Under the baobab: Take time to learn, celebrate during Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month

November is Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month. Holitoblit isht anumpuli.

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and the diverse nature of indigenous communities across the Americas. We pay respect to the elders, past, present and future. We celebrate their culture, histories, stories and traditions. We recognize that as non-descendants from Indigenous people we are immigrants to this land. We have survived because of the hospitality and generosity of those who came before. If we thrive it shall be because our society adopts lessons from the experiences learned from the indigenous’ 10,000-plus years of stewardship.

My grandmother’s father was Mississippi Choctaw. My mentors here in Happy Valley have been Profs. John Sanchez and his wife Victoria, associate dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. John is a Yaqui/Apache and an international scholar in the field of cultural studies. They have organized and run the Penn State Powwow, which is in its 18th year.

When I first came to Nittany Valley, late last century, I was curious about the source of name of the local mountain and region. I was “informed” by some folks, who should have known better, that Nittany was the name of an “Indian maiden” who died tragically and lovelorn in a local cave. Others spoke of an extinct native tribe called the Nittany. John thought such folklore was laughable and somewhat pathetic. He and Victoria and Tracy Peterson, director of student transitions and pre-college programs in the College of Engineering and a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, have committed themselves to eradicating such nonsense from the local narrative. This year’s powwow will be held Feb. 24-25 at the C3 Sports Complex on Benner Pike. If you want to learn, don’t miss it.

In support of these efforts, the Centre Film Festival established a permanent Indigenous peoples track that recently presented films written, produced, directed by and starring Indigenous people. Filmmakers participated in post screening audience Q&A. Films included “Frybread Face and Me” by Billy Luther and “Rosalie Fish” by Faith Briggs. “Fancy Dance” by Erica Trembley was powerful and moving and featured Lily Gladstone who stars in Scorsese’s recent masterpiece, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The festival closed with “Vertebrae” by Travis Shilling and “Hey Viktor” by Cody Lighting featuring Gary Farmer, who starred in 1998’s “Smoke Signals,” which was the first feature film written, directed and produced by Indigenous people. Farmer was honored with the Chandler Living Legend Award. He has strong roots in the homelands which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now occupies.

Elsewhere in the community, Professors Barbara and Edgar Farmer were celebrated as the 2023 Renaissance Fund Honorees at a packed gala at Innovation Park. Their daughter, Rebecca, was the MC. Their son, Eric Ian, performed. Their pastors, Harold and Sherren McKenzie, spoke and gave the benediction. Students from the Penn State musical theater program performed. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, State College Borough manager Tom Fountaine, the Farmers’ friends from North Carolina and others shared well deserved praise.

Edgar Farmer is professor emeritus of education at Penn State. A U.S. Army and Vietnam War veteran, he held various administrative leadership posts before retiring from Penn State in 2013. Barbara Farmer is a retired schoolteacher, principal and adjunct assistant professor. From 1997 until 2008, she served as principal of Houserville and Lemont elementary schools, becoming the State College Area School District’s first Black principal. After Barbara left the classroom, she served as director of multicultural affairs for the College of Information Sciences and Technology at PSU. In the State College community, she has served on the boards of the Women’s Resource Center and Centre County United Way and was the first chairperson of the State College Borough’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza Committee.

And tomorrow is Election Day. In a democracy all votes matter, paid for by the blood of patriots.

Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lion’s Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.