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Friday, August 7, 2015 | Last updated: 1:02pm


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Members of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective stage protest on NOAC




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If you've been on MSU's campus this week, you have most likely noticed the presence of the Boy Scouts of America and the Order of the Arrow for their centennial exhibition.
After Phillip Rice, a music composition graduate student and member of the Order of the Arrow, sent an opinion letter to The State News expressing displeasure with the event being held at MSU, Shelbi Meissner, a member of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective and descendent of the Luiseno and Cupeño in Southern-California, teamed up with Rice at Spartan Statue to protest the group's use of Native American culture and imagery.
One of the main reasons Meissner, a philosophy graduate student, cited for protesting was the presence of teepees and individuals wearing headdresses around campus.
"They have a racist caricature of a native man in a headdress that they claim is no longer one of their insignias, but it has been flying on a hot air balloon around campus as well as on a lot of the banners that have come in here," Meissner said. "As a Native American woman I find it highly offensive, and as a member of this community I feel really offended that MSU would host a group like this without any regard for how it would make a lot of students and faculty feel."
Brotherhood member of the Order of The Arrow Drew Conrad, 39, was present at the protest, engaging in a discussion with Meissner about cultural appropriation and giving his personal stance on the role of the Order of the Arrow.
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Members of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective protest cultural appropriation at Spartan Statue on August 7, during the 2015 NOAC. Matt Argillander/ The State News
"We have to be careful," Conrad said. "We are utilizing the images and culture of other societies and we need to make sure that we give them the respect that they deserve. They have a right to come out here and remind us to be respectful.
"A lot of (Order of the Arrow) members work closely with tribes to make sure we are being respectful, so just like I can't speak for all of (Boy Scouts of America), she can't speak for all Native Americans."
Meissner said the university doesn't properly acknowledge the people that were native to the land MSU owns.
“The land that Michigan State is on was stolen land in the Saginaw Treaty of 1819," Meissner said. "Not only does the university nowhere in their history section acknowledge this, they actually tend to erase it."
She went on to say that the university claims to be "a pioneer," which she considered "extremely destructive rhetoric" that would make it sound like nothing was here before. She said that the farm lands here were Anishinaabe farm lands that would have been used to provide livelihood for their families.
“Now Michigan State University is profiting, I assume (they are) being paid by the Boy Scouts of America to be here, so now the university is profiting off of this appropriation and exploitation of Native American culture.”
Meissner stated that the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective didn’t get any warning that there would be Boy Scouts here, so there was not a lot of time to organize the protest, but she said they had to have a presence.
"We wanted to come today for sure because there was a big evacuation drill and there would be high visibility (and) we get to see a lot of the young people, which I think is important," Meissner said. "For a lot of young people this is their first time seeing a protest or knowing that there is some kind of public discourse going on about cultural appropriation.”

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  • Avatar
    Brittany 4 hours ago
    They are educating these Boy Scouts on the Native American culture, not stealing it, or trying to disrespect it. They brought education to the campus about Native Americans; not to mention revenue to a city that hurts incredibly during the summer months. Native Americans work with the Boy Scouts of America in order to respect the traditions. For this MSU graduate program to be offended by the Order of the Arrow incorporating Native American culture into their stuff just shows the lack of knowledge that these protesters had. As a Spartan, I was really sad to see people protesting one of the only true avenues of educating Americans on the Native Americans in a true, respectful way.
    Learn about the Boy Scouts of America before you bash want they are doing. Yes, there totally could be some misrepresentation that happens, but that is only done by those that are uneducated on the culture. How does this begin to be addressed? By groups like this actually having a relationship with Native Americans and educating young Americans! These protesters have a point, but you should be protesting outside of a festival that has individuals inappropriately wearing headdresses...not this.
      see more
      • Avatar
        Winn 5 hours ago
        Many Natives from all over our nation and Canada. Come to many Order of the Arrow Native American events to help educate the Scouts about their cultures and crafts. Even today at our celebration Powwow. There were many Native American Friends and family present to dance with us. It is a good thing when we see These Arrowmen be ing taught this culture. In many ways, it honors the people who truly know belong to these cultures.
          see more
          • kwc57 5 hours ago
            The Order of the Arrow pays tribute and honor to Native Americans and their culture. You'd hope that people would educate themselves before protesting.
              see more
              • kenshinfan 6 hours ago
                That is so stupid. I am am member of the Order and in our lodge, the Mowogo Lodge from NEGA, is very respectful to the native american culture that we emulate. The people on the ceremony team does a lot of research on our regalia so that we accurately portraying the people who lived here before us. So her assumption is way off base.
                  see more
                  Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The State News.



