MONA Lawsuit on a Ladies Lounge

A green-gloved hand comes from behind a green curtain near a green-shaded lamp.

Ladies Lounge (MONA)

As an avid lover of art, I often visit as many art and history museums as possible, so I am familiar with major museums around the world, which is how I found the following story.

The Museum of Old and New Art, also known as the MONA, located in Tasmania, Australia has recently garnered a lot of attention and the reasoning behind it is fascinating. The reason being its exclusive Ladies Lounge installation.

The lounge opened in 2020 and in the lounge, women are served various food and champagne by male Butlers (similar to what would happen in a gentlemen’s club, except for men), while they get a private view of numerous famous artworks, such as some of Picasso’s work.

The problem with the installation arose when a man named Jason Lau bought a ticket to explore the museum and was refused the right to enter the Ladies Lounge. After being turned away from the installation, Lau took his complaints to the legal level, claiming that he and other men were not given “a fair provision of goods and services in line with the law (The Independent).”

The artist behind the installation, Kirsha Kaechele, told reporters she was extremely happy that Lau took his complaints to the courts. Lau played right into the meaning behind the exhibition, which is that the exhibit is “based on the concept of misogynistic old-fashioned Australian pubs – where women were largely excluded till the 1960s (The Independent).”

The lawyers for MONA stood by Kaechele and “argued that Lau’s reaction meant he did get to experience the artwork, and that the installation honors a Tasmanian legal stipulation allowing selective entry when it brings justice to the disenfranchised (Artnet).”

Richard Grueber, the deputy president of TASCAT, an Australian tribunal, ruled the exhibition as “direct discrimination” and told the museum they have 28 days to determine how they will move forward with the installation. A spokesperson for MONA and Kaechele claimed they were willing to take the case to the Supreme Court and “. . . would rather close the installation than let men in (Artnet).”

A group of women, led by artist Kirscha Kaechele, in matching blue business suits.

Kirsha, Her Lawyer, and her Supporters

Something else important to note about this whole situation that made me find the story in the first place was a performance that Kaechele and her supporters put on during the hearing. The performance entailed Kaechele and a line of her supporters who all dressed up while Kaechele led the women out of the courthouse with a synchronized dance to Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible.”

I found this whole exhibition and performance to be amazing and it truly feels like art is imitating life with this whole situation. The exhibition is becoming bigger than itself and is starting a movement. I think it is a rather ironic situation considering an artwork about gender discrimination led to someone filing a lawsuit claiming the piece was eliciting gender discrimination, when that was its WHOLE purpose. It may be controversial to say but if this was a men’s only lounge, I don’t think the courts would rule in favor of letting women in. Men have been doing things like this for centuries and the second women make a place only for them, they freaked out and claimed gender discrimination. One can only hope that the true message behind this exhibit reaches as many people, especially men, as it can and will help illicit a change. I highly suggest y’all investigate the case more because it fascinating!!!

(not sure if this will work but he is a video I downloaded from TikTok of Kirsha and her supporters walking out of court) v14044g50000cnudqevog65jc7pc1bhg

Indigenous Struggles When it Comes to Education

Apr2

Last week I met with the founder of the Indigenous Peoples Student Association, Tim Benally, and it was amazing to hear his experience here at Penn State and all that he has done for the Indigenous students here at Penn State. Tim is from the Navajo Nation and is graduating this spring, looking to pursue a Ph.D. in Anthropology.

While talking to Tim, it made me think about and realize that Indigenous people in the United States have long struggled with access to education and continuously have fewer opportunities when it comes to education. “According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average high school retention rate [of indigenous children] was at 74 percent between 2018 and 2019, compared to the national average of 86 percent (Powwow).” Not only is this a trend in secondary education but it is just as prevalent an issue in higher education, with “only 19 percent of Native Americans ages 18 to 24 . . . enrolled in college compared with 41 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute (Powwow).” While indigenous people make up a small portion of the US population, I believe these statistics show how important it is to bring attention to this issue the indigenous people in America face today.

While the reasons behind this problem are rather complicated, it comes down to the persistent marginalization and discrimination faced by indigenous people all around the world which leads to a “lack of quality education that does not align with their rights as indigenous peoples (Consentino).”

