Hunter Genia presented “Social Justice Issues within Native American Communities” to educate students and faculty about Michigan’s historical Native American culture.
Genia currently resides in Mt. Pleasant and presented to the Ferris community in hopes of helping them become more aware of important Native American history that should be taught in classrooms.
Genia was born in Grand Rapids. He attended Grand Valley State University from 1996-99 where he received his undergraduate degree in criminal justice and has a master’s of social work degree.
The event was put together by the Office of Multicultural Student Services. The presentation took place on Nov. 13 and was held at the Interdisciplinary Resource Center in room 121, with 53 members in attendance.
“Any time I get a chance to inform and educate and create awareness, I try to do that,” Genia said. “And you never know what additional information that one person receives and how they might be able to use that in a good way. To be able to do that for the Ferris State students that came, I was very happy to do that.”
During his presentation, Genia talked about two boarding schools in Michigan, one in Mt. Pleasant and the other in Harbor Springs. He described how the Native American children were sent there when they were three to four years old and stayed there until they graduated.
More information that Genia touched on was that Michigan is home to a total of 12 federally acknowledged Indian tribes.
He talked about how many educators did not know that all of these tribes existed. Genia shared a time in a Zoom meeting with 17 directors of education from Central Michigan University. He asked them how many tribes were in Michigan, and they all answered zero. Genia himself said that was pathetic.
Genia shared a story where he met with 30 people who worked at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. He asked them the same question. He said of the 30, one could list a few tribes in Michigan, while the rest couldn’t name any.
Social work senior Faith Keen described the importance of listening to Genia speak, considering her major and future profession.
“For my major, it is important for us to learn more regarding not only the Michigan tribes but on a national level,” Keen said. “The fact that I wasn’t aware and my multiple social work professors here weren’t aware of the places he was speaking of, the boarding schools, the tribes, really says something. It’s important for us to become educated about this so we can understand cultural differences and be able to work with all clients, of course.”
Keen stated that the information she learned from Genia was important enough to carry with her while she pursued her future professions. She additionally mentioned that she wants to learn more about all the topics that Genia discussed, including the 12 tribes in Michigan and also tribes that exist nationally, to help spread awareness.
Health administration senior Autumne Peoples also found Genia’s discussion to be helpful for the whole community as a way to acknowledge cultural backgrounds.
“It was important for the Ferris community to come and listen to the presentation so that we know about other communities that need our support,” Peoples said. “There’s a lot of communities that aren’t represented as much as others, and we need to talk about these communities. With Ferris State being a diverse campus and community of students, it is important to acknowledge other people’s history and to celebrate their heritage and their history. We all learn from history so that things don’t get repeated in the future.”
To continue celebrating Native American Heritage Month, the OMSS will hold an Indigenous Reading Workshop on Nov. 22 from noon to 3 p.m. and a Native American Heritage Month Trivia Night on Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at IRC room 120.