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Resident whose mother was Native American speaks out on reservation teen suicide: Roundtable topics sparked lively discussions on wide range of Native American issues

The debate became lively during portions of the Turtle Island Project’s first Native American Roundtable and Regional Conference held Sept. 13-15, 2007 along the shores of Lake Superior in Munising Michigan.

Pictured left to right in first row are Munising residents Paul Goodburn who listens to Dennis Harbath make a point.

Left to right in second row are counselor Joni Peffers, owner of Celtic Cove Counseling at K.I. Sawyer; and Pat Cornish-Hall of Munising who is just discovering her mother's Native American heritage. (Photo by Greg Peterson)

TIP Native American Roundtable: Poverty, teen suicide, environment, centering prayer discussed

(Munising, Michigan) - Racism, poverty, teen suicide on reservations, the derogatory perversion of American Indian names on Minnesota rivers and other locations across the country, and learning respect for the environment from Earth-based cultures were among the topics discussed at a Native American Roundtable sponsored by the non-profit Turtle Island Project at the Eden on the Bay Lutheran Church in Munising.

"I think one of the main reasons for suicide is loss of identity and hope and with that comes deep despair," said Pat Cornish-Hall of Munising who is just discovering her mother's Native American heritage. "I do believe that poverty certainly has an effect on suicide."

Counselor Joni Peffers, owner of Celtic Cove Counseling at K.I. Sawyer, said the media should report on the trends of teen suicides in their area but not give the individual details of each attempt or death.

TIP director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard said most wars start in the name of religion but "Native American never started a war over religious ideology - we (whites) are the kind of people who fight wars over religious ideology," said Rev. Hubbard.

Featured speaker Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana explained he fights environmental problems and other important social issues with a wide-range of methods including "contemplative prayer" and "engaging structural evil."

"We can't get their with just our hearts - we need our heads and something more," said Cairns, TIP board chair/co-founder and research professor at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

TIP goals include giving "Native Americans a venue in which their voices can be heard and listened to" and protecting the environment, Hubbard said.

"Americans, whether of Native or Euro-American ancestry, are still being oppressed by political, social, and economic structures, like we were from our European ancestors," Hubbard said.

The perversion of the original Native American name of Minnesota's Rum River and similar derogatory names was placed on the agenda by Thomas Dahlheimer, director of the Rum River Name Change Organization, who helped introduce a state bill changing 14 geographic place names that are offensive to American Indians.

Whites remained the Rum River referring to alcohol "spirits" instead of the original American Indian name that meant "Great Spirit."

"Two of these derogatory names were changed from the sacred Ojibwa name for their Great Spirit (Manido) to Devil," said Dahlheimer. "Racial hatred was why many geographic site names were changed from Native peoples' names for the Great Spirit to Devil."

The TIP has numerous conferences, roundtables and other events scheduled in the next six months. Details at: TurtleIslandProject.org

Rum River among 14 Minnesota locations whose names would be changed by new law.