On Friday Nov 3, Southeastern hosted the twelfth annual Native American Symposium. The event was held at the Glen D. Student Union and was free to the public.

The event brought over twenty-five presenters from not just the university but from other states including North Dakota and Pennsylvania. The Director of the Native American Institute, Lauren Rowland expressed her gratitude to the university for the Symposium.

She stated, “We’re fortunate to have these events since not every university has these events. We have hosted this event every other year and invite faculty, professors, independent scholars to give lectures. We have students and people from the community come and listen. “

The Symposium features presentations and discussions on Native American literature, history, education, science, religion, art and film. Faculty as well as students were welcomed to show their research and their thoughts about these topics.

Rowland continued, “A lot of people from Southeastern come and tell their research about Native Academia. For students, it is interesting to show your ideas at a conference like this. They are given the opportunity to present and give information about their research. “

This event has brought students from different universities from the state. Sophomore Taylor Gamble and freshmen, Jorge Avila are students from Murray State College in Tishomingo, Okla.

“I have always had interest in Native American culture and I think it is fascinating so I thought it was a good opportunity to come and hear more about it,” stated Gamble.

Avila followed Gamble’s sentiments. He stated, “You are opening your doors to cultures and getting to learn about them.”

The Symposium is not the only event to share in Native American culture. Southeastern also hosts events all of November naming the month “Native November.” For more information about future events, the Native American Institute is located at the Native American Center on campus.