1990-27_FirstPeoples_12E62_Newsletter_197912

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Part of Happenings from the Third World Coalition, 1979

Title

1990-27_FirstPeoples_12E62_Newsletter_197912

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The Evergreen State College
HAPPENINGS FROM THE THIRD WORLD COALITION - December 1979

In remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day,
December 7, 1941; from which World War II
escalated and 115,000 Japanese Americans
were incarcerated; an excerpt from a poem
by Lawson Inada, from his book "BEFORE
THE vJAR - Poems As They Happened" FROM OUR

ALBUr~

- I I I. Desert Songs

l. All That We Gathered
Because there was little else to do,
they led us to the artillery range
for shells, all that we gathered,
and let us dig among dunes
for slugs, when they were through.

and, famished by rations and cans,
break out in secret, native dance
over a fire, on a black coal stove.
4. Songs Of The 442ND
Caged c rea tu res
have curious moods.
Some of them choose
to be turned
loose in a group,
to take their chances
in the open.

ecause there was little else to do,
one of them chased a stray
with his tail between his legs
and shot him through the head.

5. Steers

2. Shells

I rode with my father
to the slaughterhouse on an afternoon.

A desert tortoise son~thinq mute and hard -

Because a dentist
logically drives a butcher truck,

Not hammers, not bullets,
could make him close his eyes.

something to decorate
a desert Japanese garden:

6. He Teaches

gnarled wood, smooth
artillery shells for a border.

He jerks the eyes
from birds, feet
from lizards,

VJhen a guard
smashes one, the shell
cracks open and the muscles ooze.
3.

It Is Only Natural

The pheasant is an Oriental creature,
o it is only natural
~hat one should fly into camp

and punishes
ants with the gaze
of a glass.
And with his sly
gaze, his child's face,
he teaches
what has its place,
and must be
passed on to others.

Page 2
Hello

People~

This will be the last edition of the
community newsletter for this decade~
hope it has proven useful and informative.
If you have any comments or items to be
included, they will be gladly welcomed.
All information is gathered in Library 3204,
ask Kim where to put it, or call 866-6034.
A Special Thanks Is Extended To:
Diane Devlin
April West
Susan Ybarra
Steve Bader
Philip Jones

Ernie Jones
Priscilla Cruz
Kim Bingham
Maria Anorga

For Their Contributions to the Nesletter.
Third World Coalition Board

~eet~

All Third World students, faculty and
staff are urged to attend. These are
regular meetings to advise the Coordinator
as to the direction the Coalition should
go. Meetings are generally informal,
with brown bag lunch. If you want to stop
by and check it out, the meeting date for
this month is December 4th, at noon,
Library 3205.
The agenda for the December 4th meeting:
Winter Festival Plans
T-Shirt Designs
Las Posadas
International Women's Day
Announcements
Winter Fes ti va 1___::__Janua!J"__ 23-24
We are finally making headway~ Mark your
calendars for January 23 & 24 for the
Third World Coalition's WI~TER FESTIVAL.
We currently have set, the film provided
by UJAMAA, "The Harder They Come" for
January 24 at noon, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. in
Lecture Hall l. There wi 11 be a $1.00
charge to cover the cost of the rental.

NASA is also working on providing a
concert by WINTERHAWK, to be done on both
evenings in the Recital Hall of the
Communications building. The details are
still forthcoming.
We are hoping for several Chicano Teatros
and Asian/Pacific Island events and
workshops. We will keep you posted. If
you have any further ideas, please let us
know. We can be reached at 866-6034.
Spotlight On:

ERNIE JONES

Spotlight On: will feature a person of
color monthly. I always find it interesting to hear more personally about other
students and what they are about or
faculty/staff people whose names you've
heard but that's all. This will be the
purpose, to become more acquainted with
each other beyond job titles or organizational affiliations.
Ernest Milton Jones (Ernie) is a veteran
TESCer (senior standing) from Manhattan,
New York. Ernie is currently the Prime
Minister for UJAMAA, the student organization for Blacks.
I posed the question of how he ever
survived Olympia for four years coming
from New York. He replied that he
became avidly interested in outdoor
recreation; mountaineering, cross country
skiing, canoeing and ---uh--umm--SPELUNKING (? ~). For those not into
such a sport, as I obviously am not,
spelunking is the exploration of caves~
Ernie commented on the fact that there
are very few Black mountaineers or any
Third World people interested in that
aspect of outdoor sports. In this situation, he is a rare gem.
Ernie states that he actually had some
background in it through his summer
employment at Outward Bound and Darrow
Hall. Darrow Hall, in Missouri, is a
program designed for delinquent boys from
the Chicago and St. Louis area. They are
taken fro~ their native environment and
exposed to the experience of survival in
the out of doors.

