COCC’s Native American Heritage Month brings ancient wisdom, veteran voices

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon Community College is celebrating Native American Heritage Month with a lineup of free community events in November, including a presentation on how Native American ancient wisdom can meet modern challenges (Nov. 3), a talk from Native American military veterans (Nov. 15), and a documentary film screening of “What Was Ours” (Nov. 21).

Visit cocc.edu/multicultural for details.

Additionally, throughout the month, each campus will have a resource station with displays about the importance of Native American Heritage Month, a full list of Oregon’s tribes with brief histories, and a look at some current projects that local tribes are involved with. Campus station sites: Bend’s Coats Campus Center, Redmond’s Technology Education Center lobby, and the front lobby of Prineville and Madras.

Presented by the COCC Foundation’s Chandler Lecture Series, “Why We Need Indigenous Ingenuity — Indigenuity — Now” with Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Madras Performing Arts Center, 412 SE Bluff St. Tickets are offered on a self-selecting, sliding-scale basis, from free to $15; a livestream option is available free or for $5.

Wildcat, an author and professor with Haskell Indian Nations University, will discuss the concept of “Indigenuity” — Indigenous ingenuity — and how ancient wisdom can inform modern problem-solving, stressing the critical need for this unique knowledge in today’s world.

Two former U.S. Marines will share their stories in “Native American Veteran Voices” at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, in Wille Hall on the Bend campus. 

Dan Martinez, enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and Julie Bettles, an enrolled member of the Umatilla tribe and Wasq’u, Klamath and Cayuse, will discuss their time as Natives serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, and how they encourage Indigenous resilience in their communities.

A screening of “What Was Ours,” a 2017 documentary film from Emmy award-winning independent filmmaker Mat Hames, will show at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Hitchcock Auditorium on the Bend campus.

The film follows members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes as the seek to reclaim ancestral artifacts to display in the Wind River Reservation Museum. The journey risks opening up old wounds — but offers healing from past traumas.

Some 4% of COCC’s credit-seeking students for fall term 2024 identify as Native American.

For more information on these events, contact Jeremiah Rector, Native American Program coordinator, at 541-318-3782 or jrector@cocc.edu.

In advance of college events, persons needing accommodation or transportation because of a physical or mobility disability should contact Caitlyn Gardner at 541-383-7237. For accommodation because of other disability, such as hearing impairment, contact disability services at 541-383-7583.