Can guaranteed admission and full scholarships for Native American students, as well as the establishment of a Native American Studies program, compensate for a massacre that occurred almost 150 years ago?
Some activists at Northwestern University think so.
The petition brought attention to NAISA’s cause, and on January 23rd the group publicly called for a “Commission on Truth and Justice” to be established on the matter in a guest column for The Daily Northwestern. The column charged that “throughout his life John Evans remained our chief benefactor, making this University one that was built on the blood of native peoples.”
The column was timed to appear before Northwestern’s “Founder’s Day,” a celebration of the day the state of Illinois approved the university’s act of incorporation on January 28th, 1851. It was signed by four students and Gary Fine, the John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern.
Because of NAISA’s campaign, Northwestern has been cautiously referring to “Founder’s Day” as “our 162nd Birthday” instead.
Northwestern junior Charles Rollet reports much more on this controversy in his feature story at The College Fix.