Regina Jones was 19 years old when a woman on the bus she was riding walked up to her, raised her hand to her mouth and mocked the clichéd Native American call.

‘I forgot about it for years, and I blocked it from my mind,’ Jones said. ‘It was hurtful. And I can’t believe she did that to me. Why would she do that to me?’

It’s been 35 years since that bus ride.

Jones, a member of the Oneida nation, joined more than 50 Syracuse University students on the Quad Monday for a demonstration against Columbus Day.

Now an assistant director of SU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and leader of the school’s Native Student Program, Jones helped coordinate Monday’s event so SU’s Native American students might not have to endure the prejudices she suffered when she was their age.

The demonstration, which included singing, dancing and handing out informational fliers, aimed to educate bystanders about Native American culture and the problems Christopher Columbus’ founding of America caused for native nations, Jones said.

‘People don’t even understand that the history of colonialism has changed indigenous people forever,’ she said. ‘And these hurts perpetuate through all of our generations. Our people still deal with biases and prejudices, and I think people still believe we should just adopt the white way of life.’

The event involved people from all cultures affected by colonialism, Jones said. Participants came from groups such as the Native American Students at Syracuse, the Indigenous Law Students Association and La L.U.C.H.A., a Latino student organization. They wore purple T-shirts for the color of the Hiawatha belt, a representation of Upstate New York’s six native nations.

Jones said she’s happy SU doesn’t cancel classes in honor of Columbus Day, and that it shows respect for the history of Native American nations, specifically Syracuse’s Onondaga Nation.

For students like Daniel Loran, a member of the Mohawk Nation and a senior retail management major, Monday’s event served to connect students to their native cultures. Loran’s mother is white and his father is Native American, and he said that makes for a complicated self-identity.

‘It affected the way that I learned my culture,’ he said. ‘I’m not as deep-rooted in it as a lot of my friends, who have two parents who share the same culture. This is definitely about identity and preserving our culture. It’s really important for everyone to know where they’re from.’

Loran said he hopes Monday’s protest will show that the Native American culture is still alive.

But Nate Rivera, a member of the Seneca Nation and freshman biology major, said he doesn’t think protests like these will make the United States remove Columbus Day as a national holiday.

‘There’s a lot of ignorance still around, and a lot of racism and prejudice against any race or skin color,’ Rivera said. ‘It’s experienced every day. If you tell someone you’re Native American, they ask you if you live in a teepee. It’s just, again, that ignorance.’

Rivera said it’s important that students, especially those of the Native American culture, know the true history of Columbus Day and not just what they read in school.

‘Think about private property signs that are up now,’ Rivera said. ‘What if someone went on that private property? Someone would yell at them and kick them off, call the cops or something. Native Americans weren’t like that. We invited (Europeans) in, and they took advantage of the kindness.’

Despite what the event may or may not change, it served as an example of student activism for Marcin Zak, a freshman psychology major. The music and dancing drew him to the demonstration.

‘I think, overall, it’s important for students to say what they think and express their opinions,’ he said. ‘Even though sometimes you won’t be able to make too much of a difference, it’s important to make people aware of what you think.’

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on October 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm