In Honor of Native American Heritage Month:
Native American Poet, Storyteller and Lecturer
Bobby Gonzalez to Appear at IWU

Nov. 11, 2002

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Native American lecturer, poet and storyteller Bobby Gonzalez will speak at Illinois Wesleyan University in honor of Native American Heritage Month on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in lecture hall C102 of the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research, 201 Beecher St., Bloomington.

His talk, “Exploring the Cultural Diversity of Native America,” is a visual and oral presentation. Gonzalez will aim to broaden the audience’s understanding of the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere and dispel many of the myths and stereotypes that accompany Native American culture.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

According to a proclamation by United States President George W. Bush, “During American Indian Heritage Month, we celebrate the rich cultural traditions and proud ancestry of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and we recognize the vital contributions these groups have made to the strength and diversity of our society.”

Gonzalez is a member of the Taino tribe, the first indigenous group of people that Christopher Columbus encountered exploring the Western Hemisphere. The Tainos are native to the Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and the Bahamas.

Through his various talks and presentations, Gonzalez aims to raise awareness about Native American history by looking at the era of Christopher Columbus as the beginning of 500 years of genocide initiated by Spanish colonists, rather than the way the discovery of America in 1492 is taught by most schools.

Gonzalez is a founding member of Taino Del Norte, an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of Taino culture, and has served as a member of the Native American Heritage Committee in New York City. He has given presentations at institutions across the country including Carnegie Hall, the National Museum of the American Indian and the University of Houston. Gonzalez is also author of a collection of poetry titled Song of the American Holocaust and serves as the master of ceremonies for the annual Native Harvest Festival held in the Bronx, New York.