Page 3

Northwest Indian Education Conference

1. The Office of Indian Education must
not be consolidated, altered or discontinued without prior consultation with
the National Advisory Council on Indian
Education.
2. Organizational structure of the Office
of Indian Education must remain a distinct and separate organizational entity
with the new Department of Education, and
its administrator should report directly
to the secretary of Education.
3. None of the statutory entities listed
in the Conference ~ort of the Department__o~jjucati_~n Organization Act of 1979,
Section 41]1~, should be consolidated,
altered, or discontinued without prior
consultation with the National Advisory
Council on Indian Education.
4. The Council must remain intact and
continue to advise the president.
5. All Title IV programs remain intact,
and remain separate and distinct programs
designed to meet educational and cultural
needs of Indian people throughout the U.S.

Diane Devlin, Coordinator of NASA, attended
~is year's conference through financial
apport of the Third World Coalition. The
following is her account of the proceedings.

The National Indian Education Association's
eleventh annual convention will be held
December 2-5, 1979, at the Convention
Center in Denver, Colorado.

Ernie's commitment to working with
~1inquents has fostered his desire to
ork professionally in the area of family
counseling. His four years here has led
him into the academic area of education
and psychology. He hopes it will be
substantial enough for entrance into the
University of Washington's Master of
Social Work program next fall.
Native American Student Association
For those who do not know, we now have a
weekly radio show. It is aired every
Friday from noon to 2:00 p.m. If you
wish to contribute any materials for the
show (tapes, records, etc.), or wish
additional information, please call Diane
at 866-6024 or 6034. Tune in to KAOS 89.3
FM, Fridays at noon.

This year, the conference was co-hosted
by affiliated tribes of northwest Indians,
Spokane Tribes of Indians and United
Indians of All Tribes Foundation, Seattle.
Over the three day period, a number of
meaningful workshop sessions were conducted.
The emphasis of the conference was on
the new bill ratified September 27, 1979,
creating a new Department of Indian
Education. All other education departments will be absorbed under one department. While the legi s lation does not
include the transfer of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs Education program, it
will affect the transfer of Title IV
Office of Indian Education and its
programs. Johnson O'Malley money will
also undergo changes by new programs.
The National Advisory Council on Indian
Education has made preliminary recommendations and are as follows:

Native American Enrollment Decrease
NASA enrollment is down this year and is
one of our targets, as a major concern.
I am asking all alumni to please assist
in the home areas with the recruitment of
Native American students. April West,
Coordinator of the Third World Coalition,
has drawn up a report that I will send to
all alumni. If you have moved, please
send in your new address so we can keep
you up to date with NASA news.
Asian/Pacific American Coalition
Attention - Asian/Pacific Isle peoples Starting January, the Asian Coalition
will be very busy and will need your help
and support.
We spent fall quarter planning our calendar of events, encouraging interested

Page 4
parties to get
communications
coordinate our
and with other
organizations.

involved and establishing a
network so we can better
activities within the College
colleges and community

Meetings which have been few and far spread
will be set for Mondays at noon and office
hours will be regulated (M-F, l-5 p.m.).
Upcoming events include an orientational
social night during the second week of
January and a film festival in midFebruary. Keep an eye and ear open for more
details or call us at extension 6033.
MECHA Presents:

