Native American Heritage Month to close with Indigenous storytime
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Central Michigan University will provide entertainment and education through an Indigenous storytime. The event will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 in the Strosacker Room of Park Library.
The storytime will feature children’s books from Indigenous authors that discuss topics such as Native American culture and prevalent issues faced by Indigenous communities.
Kasey Perez, the director of CMU’s Office of Indigenous Affairs, said books such as “Bow Wow Pow Wow,” “Fry Bread” and “The Berry Song” will provide playful yet potent introductions to different aspects of Native American culture. “We are Water Protectors” will explain Indigenous people's relationship with water and their struggles to access clean water resources.
Though the featured books are designed for children, Perez said the general public would benefit from attending the storytime and getting a “101” on Indigenous culture.
Perez said the Office of Indigenous Affairs wanted to host this collaborative event as a way of connecting the Mount Pleasant Community to its libraries.
“We really want to make sure that we're getting more of the public and the community and our students in there to utilize those resources,” Perez said. “And we thought, what better way to do that than getting the kids there and starting them young to utilize those resources?”
The Indigenous storytime will be the final event of CMU's Native American Heritage Month. Though the month is coming to an end, the festivities of culture and education are still in full swing on CMU’s campus.
“I think the month is going great,” Perez said. “I've been so happy with such a great turnout. We've had so many students asking questions, and that's really what this month is about, to teach the campus community and for students to realize that Indigenous people are here, we're in contemporary, modern society, and that these are things that we do and how we are as a people.”
