Mark Light, left, and John Thomas of the Akwesasne Nation perform at the Native American Alumni Association's Iroquois social dance in Helen Newman Hall Saturday afternoon. Robert Barker/University Photography
Against a backdrop of ancient drumbeats and traditional chants, alumni attending a social dance organized for Reunion on Saturday by the Native American Alumni Association talked about the future.
This was the second reunion for the new alumni group, which has formed the American Indian Program Advisory Council.
"The advisory council was formed to advise AIP and the university on everything from alumni membership to extension and community outreach," said Leslie Wheelock '84 M.B.A., J.D., who co-chaired the reunion gathering with Judith Suchowski '84. Wheelock sees the group as having the opportunity to enhance opportunities for American Indians across the country, as well as those attending Cornell.
Wheelock, like many other Native American alumni, attended Cornell before Akwe:kon house opened in 1989; she described her efforts and those of other graduate students to informally mentor other Native Americans at Cornell. "We talked about more than Cornell and more than school," she said. "They really appreciated it. There were not a lot of role models for them, especially role models who came to them.
"Our goal now is to have the program be a central tie for the Native American alumni from all the different colleges and from all over the country," she said.
Wheelock, originally from Lafayette, Ind., is acting general counsel for Concert, a joint venture between MCI and British Telecommunications that provides global telecommunications to Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
Cliff Cockerham, '79 CALS, chairs the advisory council, whose role he says is "to support the AIP and Akwe:kon as a structure which will enhance the presence of Native American students, faculty and staff on the campus and, in particular, to support the university in implementing and carrying out its extension mission which points to native peoples."
Cockerham, who is director of Alumni University at Emory University, said he sees "some very exciting opportunities and great needs of native peoples in the state, the country and the hemisphere.
"Cornell's AIP is in position to have a positive impact on some of the problems facing native peoples," he said. "Factionalism is one of the greatest problems. Cornell has a great tradition as a place where parties in disagreement can come to the table and talk in reasoned conversation. The staff of AIP has really saved lives in helping calm and solve problems in different areas.
"One of Cornell's immense opportunities is to provide a safe place for conversation, a structure for leadership development and education for the next generation of leaders," he added. "There is an enormous need in native communities for leadership development. At times, it's almost a matter of life and death."
Cornell's AIP is already widely known around the country, Cockerham emphasized. "The program and the journal Native Americas has really developed a significant reputation around the country as a source of objective, factual information that helps inform the discourse," he said. The journal's editor is José Barreiro.
At its first meeting, the advisory council passed a resolution expressing concern over the decline in American Indian admissions in Fall 1997, noting changes in the admissions process that might have negatively affected recruiting.
Cockerham said alumni are committed to supporting AIP.
"This program is perhaps the best model in the country for multicultural education on a predominantly white campus," he said. "We have kids of two distinct cultures coming together as a community to share their cultures."
At the end of the Native American student reunion, attendees gathered in a circle and, to the songs of the Standing Arrow Singers from Akwesasne, joined in a social dance to honor Akwe:kon and its vital programs.