Las Posadas

Like so many festivities in Mexico, "La
Posada", a special Christmastime celebration,
has its roots in both Spanish and Indian
customs. When the Spanish priests arrived
in Mexico to convert the Indians to Christianity, they found that many of the native
religious celebrations coincided with
important Catholic dates. The priests very
wisely capitalized on these coinciding days,
and the result was a Catholocism intertwined and enriched with many Indian customs.
One of the most important of these in both
cultures, was Christmas.
In his chronicle "The History of the
Indians of New Spain", Friar Toribia de
Benavente describes the Indian celebration
of this time as a great series of processions, with flowered arches, elaborately
adorned churches, many masses, and much
singing and dancing - a festivity "of great
devotion, which brings happiness to everyone".
However, the actual posada was initiated by
Friar Diego de Soria, at the convent of
San Agustin Acolman. At first, it was a
special mass said each of the nine days
preceeding Christmas. Little by little
the site was changed to private homes,
and other details of both Indian and
Spanish customs were added, until what
came to be known as "La Posada" evolved.
The traditional Posada involved first a
procession singing litany to the Virgin.
Then the group gathered would divide into
two parts. One would go outside to
"pedir posada", that is to ask for
lodging at the inn (posada literally

means inn), a commemoration in song of
the long trek of ~1ary and Joseph. Many
times they would be told no by those inside, until finally they would be allowed
in, where there would be food and drink
for all. And always at the end of the
party was the breaking of the pinata.
Today, a Posada may follow the traditional
pattern, it may be just a party and/or
dance, or it may be a combination of the
two. In any case, the tradition of the
Posada holds strong, and the nine days
before Christmas are among the most
celebrated festivities in Mexico.
This year, MECHA will be having their own
La Posada celebration. It will be
December 15, l-5pm on the 4th floor of
the Library. There will be pinata, foods,
games and two Mexican dance troupes to
entertain. Admission is free.
MECHA will also be hosting a state meeting
of MECHA Central at ll :00 in the Board of
Trustees Room, 3rd floor Library. Representatives from MECHA organizations from
colleges and high schools around the state
will attend. Emphasis will be on promoting
higher education and discussion of ways to
help organize Chicano students across the
state.
At 8:00pm to l :OOam, there will be a ~1exi­
can dance for the adults celebration, with
"Ray Tabares y los Mexicanos" providing
the music. The cost is $5.00 for the
dance, with ice and mixers available.
For further information, call 866-6143.
t1_:i__9_!:_a~a ren_!_E_<!ucatj_on

Con_ference

Maria Anorga and Mario Alvarado attended the
second migrant parent education conference
held in Yakima at the end of October.
The following is their report:
The Migrant Parent Education Conference
was held in Yakima for the second time.
This meeting was the third annual conference for the Migrant Parent Education.
The meeting involved migrant parents and
educational professionals from nine states.
The purpose of the conference was to
accomplish three primary purposes: 1. To

Page 5
give parents a better understanding of
rhat the education process is for their
child; 2. to show parents what happens to
their children when they are in the classroom during a regular school day; 3. to
inform parents what academic services the
Migrant Education Program provides for
their children while they are in Washington state.

~sh

The Migrant Education Program is aimed at
seeing that migrant children receive
quality educational opportunities despite
the many interruptions caused by moving
from one place to another over the course
of the year.

They need someone to practice speaking
English with them. Is there anyone
available? There are possibilities for
internships in the areas of education,
English and social sciences. It could
serve as an excellent tool for research
or information sharing, regarding Indo
China. The possibility of recording their
oral history, folk stories, etc. is an
idea.

The ~<~orkshops held at this conference were
of particular interest to parents because
they got to discuss some of the problems
that some of the children were having in
school.
Some of the themes of the workshops were:
Civil Rights, Bilingual Education,
(Programs of Title I, Title VI) -these
' re under the bilingual studies. All of
hese programs have the health screening
benefits for the migrant children.

Tutors Needed

The Vice Principal of Capital High School
has requested people willing to serve as
English tutors.
There are approximately 50 Indo Chinese
refugees, all adults, who are placed in
a high school because of limited English.

If people are at all interested, please
call April at 866-6034, or Jerry Rullen
at Capital High, 753-8880.
Attention_:_

Pot~nti a_l___B_adi o

DJs

KAOS-FM-89.3-0lympia- located on the third
floor of the CAB building, needs Third
World broadcasters.

All the parents attending this conference
were interested in the programs and most
of all, what was being done to improve
the quality of services for the Migrant
Education Program. During the conference,
entertainment was provided by dancers
from the Toppenish Indian Nation, Square
Dancers from a local group, and Mexican
Folklorico Dancers from Sunnyside.

