Let's Talk UNLV

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content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

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Welcome to another episode of Let's Talk UNLV

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K U N. V 91.5. You're here with Tanya and Alicia. And we have our wonderful guest, Kyle Escobar. So today Kyle and I and Alicia are going to talk about Native American heritage month. So Kyle, before we get started, would you be kind enough to share your origin story with us? How did you get to Nevada? How did you get to Nevada? UNLV. Nevada, we would good to know we're in Nevada.

Unknown Speaker 1:03
Not a problem at all. You know, I have I think pretty extensive history with a Las Vegas in particular. I'm actually originally from Arizona. My name is Kyle, Ethel BA. I'm White Mountain Apache from the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, which is in central eastern Arizona. I basically landed in Las Vegas in about what was that, but 24 years ago, and I came here for my first professional position. I actually started out as an academic advisor here at UNLV. But my history actually starts a little bit before that. Right now I oversee Federal Trio programs, as well as other outreach and support programs here on campus. So we serve first generation, income eligible students and students underrepresented in higher education. So my history basically is that I was a part of these programs myself, I was a part of our upper bound program through Northern Arizona University, which covered the Hopi Apache and Navajo reservations. So I was introduced to college through that program. And then I was a part of the Student Support Services Program at the University of Arizona where I did my undergraduate. And that basically helped me to get through school. So now I oversee those programs that UNLV has here, not upper bound, but our college spacing programs. And so the very first college tour that I actually had, when I was an upper bound student way back in 1989, as a freshman in high school, our first college tour was here to UNLV. So I think it was kind of aligned that way. So that was my first intro into understanding college culture, but also being introduced to Las Vegas. So that's a little bit about how I got here and who I am.

Unknown Speaker 2:46
Wow, wow. So you know, it's so funny, like so. First of all, I love the fact that you're homegrown, I love the fact that, you know, the program that you went through is also the program that you're now part of, and that that seed was planted so early on. So I'm going to kick off some questions. You know, we were just talking about this before we got on mic, and that the the ever the changing terms related to what is the appropriate term when discussing Native Americans? Is that Native American is an Indian, is it indigenous? And how important it is? Is it to know the differences in these terms when addressing these populations? Right?

Unknown Speaker 3:23
That's a really good question. And it's one that that we've also had to keep up with, in terms of those from the community. And I think depending on who you ask it, it may change. I always default to American Indian, because this is the language that's used in federal law. And so when you talk and refer to the Native American community, within the federal context, it's always referred to as American Indian or Alaska Native. And so those are the two primary oversight terms that I use. However, you know, we've grown up with Indian and that sometimes is still used primarily, in my case with my own community, we will refer to ourselves in English as Indian. But in terms of our native languages, we refer to ourselves as we would normally as the people. So for us Apache Beam there. And so that's, I think, where most of us have landed is as long as we know what we need to call each other, then the changing terms are going to be that just just that just the changing terms. So in the US you have American Indian, Native American, indigenous is starting to come up as well as aboriginal, indigenous and Aboriginal are primarily found in Canada for the most part, but is making its way out here. So those are the terms that we'll use an either Native American or American Indian is fine. I tend to use those interchangeably.

Unknown Speaker 4:53
And then I noticed part of our discussion today should be centered around Native American Heritage Month. Correct. I'll so what does that really include for those who are listening what all is included and happens during this month?

Unknown Speaker 5:06
Well, it's a it's a month that's really intended to not only celebrate the continued existence of our people, but also to share information about us to the general community, at least that's how we treat it here at UNLV. I'm a part of our American Indian Alliance, we work closely with our Native American Student Association, as well as our Native American alumni club. And what we have done is tried to put together events for the month of November that are intended to connect ourselves with our students, as well as the community, and also educate the broader campus community that there's a couple of things happening, one, that we're still here that we're still part of the fabric of not just the university, but the US as a whole. And then also that we have opportunities to give and to share, you know, there's still things that people don't know. And we're more than happy to provide insight and opportunity for growth and learning with regard to that.

