author of “The Scalpel and the Silver Bear,” Bantam Books, 1999, a bestselling Memoir.
Native American Heritage Month Lecture: The Meanings of “Indian Blood”: Perspectives on Race and Identity
American Indians are defined not solely by self-designation but by federal, state, and tribal laws. Blood quantum remains one of the most significant factors in determining tribal membership, access to services, and community recognition. This concept has generated debate and contestation. Dr. Eva Marie Garroutte, Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College, examined the issue of Indian identity and the many competing definitions of “Indian-ness” that are rooted in law, blood, cultural practice, self-identification, and the positive and negative consequences of each as seen from various perspectives. An enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Dr. Garroutte has a background of research and publication related to the study of racial-ethnic identity, religion, and American Indian health.
