On Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m., Union student organization MOSAIC hosted a Fireside Forum in the Bowld Student Commons gym as a celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
Bryan Dawson, university professor of mathematics, was the featured speaker at the event. An enrolled member of the Cherokee nation, Dawson highlighted key aspects of his heritage and important challenges facing those of Native American descent in the United States today.
“He introduced himself in the Cherokee language, and he was wearing native dress, and he explained the various pieces and their significance to indigenous communities,” Lydia McGinnis, a sophomore intercultural studies major and a student leader for MOSAIC said.
Through the course of the event, Dawson went on to note several little-known problems facing indigenous people groups, including language, according to McGinnis.
“One of the things I hadn’t realized until we started talking to him about doing this event was the issue that they’re having with preserving language,” McGinnis said. “He said there are about 20,000, I think, native Cherokee speakers currently.”
Bringing attention and perspective to such issues, which many may have not confronted or were unaware of, is among MOSAIC’s stated goals.
“We need to understand different challenges to different ethnic groups. Last night, Dr. Dawson said some things that I just didn’t know,” Frank Anderson, director of Union’s Center for Racial Reconciliation and faculty advisor to MOSAIC said.
The speaking portion of the event was divided in two. First, Dawson participated in an interview-style panel facilitated by MOSAIC’s student Executive Council, made up of McGinnis, Alexis Haege and Emmanuela Arango. Following his speaking time, there was a period for questions and answers with those in attendance.
Tuesday’s Fireside Forum represented an early part of a new stage of life for MOSAIC, McGinnis and Anderson agreed. While the organization is not new, its leadership feels that now is a time for growth and renewal.
“One of the things that we are trying to do as an organization is to re-envision ourselves after COVID kind of dampened everybody’s student organization,” McGinnis said.
Anderson believes that this is a natural next step, particularly as a way to capitalize on successes the group experienced prior to the pandemic.
“MOSAIC right now is going through what I refer to as sort of a re-envisioning stage. We had great momentum in the 2019-20 academic year,” Anderson said. “What’s interesting is the last significant event that was staged by Mosaic was in November 2019, and it was Native American Heritage Month.”
As MOSAIC moves into the future, it does so with a unified vision set forth by its leaders. While both Anderson and McGinnis see the current season as one of rebuilding, they agree also that there is a specific call which MOSAIC must emphasize: a “focus on diversity in unity.”