KAOS offers free training by their expert
staff. If you are interested in becoming
a broadcaster on non-commercial community
radio, now is the time. The number to
call is 866-KAOS or call the business
manager, Phil Jones, at 866-7074. We
need you.

Danforth Graduate__Fe 1] owsh i p_P ro_9!_am

KWANZA

Last year, we had the honor of having
one of our Third World graduating seniors
receive the Danforth Fellowship. It is
now time for them to bestow a grant to
someone else.

KWANZA is a symbolic celebration of the
first harvest. It originates from the
African festival of giving thanks to God
and their ancestors for the harvest and
to ensure good crops for the next season.

The criteria for eligibility is to be a
graduating senior wishing to pursue a
~ ~.d. and then teach at an institute of
gher learning.

For Black Americans, the holiday begins
December 26-January l. The theme revolves
around celebrating common African roots,
reinforcing family unity and the seven
principles (corresponding to each of the
seven days) of the Black value system.
The seven principles are in brief:

For more information regarding the
details, call Charles Teske at 866-6059.

Page 6
l. UMOJA, unity; 2. KUJ I CHAGULIA, self
determination; 3. UJIMA, collective work
and responsibility; 4. UJAMAA, cooperative
economics; 5. NIA, purpose; 6. KUUMBA,
creativity; 7. IMANI, faith.

Pan African Student Association
The following is an account of the Pan
African Student Association conference
attended by several members of TESC's
UJAt1AA.
The Pan African Student Association of
Washington state held its second
assembly in Pullman at CWU, November 2-4.
UJAMAA Society sent two representatives,
Phil Jones, Minister of External Affairs,
and Valesha Goins, Minister of Records.
Objectives that were adopted by the Pan
African Students Association l. Seattle Central Community College was
established as a main base for the PASAWS.
2 . I s s uran ce of a mo nt h1y news l e t t e r , that
is to be compiled and re-issued.
3. Establishment of a further investigative
committee.
4. Treasury being established.
5. Motivation for self-education.
6. United Sponsored Function.
7. Codes of Conduct (establishment of this
will be made at a later date, the use of
"conduct" makes this issue disputable, will
be changed to Guideline:)
8. Districts in regions to be formed.
(East and 'tJest)
Election of Officers for 79-80 Academic Year:
President: Callie Watkins
Vice President: Phillip Hall
Secretary: Jackie Staton
Treasurer: Gilbert Pettit
Committees to Establish:
Constitutional Committee
Public Relations Committee
Internal Education Committee
Program and Activities Committee
Finance Committee
Investigative Committee
Faculty Committee

Main Initiative:
1. Create motivation
2. Promote higher education
3. To use facilities for higher education
Schools Attended:
Bellevue Community College
Western Washington University
Central
Eastern
Yakima Valley College
Tacoma Community College
University of Washington
Highline Community College
Green River Community College
Fort Steilacom Community College
South Seattle
North Seattle Center Community College
Evergreen State College
Seattle Central Conmunity College
Antioch graduate work
Hayward
(non-representative)
If you have any questions regarding
PASAWS, please contact UJAMAA at 866-6781
or Phil Jones at 866-7074.
Editori a 1
December 7 marks the day traditionally
known as "Pearl Harbor Day", the day
Japan attacked Hawaii, then a US territory,
and began the chain of events leading to
US involvement in World War II.
December 7 marks a day of remembrance,
for veterans who have survived the war,
and for family members recalling relatives
who did not. It is also remembered (sometimes hitterly) by Hawaiians as a day
marking the events which led towards
statehood and loss of their land.
Both memories still foster some anger
towards Japan and in turn towards fellow
citizens of Japanese American ancestry.
Perhaps the most bitter war memory though,
will belong to the 115,000 innocent
Japanese Americans who were sent to concentration camps, for no other crime than
being Japanese.

Page 7
The profound effect of this US historical
c~ct still has many ramifications.
The
conomic and psychological devastation is
still evident among Japanese-Americans,
though for some, it is two generations
past. Japanese Americans are still
fighting for redress and compensation for
land and possessions confiscated during
that time. The psychological effect has
created a generation of child rearing
geared towards assimilation and becoming
"200% American". Creating a situation of
self imposed cultural genocide, resulting
in an out marriage rate to whites as high
as 50%.