When people are developing policies and curriculum for schools, they are made most of the time without indigenous people’s consent or participation in mind. Tim told me how he took a class here at Penn State on indigenous ways of life and medicine and when the teacher began to describe the medicine wheel he had some questions. Tim raised his hand to ask what tribe this was from, if the school got permission to teach it, had the curriculum been designed with the help of an indigenous person and more because the colors and symbols used were different from those of the Navajo and he wanted to know since he never saw anything like this before. The short answer was no. Like most curriculum used when it comes to Native Americans/Alaskan native it was research done by a white man who did not fully understand the culture and put his own values and ideas in the work. This curriculum has since changed and encapsulates a truer view of indigenous practices.

On top of education on indigenous cultures being inappropriate and wrong, the education system and curriculum in the US has a long history of attempting to assimilate and systemically discriminates indigenous peoples and often, even if unintentional, destroys indigenous cultures, rights, languages, and more. Not only that but when the government does try to put programs in place to help solve this problem and give more resources and opportunities to native Americans, they usually do not consult them and this leads to the program being unhelpful since it is not in the correct language, doesn’t respect indigenous history, and/or culture and more.

There are many other factors contributing to this issue that I could go into but for now I emphasized some of the main causes of why native Americans/Alaskan Natives face this issue in the US. I highly encourage you to look more into this issue to get a better understanding of the scope of this problem and to learn more about these cultures that are rich in knowledge and traditions and why it is important to not forget them and help them in any way we can.

Beyond the Grades: My journey of discovering who I am beyond academics

Apr2

It is not hard to imagine that school is a great stressor for most if not all students. I know for me it is one of the biggest stressors in my life and I put way too much weight into who I am as a person based on my grades.

Sadly, I think I started comparing my self-worth to my grades back in 1st grade. Most of my childhood is extremely fuzzy to me but I do remember that in 1st grade I became super sick with pneumonia in both my lungs leading me to having to stay out of school for over a month. Understandably I fell very far behind and instead of my teacher trying to help me she ridiculed me and even told me I was a bully for something I did not even do. This eventually led to my parents getting involved and I remember that my teacher wanted to hold me back and claimed I had a learning disability. I was tested for multiple learning disabilities from dyslexia to autism. All the tests came back normal, and the IQ test I took came back above average. To this day I don’t understand why my teacher had such a problem with me and treated me so terribly as a 6-YEAR-OLD CHILD.

Thankfully my mom fought for me and helped me in any way she could, and she still does. However, I think this situation irrevocably changed me and how I view myself. I struggled with school for the next couple of years and got unbelievably upset when I got below a B and as time went on this only got worse. By the time I was in 5th grade if I got below an A, I felt so disappointed in myself and even today in college I struggle to not feel dumb if I get below an A.

Sadly, I think I always have it in my subconscious that I am not smart enough and feel as if everyone else understands what is happening while I am struggling.

As I have grown up and gone to therapy, I have learned that I am way more than my grades and I know that putting my self-worth on my grades is not a healthy way of thinking however because I have thought this way for over half my life, it is turning out to be extremely hard to rewire my brain. But healing is a long journey, and I am happy with the progress I have made so far.

My best friends and sister supporting me at my AP art show <3

I think it vital for all kids in school from pre-school to college to remember their grades do not define who they are or how smart they are. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and sometimes school is not one of those strengths. If this is the case that is beyond ok. I have found that while I can work hard and get good grades in school, I am much better at art and it comes naturally to me. Finding what I am good at has given me a huge boost to my self-confidence and has made me realize I am more than a letter on a piece of paper. While I think I will always worry about my grades, I am starting to learn to take a step back from the unhealthy mindset I have had for most of my life and am learning to build a new one that doesn’t constantly put me down.

I hope by sharing this journey of mine, at least one person can realize they are amazing and more resilient than they may believe.

Issue Brief Draft and Outline

Mar28

A Silent Epidemic:

Understanding the Implications of Sex/Labor Trafficking and Actions We Must Take to Change the Narrative

Margeaux Gray at the extremely young age of 5, was sexually abused and sold into child sex trafficking by a close trusted man in her life. As a survivor of human trafficking, she shares her story with others, has become a beacon of light, and empowers other survivors of human trafficking. In an interview with the Office on Women’s Health, Gray emphasizes the importance of letting other women and children know that trafficking is “not equal to success or love . . . a trafficker doesn’t look like what media or society stereotypes them to be . . . a trafficker can be a boyfriend, a friend, a family member, or a job recruiter.”

Gray’s story is just one of millions and will sadly not be the last. Between the years of 2008 to 2019, the number of human trafficking victims identified worldwide more than quadrupled from around 30,000 to nearly 120,000 1 and continues to grow exponentially every year. The business of trafficking persons is shrouded in secrecy due to its illegal nature, therefore, the statistics that experts predict are most likely highly unrepresentative of the true number and nearly impossible to measure in their entirety2.

While the US government is doing a lot to combat human trafficking, it is vital to remember that this is a worldwide issue and to help stop it there would need to be cooperation from the local communities, the US government, private sectors, and international cooperation all around. Understandably taking on a task this large with so much cooperation is nearly impossible, which is why it is vital to start at the smallest level and work up. By implementing a system change within the government, such as a law or policy, which increased education, public awareness in educational institutions and law enforcement agencies, and provided survivors with the proper tools to live after their terrible experience, it would play a vital role in combating and preventing all forms of human trafficking.

As defined by the US Department of Justice human trafficking “is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. Exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion was used.”

To break human trafficking down it is important to know that there are two primary forms of human trafficking which are sexual exploitation and forced labor. Sexual exploitation is the main form of trafficking, and most people trafficked are trafficked for this purpose. While anyone is at risk of being sex trafficked, there are some identifiable circumstances and characteristics that traffickers look for in their victims. The people most at risk are members of marginalized groups and people in vulnerable situations. This includes young children in the welfare system, those with mental illnesses, immigrants, members of the LQBTQIA+, people of color, indigenous women and children, individuals who have a substance abuse disorder, and more.

Despite thousands of organizations and individuals dedicated to stopping human trafficking around the world, human trafficking makes nearly $150 billion a year with over 40 million victims, and this insidious business is still growing and not much progress has been made to end it. Due to the business of human trafficking being so vastly complex it is hard to fix any one aspect of the issue. Human trafficking is hard to detect and because this a worldwide issue it looks different in every country. Because this issue does go over international borders, it can be extremely hard to prosecute traffickers, which only allows traffickers to continue trafficking people.

As said by Arpitha Peteru from the Foundation for Inclusion, “Human slavery is a complex system with self-perpetuating feedback loops. You can’t solve complex problems by fixing any one aspect. You have to understand how multiple aspects intersect or your solution won’t work — or worse, it could have unintended consequences that harm the very people you’re trying to help.”

~ next I will go on to talk about some of the current efforts taking place to help combat human trafficking

~ then I will go on to talk about the recommendations/policies that could be implemented that are required across the nation from education programs, survivor programs, and more

~ I will also explain why education is so important and how even though it is only looking at fixing part of the problem how we can benefit from implementing these different programs/laws

~ finally I will wrap the issue brief up

Could you also let me know if I have a strong thesis and if it is easy to tell where the argument is going? Thank you!!!

Sources:

Human trafficking – Statistics & Facts | Statista

An Interview About Surviving Human Trafficking: Margeaux Gray | Office on Women’s Health (womenshealth.gov)

Human Trafficking | What is Human Trafficking? (justice.gov)

Why is Human Trafficking So Difficult to Stop? – Kinship United

Stopping Human Trafficking: Why So Little Progress? | Psychology Today

Tools That Teach: What is Human Trafficking? | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)

The Flesh Trade

Mar26

TW: Human Trafficking

(I know that I am doing my issue brief on Human Trafficking, but I wanted to show how it connects to me personally with this piece!)

Growing up my mom and dad instilled in me to be hyper-vigilant and always aware of my surroundings, especially since both my parents work in fields where they see horrible things happen to children every day. I recently learned that both of my parents have dealt with cases involving human trafficking and with the release of the list of celebrities and government officials invited to Epstein’s Island, I have begun to realize human trafficking is not talked about enough and so little is being done to stop it. This has made me unbelievably angry. It makes me devastated to think of all the young women and children who have been trafficked and what they must be going through.

Human trafficking is a way bigger problem in the US than we realize and so much more needs to be done to protect the tens of thousands of women and children who are trafficked every day. While efforts are occurring to stop this horrendous act from occurring no one knows how large this business goes and it is such a complex and multi-faceted business that is interconnected with numerous other insidious crimes that it is hard to fully understand the issue. From what we know, about 1.7 million children worldwide are involved in commercial sexual exploitation and since “state and regional law enforcement records likely reflect less than 10 percent of trafficking victims (Callahan),” this statistic most likely significantly underrepresents the true number of children involved in human trafficking.

It is also important to note that while anyone can be human trafficked there are some circumstances and identifiable factors that increase the likelihood of being trafficked. Some of the factors that increase one’s likelihood of being trafficked is if you are in a younger age group, especially between the ages of 18 to 24, those who are in structurally disadvantaged situations, such as the homeless, people with mental health issues, addiction problems and much more.

Understandably many people move through their lives blissfully unaware of this issue seeing as it hasn’t directly affected them, I know I did until a couple years ago, but I think it is vital to bring this issue to the foreground of everyone’s minds and by being aware it could help in the fight of stopping trafficking. A video for me, that brought into light how horrendous and terrible this issue truly is, was a speech that Blake Lively gave at Variety magazine’s Power of Women event. Although the speech focuses more on trading and consuming child pornography, the sexual exploitation of these kids is just as prevalent an issue as human trafficking and is highly connected to the business as well. Although it was super hard to watch, I think it is important for everyone to hear what is happening to those who have been trafficked and as Blake Lively said in her speech “if these kids are experiencing this, the least that they deserve is that we hear what is actually happening to them.”

With that final thought I urge you to watch this speech and keep in mind that this is happening right now as you are reading this. We can only hope that in the future this issue will be solved but for right now learning about what is happening and raising awareness for the fight against human trafficking through social media, volunteering, education and more is super important.

Link to Blake Lively Speech:

Blake Lively Gives Emotional Speech on Child Pornography (youtube.com)

Introductory Draft of Issue Brief

Mar25

A Silent Epidemic: Understanding the Implications of Sex/Labor Trafficking and Actions We Must Take to Change the Narrative

Introduction

Gray’s story is just one of millions and will sadly not be the last. Between the years of 2008 to 2019, the number of human trafficking victims identified worldwide more than quadrupled from around 30,000 to nearly 120,000 and continues to grow exponentially every year. The business of trafficking persons is shrouded in secrecy due to its illegal nature, therefore, the statistics that experts predict are most likely highly unrepresentative of the true number and nearly impossible to measure in their entirety.

It is important to remember that there are two primary forms of human trafficking; sexual exploitation and forced labor. Sexual exploitation is the main form of trafficking, and most people trafficked are trafficked for this purpose. While anyone is at risk of being sex trafficked, the people who seem to be most at risk are young women and children. Whereas those being trafficked for the purpose of forced labor are mainly men.

While the US government is doing a lot to combat human trafficking, it is vital to remember that this is a worldwide issue and to help stop it there would need to be cooperation from the local communities, the US government, private sectors, and international cooperation all around. Understandably taking on a task this large with so much cooperation is nearly impossible, which is why it is vital to start at the smallest level and work up. By implementing a policy or law which increased education and public awareness in schools and law enforcement agencies it would play a vital role in combating and preventing all forms of human trafficking.

The Importance of Preserving Indigenous Ways of Life

Mar21

The extinction of animals, plants, and insects is at a historical high and has finally begun to receive the

Fire Dreaming Waru Tjukurrpa by Jorna Newberry a Pitjantjatjara artist who has represented the importance of fire for hunting and land management to the aboriginal people of Australia

attention it so desperately needs. Something that many fail to realize, is that this historical high is connected to the erasing of indigenous beliefs and practices. This is why it makes absolute sense why there is such a high loss of biodiversity. In an article published by The Conversation, Krystyna Swiderska, an expert in traditional knowledge and biocultural heritage of indigenous peoples and local communities, states that “. . . biodiversity loss cannot be effectively addressed without tackling the rapid disappearance of indigenous cultures.”

Indigenous peoples have curated their culture and ways of life for thousands of years. Their language, religious beliefs, and practices are embedded with a millennium of knowledge and wisdom. They have a vast “knowledge about ecosystems, conservation methods, plant life, animal behavior and many other aspects of the natural world (LaPier)” that if we lose, would be beyond detrimental to the world.

“The world’s 370 million to 500 million indigenous people play a critical role in conserving biodiversity (Swiderska)” and it is not surprising to find that climate change and the rapidly growing decline of biodiversity is not occurring as quickly within indigenous societies and land.

Indigenous peoples all around the world have a great respect for nature and see the relationship between man and nature to be dependent on one another. “The health of the Earth goes hand in hand with the wellbeing of humankind (UN News).”

