Native American activist discusses experiences

Washington State University will present Native American activist and community organizer Madonna Thunder Hawk on Wednesday (Nov. 17) when she will discuss her experiences at the 1968 takeover of Alcatraz Island, the siege at Wounded Knee in 1973 and Native American activism in general.

The event is set for 7:30 p.m. in Todd Hall Auditorium. A question and answer period will follow her talk. The event is free and open to the public.

Thunder Hawk is a long-time community organizer with a range of experience in Native American rights protection, cultural preservation, economic development, environmental justice and Lakota social reclamation.

Born and raised on South Dakota reservations, she first became active in the 1960s as a member of the American Indian Movement. She established the “We Will Remember Survival School” for Native American youth whose parents were facing federal charges or who had been drop-outs or push-outs from the educational system. The alternative home/school was part of the National Federation of Native-Controlled Survival Schools.

Thunder Hawk was a co-founder and spokesperson for the Black Hills Alliance, which blocked Union Carbide from mining uranium on sacred Lakota land. She also co-founded Women of All Nations and the Black Hills Protection Committee (later the HeSapa Institute).

For more information on Thunder Hawk, visit http://www.speakoutnow.org/. Click on the “Speakers/Artists” link then click on the speaker’s name.

The event is sponsored by the Associated Students of WSU Ku-Au-Mah, a student organization that promotes awareness of Native American cultures
and issues.