                  SN Polls You

                  Do you feel the Boy Scouts of America are being insensitive to Native American culture by wearing traditional regalia and using their songs in ceremonies? 



                  View results | Poll archive


                  1. This evening marks the start of the 2015 Great Lakes Folk Festival in donwtown East Lansing: http://thesne.ws/1KQPCBx 

                  2. A protest of the Boy Scout conference on campus was held by members of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective: http://thesne.ws/1W6aNG1 

                  3. A group of MSU students have painted the rock to protest the use of Native American culture on campus for NOAC 2015: http://thesne.ws/1K7QIG0 

                  4. The Michigan State Black Alumni Association is set to host an inaugural Magic Johnson scholarship fundraiser: http://thesne.ws/1Nf7MNE 

                  5. The Campaign to Take On Hate has received support from the E.L. City Council to spread cultural awareness: http://thesne.ws/1giT8Kb 

                  6. Great Lakes Folk Festival starts tomorrow evening in Downtown East Lansing: http://thesne.ws/1KQPCBx 

                  7. With the 2015 NOAC taking place on campus, @Scouts4Equality reflect on issues affecting the Boy Scouts: http://thesne.ws/1EaTckU 

                  8. Students with football tickets will experience a few changes on game days starting this fall: http://thesne.ws/1Uqe3KC 

                  9. LETTER: Boy Scouts on campus demonstrate insensitivity to Native American traditions - http://thesne.ws/1DwOOSg 

                    Retweeted by The State News
                  10. More than 15,000 Boy Scouts are on MSU's campus this week, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Order of the Arrow: http://thesne.ws/1KSR9qw 

                  11. East Lansing City Council has deferred discussion on the ordinance that would ban roof-sitting until August 18: http://thesne.ws/1Mb9lz1 

                  12. The Great Lakes Folk Festival will return to downtown East Lansing this friday: http://thesne.ws/1KQPCBx 

                  13. Mark Dantonio will be live on ESPN today for their "Car Wash" segment, will talk upcoming season: http://thesne.ws/1Du89n4 

                  14. OWI charges have been dropped against Eron Harris, who plead guilty to reckless driving after July 1 incident: http://thesne.ws/1hjnxca 

                  15. A full-length film made by MSU students premiered last week at the Traverse City Film Festival: http://thesne.ws/1M9rpJI 

                  16. Police are investigating a shooting with no reported injuries that took place at Chandler Crossings last Friday: http://thesne.ws/1DnlVIr 

                  17. The State News was named THE best student newspaper in 2014. Think you have what it takes to work here? Apply online: http://statenews.com/page/work 

                  18. CATA is offering free rides downtown to those who plan to vote in the Lansing election today http://thesne.ws/1Ifawcz 

                  19. Following roadwork construction, Abbot Road has been fully reopened: http://thesne.ws/1KMS8IT 

                  20. More than 15,000 Boy Scouts will be coming to MSU this week for the National Order of the Arrow conference: http://thesne.ws/1M6DijN 

                  There are no more Tweets in this stream.


                  News Feed

                  This evening marks the start of the 2015 Great Lakes Folk Festival in donwtown East Lansing: http://thesne.ws/1KQPCBx
                  The MSU Museum's annual Great Lakes Folk Festival is coming to downtown East Lansing on Aug. 7-9 and will showcase a unique combination of music,...
                  thesne.ws
                  .
                  .
                  A protest of the Boy Scout conference on campus was held by members of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective: http://thesne.ws/1W6aNG1
                  If you've been on MSU's campus this week, you have most likely noticed the presence of the Boy Scouts of America and the Order of the Arrow for...
                  thesne.ws
                  .
                  .
                  A group of MSU students have painted the rock to protest the use of Native American culture on campus for NOAC 2015: http://thesne.ws/1K7QIG0
                  MSU anthropology senior Hayley Cook and MSU alumnus Dan Grenzicki set out to paint the Rock on Farm Lane at 11 p.m.
                  thesne.ws
                  .
                  .
                  The Michigan State Black Alumni Association is set to host an inaugural Magic Johnson scholarship fundraiser: http://thesne.ws/1Nf7MNE
                  The Michigan State Black Alumni Association is set to host the inaugural Earvin “Magic” Johnson Scholarship Fundraiser, Aug.
                  thesne.ws
                  .
                  .
                  The Campaign to Take On Hate has received support from the E.L. City Council to spread cultural awareness: http://thesne.ws/1giT8Kb
                  East Lansing City Council took on hate at its August 4 meeting. Council teamed up with Rashida Tlaib, a former state representative, to present a...
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