An example of the impact of eradicating indigenous knowledge is the continued fires that occur within California. As a direct result of settler colonialism, climate change, and suppressing indigenous practices, the California wildfires have gotten out of control. As settler colonialism in California increased, the settlers made it illegal to burn and those caught setting fires would be faced by penalties. This greatly hurt the indigenous people of the area seeing as this was/is a part of their life and culture. It also clearly hurt California in the long run because without low intensity surface fires, forests have become overgrown and vastly dense. This then builds up fuel for when a natural or human fire breaks out and leads to megafires. Once I heard about this in my anthropology class, I thought it was crazy, especially since there is evidence that the indigenous practice of lighting low intensity surface fires decreases the likelihood a wildfire will spread and creates a positive ecological effect on the environment.

Dario Mejia Montalvo at the UN

Luckily though, California has recently begun to realize the effect this has had on the environment, but a lot more needs to be done, not just in California, but around the whole world. On behalf of himself and other indigenous people Darío Mejia Montalvo, an indigenous member of the Zenú community in the Colombian Caribbean, argues that “. . . we go beyond science, beyond economics, and beyond politics, and think of the planet as Mother Earth. Our knowledge, which goes back thousands of years, is valid, important, and contains innovative solutions (UN News).” I think it vital that we listen to Montalvo and learn from indigenous peoples and the wisdom they have of the land that themselves and their ancestors have worked with for numerous years. I think sometimes we focus too much on modern technology to help solve our problems and claim indigenous peoples to be different form us and therefore not as important. However, I believe that the opposite is true. Indigenous people and their knowledge, even though not modern in our sense of the word, is just as important and could help us solve many environmental problems we face today and open out eyes to a whole new perspective. I hope in the near future more people realize the importance of preserving indigenous wisdom.

Sources:

The TikTok Ban

Mar20

It is safe to say that we all most likely have TikTok. It’s an app where people make funny videos dancing, recommending books and movies, showcasing edits, telling stories, and more. Despite TikTok’s fun nature, today the US government finds itself fixated on the social media app despite numerous national issues clawing for attention from access to healthcare, systemic racism, climate issues, quality education, and much more. This makes me ask ‘Why is it so important to ban TikTok when you could be fixing the numerous national crises we have here in the US.’ It just doesn’t make sense to me.

So why is the US so fixated on an app that is meant to entertain people? If you have been keeping up with the news congress has been trying to ban TikTok for a while now. They are concerned that the Chinese government is collecting our data, potentially influencing US citizens with foreign ideologies (communism), spreading misinformation, and that it is a threat to national security. However, after doing some surface-level research on the app, I learned that a Chinese company called ByteDance owns TikTok. The company contrary to popular belief is not owned by the Chinese government. Sixty percent of ByteDance is in fact owned by global investors with twenty percent owned by the co-founders of the company and the last 20% is owned by the employees which includes thousands of Americans. Not only that but TikTok claimed in 2022 that the US user data is stored in the US and controlled by a US-led security team.

I know that I am no expert in politics and cyber/national security and that all these concerns could have a significant impact on the US. I also realize that the question of if TikTok is truly a threat to the US is a multifaced and complex issue that everyone has varying opinions/perspectives on. However, I feel that this is not as pressing a matter as the issues I mentioned at the beginning. The US government is meant to serve and protect the US citizens yet by overlooking the various issues within our society and focusing on banning an app mainly because of its ties to the Chinese government is, in my opinion, hurting the people more than helping them.

In the long run, TikTok is not unique in how it collects our data and uses it. Numerous American companies such as Meta/Facebook also collect our data and even if TikTok was banned this threat of data collection wouldn’t go away. Companies will continue collecting and selling our data. Who is to say that China couldn’t get US user data from American companies. Therefore, you would have to ban every social media app/platform and that would move into what I would consider an infringement on our freedoms as US citizens.

All in all, the banning of TikTok is a very complex issue and looks to be like it will be a continuing debate within congress even though it would be highly beneficial for the US citizens had congress focused on more important debates/change.

Bound By Belief: Struggles faced by Witch’s!

Mar13

The practice of witchcraft, Wicca, and paganism have been under great scrutiny for thousands of years. People have and still do claim that it is sacrilegious and is warned against in the bible as a way towards Satan. Despite the many attempts to eliminate these ancient practices, the art still exists today.

