Editor,
On Sept. 13, 2017, I presented a research poster titled “The Strength of the Native American Vote: How Voting Attitudes Among Native American Students Affects Political Participation,” for the Ronald E. McNair Scholars and Research Opportunity Program, inside the Student Union Building. My research focuses on how Native American students who attend the University of New Mexico, feel about voting and political systems. I knew people were going to come by my poster and possibly ask me questions or have me summarize my research and data I collected, all situations expected at research conferences.
I had a few people stop by and inquire, some talked to me for a bit, one gave me a business card and told me to contact them when I presented the PowerPoint. It was going very well until a white man approached me, looked at my research, and interrogated the validity of my data. I explained certain parts of the data at least twice, and he was not understanding. He finally said, “The population you surveyed is too small to produce significant results.” I had to maintain my composure because I was there representing McNair Scholars, Native American Studies and American Indian Student Services. I didn’t want to be rude and explain to this man, who was not even an expert in my field, why Native communities could be seen as “small.” He went on to make a claim that Native American students leave the reservation and don’t go back.
The comments from this man both angered me and surprised me because THIS IS NATIVE LAND and because Indigenous populations, regardless of location, are not insignificant. Was this man not aware that he lives in New Mexico, where 23 tribal nations reside? Also, that the land that the University of New Mexico sits on is on Sandia Pueblo land? It was obvious he was asserting his white privilege and power to an undergraduate student who in this situation was powerless to respond. This is my attempt at reclaiming that power. When white privilege is asserted on a university community and especially, a minority-majority designated institution,a Hispanic Serving Institution, and an institution that serves Indigenous students, how is it addressed? This situation is a perfect example as to why we as a university needed to abolish the UNM racist seal, acknowledge Indigenous People’s Day, adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a University policy and to continue to hold the institution accountable and create spaces that do not tolerate situations where a student would have to encounter this ignorance and racist remarks. As we enter October, it is a time when Native Americans (Indigenous Peoples) become a Halloween costume, no longer making them invisible but rather being appropriated as inhumane and inanimate to be able to be made fun of. Might we consider creating safe and inclusive spaces at UNM that honor the Indigenous peoples every day?
Nalleli Reyes Garcia
