Crossroads celebrates Native American heritage

For the past two years, the Crossroads Community Center has hosted a Native American Heritage month during November.

This year, the month's activities included everything from speakers to traditional dancers. This year also marked the beginnings of the formation of a Native American Student Association, which is currently being structured.

Nadia Richardson, a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education administration and a graduate assistant in the Crossroads Community Center, said the events planned for this month went well.

"The Native American dancers were originally supposed to perform on the Quad, but we had to move them inside to the Ferguson Theater because of the rain," Richardson said. "Other than that, everything went pretty well."

The event will most likely continue next year, Richardson said.

"We think that it's a great opportunity for people to learn something new," Richardson said. "Besides, we enjoyed helping to put the events on."

Richardson also said she expects next year's festivities to be bigger and better than before.

"With the new Native American Student Association, I'm sure that next year will be great," Richardson said.

Aside from the dance performance, two "community conversations" were held outside the Crossroads center in the Ferg.

The first, Richardson said, featured Ronald "Firehawk" Headley, the founder of Native Alliance Teaching Indian Values and Education, a charitable foundation that educates people about Native American culture.

"Mr. Headley was really able to teach people something new," Richardson said. "One of the goals we set for the month was teaching people something about Native American culture that they didn't know before."

On Thanksgiving Day, Richardson said, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians held their annual pow wow, which all students were invited to attend.

The second community conversation that Crossroads held this month featured The 91st Kateri Circle of Birmingham. Richardson said a Kateri Circle is a group of Native American Catholics who have blended elements of Roman Catholicism and their own Native American cultures and religions.

"They were very interesting guests," Richardson said. "They were asked lots of questions, which is one of the key focuses of the community conversations that we hold."

Richardson said all students were invited to the events, and many attended, along with several other members of the Tuscaloosa community.

Richardson said she expects next year to be better than this year, even though this year had been a success.

"Next year, when the Native American Student Association is ready and active, we should be able to do even more in celebration of the month," Richardson said. "I know I'll be looking forward to it."