As someone who isn’t the most religious person in any sense of the word, some religions that I identify with the most are Wicca and paganism. Compared to other religions I have found I connect most with pagan and Wiccan beliefs and have found that they are rather peaceful and don’t restrict my way of life. My sister knows my stance on religion and so she brought to my attention an article about a tarot card-reading shop in Hanover, PA where the police chief visited the owner of the business to tell them of a rather archaic law that prohibits fortunetelling. The police chief claimed that there was no investigation or intention for arrest at this visit but rather came by to tell the shop owner “the department would be obligated to investigate, . . . ‘if a complaint was made against someone for engaging in acts qualifying as ‘fortunetelling’ (New York Times).”

When I first heard this, I thought it was very weird. How can there still be laws in place that prohibit a part of a religion? I thought America allowed everyone freedom of religion, so it didn’t sit right with me, and I am not the only one. After being shared in multiple newspapers and spread on social media, people were quite outraged and fueled questions on the use of taxpayers’ money being wasted by this visit by the police, who probably, have more pressing matters to attend to and “whether the visit amounted to a suppression of religious freedom (NYT).”

With so much attention brought to this event the chief of Hanover responded on a post on Facebook where he essentially said that he was doing his job and anyone who didn’t like the law should contact their legislators. In my opinion, this is a good idea. Today, there are many laws in place that make no sense and aren’t necessary, so why do we still have them. However, I believe it is also important to acknowledge that at some point and maybe even sometimes today a law like this was put in place to protect citizens from scam artists, however this law in the long run does more harm than good and is restricting religious freedom from those who do practice wicca.

I realize wicca and paganism are not religions that are practiced by the majority, such as Christianity, but I believe everyone should be able to practice whatever religion they so wish to, as long as it is not harming anyone. America prides itself on being the land of the brave and free but in many instances such as this one our freedoms are not as free as they are projected to be, and I think this is an issue that needs to be talked about a lot more.

Land-grant Universities and Dispossession of Native Americans Land

Feb29

For my third civic issues blog I want to focus more on Native Americans’ struggles with the dispossession of their land and forced migration.

To make this issue a little more personal, we can see the effects of land dispossession and racism, towards Native Americans in the use of our own college’s land. As you may know, Penn State is a land-grant school, but many do not actually know what that means. I didn’t until my ANTH45 teacher, Dr. Bird, discussed it in class. In short, a land-grant school is a school that was created in the mid-19th century after the passing of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, which was where schools were created using the proceeds from “federally-owned” land to promote agricultural and scientific education. According to a Cambridge article though, “The land that was sold to support colleges was available because of a deliberate project to dispossess American Indians of land they inhabited” and “the colleges exist only because of a state-sponsored system of Native dispossession.” The land used/owned by Penn State was settled by European colonizers before Penn State was established, but Penn State properties are still on the ancestral lands of Erie, Haudenosaunee,

Map of land grant universities in the US

Lenape, Monongahela, Shawnee, Susquehannock, and Wahzhzhe First Nations and has majorly benefitted from the dispossession of Native American land. To give you some statistics on how much Penn State has profited from the Morrill Act, the original endowment of the land that was $39,000 is now worth $4 billion. Another statistic that Dr. Bird told us that I found astounding was that out of roughly 75,000 undergraduate students at Penn State, only about 103 are American Indian/Native American.

Penn State has acknowledged the use of the land: “As a land grant institution, Penn State acknowledges and honors the traditional caretakers of these lands and strives to understand and model their responsible stewardship. We also acknowledge the longer history of these lands and our place in that history.” But more can and should be done to teach the students at Penn State the history of why it is here today, could/should work to develop ties with native tribes, and teach Native History.

Moving away from land-grant colleges, Native Americans have historically been forced out of their historical land and still face the effects of ongoing colonialism. According to a “Science” article, “Indigenous people in the United States have lost nearly 99% of the land they historically occupied, . . .” Today, native land is at a greater risk for climate change hazards like extreme heat and decreased precipitation. Not only that but settlers often forced Native Americans onto land they deemed less valuable, which excluded them from key parts of the U.S. economy. This is truly detrimental to Native Americans and their culture seeing as they have land-based religions and are connected/know their land better than anyone else.

The continued challenges Natives face in maintaining their land and culture make me unbelievably livid. More needs to be done to bring attention to this issue. As young adults, it is hard to see how we can help but I think it is important to learn about these issues and the history of Native Americans. We can raise awareness for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and their land and teach others why this issue is important. Indigenous cultures benefit all of us and hold so much value and knowledge that would be devastating to lose.