While the situations are not identical,
they are similar in how the media is
reporting the events and American people's
reactions. There has already been
reported destruction of property and
businesses based solely on the fact that
the "All American" believed them to be
Iranian owned. Will other Middle Eastern people be faced with the same situation of proving their racial identity,
as the Chinese did when the Japanese were
incarcerated? We can't let the same
racist mistake happen again~
Calendar of Events

While many "in the know" white politicans
and main stream Americans realize what a
mistake they made, it is now too late. It
is an historical American reality that as
any new immigrant group arrives on these
shores, they are treated with suspicion.
Once a people protest their menial status
of laborer or become solvent and an economic
equal, standards of racism are put up
against them. It has proven true for the
l.hinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Mexicans,
1d now the Iranians.

December

Are we leading up to once again, an exclusion of a group of people based solely
upon their race? Are we gearing up towirds
ncarcerating all Iranian people, up to
persons with one-fourth Iranian blood, as
the Japanese-Americans were done?

EPIC presents GUILTY BY
REASON OF RACE and-SUB\TERSTON,-noon, L. H.-,-.Both are about the incarceration of the JapaneseAmericans during WWII.
Asian Coalition meeting,
noon, L-3207
Third World Coalition meeting, noon, L-3205
MECHA meeting, noon, L- 3205
Pearl Harbor Day
Third World social hour,
4-Spm, York Wong's office,
L-2211
MECHA meeting, noon, L-3205
END OF QUARTER
Hanukkah
MECHA Central, 11 :00, 4th
floor Library, Board Room
Las Posadas Celebration,
1-Spm, dance 8-lam, 4th
floor Library
HOLIDAY

4
5

The mass hysteria created by the media is
not a new event. The Iranians are new, are
different, their native country supplies oil,
which has become a sore spot with Americans.
The situation in Iran with American hostages has served the purpose of legitimizing
the release of American frustration towards
Iran, at innocent Iranians and those
thought to be Iranians, in this country.
It has become the proverbi a 1 , "Last Straw
That Broke the Horse's Back"; and I believe
the frustration is being channeled at the
result of the problem and not the problem
itself.
My question is not whether the Shah should
be returned to Iran, but instead, what
effect is it having on Third World people
in this country?

3

7

11
12
14
l5

24-25
26/

January

1

KWANZA, first fruit
celebration
Workshop on media loan
equipment and accessibility.
Noon, meet at media loan.

14

HA p p y H 0 L I DA y s E A s 0 N

I

MOVIMIENTO ESTUDIANTIL
. CHICANOS DE AZTLAN
~ :.:..~

.. w

The Evergreen State Co 11 ege
Olympia, WA.

.. ·,.

·.
··.·.

,·

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98503

MEChA at Evergreen would like t~ ~xtend an invitation to you to
attend a Posada Celebration we are hosting on Saturday, December 15, 1979,
fourth floor library, at 1:00 p.m.
.
.
.
. We are attempting to bring the Third World community together during
the holidays with this festive occassion. A special ihvitation is extended
to ninos to attend these daytime festivities. This part of the celebration
will include comida, pinatas, juegos, musica and bailes. Additional
culfural entertainment will be provided by Bailadores Bronce and Bailadores
Futu~o.
.. .
.
.
· Before the celebration, MEChA will be hosting a meeting of the statewide MEChA Organization - MEChA Central at 11:00 in the Board of Trustees
room, library, third floor. Agenda will include a presentation by Clifford
Hooper on Higher Education. Mr. Hooper is a faculty member at Bellevue
Community College. He is on the Committee for the Development of MultiCultural Perspecti~e in Higher Education and working to develop awareness
and active participation ~f students and fqculty across the state in these
areas.
· in the evening, MEChA w111 host a Mexican dance featuring Ray Tabares
y los Mexicanos beginning at 8:00 p.m. Tickets will be $5.00 per person.
Mixers and ice will be available.
Please pass the word to your friends and family. We hope that you can
~articipate.
If you have any suggestions to add to our celebration, we
would be glad to hear from you. We are encouraging the community to get
inv6lved in its planning. We can be contactedat 866-6143 or 6034 (message} .
. En el Espiritu de Aztlan.~ ..... MEChA .
.

...
'

. -.

"
. ._·:

..
Ozomatli