Dr. Henrietta Mann, a nationally-recognized professor of Native American Studies, is the 2006 Elder-in-Residence for West Virginia University’s Native American Studies Program.
During her stay, she’ll speak to students, faculty and community members at a host of events, all of which are free and open to the public.
On Tuesday, April 4, Mann will lead a teaching luncheon,Ceremonial Women as Keepers of Sacred Ways and Knowledge,from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Hatfield’s Restaurant in the Mountainlair. Sponsoring that event are the Center for Women’s Studies and the Center for Black Culture.
She’ll give two presentations on Wednesday, April 5:Tough Homework: Lessons from Montana’sIndian Education for All’Initiativeat a colloquium luncheon hosted by the College of Human Resources and Education from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in room B170 Prete Building, and another at 7:30 p.m. in Mountainlair’s Rhododendron Room on the connection of all living things to Sacred Mother Earth,Is Nothing Sacred?Native American Views on Reverence and Connection.
WVU ’s student group ONAI (the Organization for Native American Interests) and the Native American Studies Program will also co-sponsor a film festival in the Mountainlair’s Gluck Theatre during her visit.
On Monday, April 3, the filmFast Runnerwill be shown at 11 a.m. andSmoke Signalswill play at 2:15 p.m.Snow Walkerwill be screened at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 4, immediately followed byLakota Womanat 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Mann presided at the 1995 WVU Peace Tree Ceremony, and we’re delighted to welcome her back to campus as she honors our University community in serving as the 2006 Elder-in-Residence,Native American Studies coordinator Bonnie Brown said.Her lifetime commitment to improving American Indian education and her successful contributions in restoring and securing religious freedoms are truly inspiring.
Mann is a full-blood Cheyenne enrolled with the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
She was the first-ever holder of the Endowed Chair in Native American Studies at Montana State University, Bozeman, where she is now Professor Emeritus and Special Assistant to the President.
Mann has also taught at several colleges and universities nationwide, including the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University . She served as the Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs/Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She was also the National Coordinator of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Coalition for the Association on American Indian Affairs
In 1991, she was named one of the top 10 leading professors in the nation by Rolling Stone magazine.
Co-sponsors of the Elder-in-Residence program are the Carolyn Reyer Fund for Native American Studies; the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; the Native American Studies Program; the College of Human Resources and Education; the Center for Women’s Studies; the Center for Black Culture; the Organization for Native American Interests (ONAI); and Ron Hinkle Glassworks of Buckhannon.
WVU ’s Native American Studies Program is housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and offers an 18-credit academic minor.
For more information, contact Brown at 304-293-4626 or BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu .