Renowned Dakota-Hidatsa Traditionalist Storyteller and Cultural Historian Mary Louise Defender Wilson will be the featured speaker at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, May 19, for a special celebration of spoken word artistry in the Native American culture and traditions.
“Land, Language, and Indigenous Artistry of the Spoken Word” will be held at 4 p.m. at the Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center. The event is free and open to students and the public with a reception to follow. Parking on campus is $6.
“We are deeply honored to have someone of Mary Louise’s stature and importance as a storyteller come to our campus,” said James Fenelon, a CSUSB professor of sociology and director of the university’s Center for Indigenous People Studies.
This unique event is a collaborative effort of the Native American and Indigenous Students Association, the Ethnic Studies Student Organization, Associated Students, Inc., the University Diversity Committee, Dean Rafik Mohamed of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies, Fenelon said.
Born in 1930 on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, Defender-Wilson’s childhood was enriched by the teachings of her grandfather, Tall Man See The Bear and her mother, Helen Margaret See The Bear.
From a young age Defender-Wilson was surrounded by the storytelling of her Dakotah speaking family. In 1954, she became the second Miss Indian America. In the 1970’s she returned to work with her people on Standing Rock in the Dakotas, where she was instrumental in bringing forth ancient ceremonies and in revitalizing sacred and cultural knowledge.
Defender Wilson has been awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts; the 2009 Enduring Vision Award; the 2009 Community Spirit Award from First Peoples Fund; the H. Council Trenholm Memorial Award from the National Education Association for Human and Civil Rights; and in 2002 Best Spoken Word Album, Native American Music Awards for “My Relatives Say.” In 2015 Defender-Wilson was recognized with the prestigious United States Artists Weitz Fellow award – the first given for the spoken word.
For more information on “Land, Language, and Indigenous Artistry of the Spoken Word” on May 19, contact Charli Eaton at 909-272-2878. Visit the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies website to learn more about its programs.
About California State University, San Bernardino: Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50thanniversary in 2015-2016, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.