"Everybody Belongs" Part 1

Title: " 'Everybody Belongs'... Out of the Basement"


Inspired by a Native Women Activists course, students sought out to make a documentary using the embarrassing physical location of the University of South Dakota's American Indian Studies Department an the $5.5 million South Dakota Oral History Center as a symbol to challenge USD's neglectful treatment of Native Studies and Native American students. The product, the film " 'Everybody Belongs'... Out of the Basement," has grown into much more then just a class project and is now being utilized as a tool to generate substantive change at a university with a poor track record when it comes to Native issues. In addition to an environmentally toxic physical location, these issues include a poor retention rate of Native students at USD, under representation of Natives in the student body as well as faculty, administrative, and Board of Regents positions, poor relationships with South Dakota's tribal colleges, underdeveloped recruitment strategies, and a racially hostile campus climate. It should be noted that since the film's debut, the location of the AIS Department has moved to the third floor of another century-old building (the SDOHC is still housed in the basement of Dakota Hall), and the mold was merely spray-painted over by USD's facilities management. The filmmakers created the 7-point Strategic Plan to advance USD into a flagship institution for Native education listed below. It remains to be seen if USD will follow their advice.


1. Protect the integrity of Native representation on campus
2. Tuition waiver for Native students
3. Adequate and up-to-date facilities for Native students that reflect the University's "special relationship" with its Native population.
4. An effective recruitment plan
5. Protecting and preserving the integrity of the Native Studies Department
6. Native advisory committee at the administrative level
7. Requiring cultural competency courses

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• USD
• University of South Dakota
• American Indian Studies
• Native Studies
• Native American Studies
• student film
• south dakota
• environmental toxins
• environmental racism
• student activism
• mold
• everybody belongs

[paulineprojectlove]

thank you for sharing this.