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Augsburg Professor Eric Buffalohead Discusses Native Americans in Film With ICT

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In a recent newscast, ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) interviewed Augsburg University Associate Professor Eric Buffalohead about persistent stereotypes of Native Americans in film. Buffalohead chairs the Department of American Indian, First Nations, and Indigenous Studies and is the co-editor, with Professor Elise Marubbio, of the book “.”

“I’ve been teaching “American Indian in the Cinema” for going on 30 years, and people have asked me, what’s the solution to some of these problems?” said Buffalohead. “And it’s contemporary representations. The big theme that you walk away from my course with is that most of our images are stuck in time, meaning that they’re somewhere in the past. People don’t see us as contemporary—they see us as these images in the old West and very much stereotypes of plains or southwest Indians. They don’t see the real diversity of Indigenous people in the Americas.”

The conversation with anchor Aliyah Chavez also touched on expanding representations in television through shows like “Rutherford Falls” and “Reservation Dogs,” translation of major films into the Navajo and Comanche languages, and Professor Marubbio’s work on representations of Native women in film. Find the full interview in the ICT newscast archive (segment begins at 6:15).

“People Do Their Own Healing”: Minnesota Women’s Press Features Prof. Melissa Hensley

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The Minnesota Women’s Press recently featured an editorial by Melissa Hensley, associate professor of social work, on the value of peer support to reduce stigma in social service settings. The essay was part of a larger issue dedicated to stigma and addiction.

Hensley, who also serves as field director for Augsburg’s bachelor of social work program, spent many years as a provider of services to adults with serious and persistent mental illness in a residential setting.

“Peer supporters, who use their own experiences with addiction or mental health to help guide others, are an example of person-centered care … [They] fill gaps in traditional mental health services by providing essential knowledge about the recovery process, such as how to cope with symptoms, develop healthy relationships, and balance employment,” she writes.

“Social workers like myself need to understand that our role is not to “fix what is wrong.” People do their own healing, and our job is to offer tools and resources.”

NPR Features Alumna’s Work to Cool Urban Heat Island

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MarĂ­a BelĂ©n Power ’07 was recently featured in a WBUR story that also aired on All Things Considered from National Public Radio. BelĂ©n Power is associate executive director at GreenRoots in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The environmental justice organization is collaborating with the city and Boston University to pilot a host of cooling strategies on a densely populated Chelsea block, from planting trees to replacing asphalt with lighter-colored material.

In addition to improving local residents’ well-being, the Cool Block project serves as a template for other cities as climate change brings longer, hotter summers, increasing health risks in urban heat islands.

“Some days we feel like—what?—are we really having an impact? Like, is this really going to prevent the climate crisis?” BelĂ©n Power told WBUR’s Martha Bebinger. “And then I think, ‘It’s no longer about preventing it. It’s about protecting the most vulnerable communities.’”

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Augsburg Sociology Students Visit Holocaust Museum

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Fourteen Augsburg sociology students recently joined the Jewish Community Relations Council’s annual trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Tim Pippert, the Joel Torstenson endowed professor of sociology, led the Augsburg group, who were also joined by a group from Minnesota Hillel.

“For us, it provided the opportunity to show how sociology is applicable in lots of different ways,” Pippert said in an about the group’s experience. “So I asked [the students] to think about this trip and the experience in the museum, as how does their sociological training inform what they witnessed? How did the theories that they’ve read about, how does that play out in the symbolic representation of a horrific tragedy? How do you choose to tell that story? And what are the symbols that are used to tell that story?”

Steve Humerickhouse Featured in Forbes

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Steve HumerickhouseSteve Humerickhouse, executive director of The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, was one of two experts featured in the article “” In it, Humerickhouse spoke about his experience as a white man who is involved in DEI work. “We are really all in this, but the white folks don’t always know that they are,” he said. “That was the learning experience for me
that I am a part of this.”

Based at Augsburg University, The Forum on Workplace Inclusion will hold its 34th annual conference, “Solving for X: Tackling Inequities in a World of Unknowns,” as a virtual event April 5–7.

MPR Highlights Jarabe Mexicano Residency at Augsburg Music Department

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Jarabe Mexicano, a “bordeño-soul-folk” band with a passion for teaching and storytelling, will be in residency with the Augsburg Music Department from March 31–April 2. MPR recently explored the group’s roots in the U.S.-Mexico border region and their diverse musical influences, which range from Ritchie Valens to Los Lobos and Chicano rock. David Myers, Augsburg’s department head for music programs, was quoted in the article about the department’s goal to expand students’ appreciation of diverse music beyond western European classical music.

In addition to working with music department students and local high school students, Jarabe Mexicano will perform free public concert at Hoversten Chapel on Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m.

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CGEE Instructor Antonio Ortega Featured on Public Television in Morelos, Mexico

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Student groupAntonio Ortega, a longtime Center for Global Education and Experience global faculty member, was recently interviewed on “Noticias de la Tarde” (Evening News) on Channel 3, the public radio and TV station in Morelos, Mexico.

Ortega discusses CGEE’s work in Mexico and the importance of the relationship between the US and Mexico, particularly for students that will go on to work with the Latinx population in the U.S. in fields like social work, nursing, and teaching.

To view English subtitles, select Subtitles/Closed Caption and then, in the settings, choose Auto Translate > English.

Professor William Green Speaks About Minneapolis Teachers Strike on WCCO and MPR

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William GreenWilliam Green, M. Anita Gay Hawthorne professor of critical race and ethnic studies at Augsburg University, shared his expertise as a historian and former superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools in a on the Minneapolis teachers strike.

Green took part in two contract negotiations during his time as superintendent between 2006 and 2010. “The trickiest moment is to persuade constituents the compromise they may have to negotiate may not be satisfying,” he told WCCO. Green’s most recent book, “Strike!,” covers the 1970 Minneapolis teachers strike and will be released this fall.

Green also was interviewed by MPR for their March 17 story, “.” Speaking about the teachers who were involved in that strike, Green said, “They are the pillars of middle-class society, yet they went out on the street, many of them had never done anything demonstrative like this before. Many of them had never participated in radical politics, so this was a culture shock.”

U.S. News & World Report Highlights Augsburg’s Community Meals Program

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U.S. News & World Report interviewed Augsburg University Dean of Students Sarah Griesse for a recent article, “.” In her comments, Griesse reflected on Augsburg’s Community Meals program, implemented in Fall 2020. During a period of increased isolation due to the pandemic, the program allowed small groups to reserve a place in the dining hall, plan a special menu in advance, and build community over a meal with real plates, utensils, and glassware. 

“We saw the dramatic impact that COVID was having on mental health,” Griesse said in the article. “Students feeling isolated and not finding places to see and connect with others. … (Community Meals) made a difference in how people felt. The experience felt familiar, welcoming and engaging.”

Augsburg’s Gradual Ascent Project Featured in MPLSART.COM

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MPLSART.COM logoOn January 26 MPLSART.COM published which covers a year-long project of Augsburg’s art galleries, during which different photographers have been taking over . Gradual Ascent grew out of online gatherings facilitated by Jenny Wheatley, Augsburg’s coordinator of galleries and exhibitions, who was exploring how to restructure the galleries’ programming in response to the pandemic. Participating artist Khadija Charif told the reporter, “The blessing in a virtual gallery lies in the softness and privacy of each viewer. 
 I find it wonderful that I get the opportunity to show my work and let the viewer experience the work however they interpret it, without crowds.”