Unknown Speaker 6:01
I love that I was gonna piggyback where you said something about what people don't know, I noticed that in some of the events, you might be able to speak to this, Kyle, some of the events that take place on campus, they will start with the opening statement where they're giving honor to our Native American citizens and the culture. Can you kind of explain what that's all about when they're opening up before we held some events? And they're giving honor, right,

Unknown Speaker 6:24
that I believe that what you're referring to is the land acknowledgement. Yes, that's exactly what it is. Right. And those are a relatively recent addition to a lot of stages across the country, I believe, don't quote me on this. But I believe that they have emerged from higher education institutions, really taking the onus to understand where their history lies, as well. And understanding that most of higher education institutions do reside on land that was previously owned and occupied by other people. And part of the whole settler colonialism process included using education as a means to take away the culture of the indigenous communities that they intended to inhabit. And so this was higher education's way of saying, we acknowledge our role. And we acknowledge that these individuals still exist, and we are on their land, and we are visitors to their land. So it's intended to be more symbolic than anything. And I find it really interesting in that, when we introduce ourselves, if I'm new to a community, and I want to share a story about where I'm from, or what have you, I would introduce myself acknowledging myself as being who I am from my tribe from this particular lineage. And so you might be at some of these events where you hear individuals introduce themselves, in their native languages. And that's actually what that is happening there is we'll take that opportunity to identify myself as someone who's coming in a good way. I'm coming in a good way by telling you that I am from this place. These are who my people are. This is what whom I'm descended from specifically. And I come here in a good way, not necessarily, and anything negative. And so we've always done that prior to colonialism or what have you, you needed way to understand that I'm acknowledging you as a person, as a people. I'm not here to take anything from you. I'm here to start this conversation in a good way. So it's, in a way, things that we've already done before, different contexts. But that's kind of the evolution, at least as as I kind of constructed in my mind,

Unknown Speaker 8:44
I learned a lot from that statement. Yeah. You

Unknown Speaker 8:48
said something really powerful that I don't think a lot of individuals listening might be familiar with. So can we talk about the relationship between education and the damage done to data to American Indian culture? Because I know that this was a foreign concept to me. And so I started watching some programs. So can you share what you mean by that educational systems have been used to damage American communities in the past? Well,

Unknown Speaker 9:16
part of the whole process of colonization included the taking of indigenous land. And so for the better part of American history, initially, there was the intention to acknowledge the individuals that were within communities and then gradually that changed into what we have seen over history that included a manifest destiny, the idea that the colonizers were instructed by a higher power that this was going to be their land in their community and in so doing that we're justified in displacing large groups of people. And part of that process, at least in the 1800s. included the education if you will, of American in In communities, specifically starting with children, and removing children from their families so that they could be educated in the boarding school system. And in that boarding school system, they were not allowed to speak their own language, they were not allowed to have any kind of connection to their cultural, their heritage, their cultural heritage, their identity. And so it was basically the breaking of the individual through the use of education. And so, you know, there's a famous quote, by General Pratt, who had found it was a part of the Carlisle Indian School on the East Coast, who had said, you know, education, as well as religion and a lot of cases, we're here to break the Indian and save the man. And so or kill the Indian save the man, excuse me. And so that was its intent, you know, as a part of the overall process to make American Indians a, you know, able to be a part of the overall process, and that included disrupting our entire community life ways, including the way we exchanged and marketed and what have you the business processes that we had there and replaced it with capitalism, and you know, the acquiring of things, rather than the acquiring of knowledge and shared community and kinship.

Unknown Speaker 11:21
A lot of I don't know that a lot of people realize how extensive the process was, and that, in some cases, as I understand it, there were people in the community that thought that there was something that was going to be beneficial, you know, in the ways that it was marketed to the community, and that what that looked like, was cutting hair. And, you know, what you were allowed to wear speaking your language, right, you know, was expressly prohibited in those places and spaces? And I don't know if everyone's familiar, but this went on way into like, the 1980s. Right? Like, this isn't like 1000 years ago, right? Yeah, this is this is this was up until current days, and they're still people are still recovering from the damage done to the community by those processes in those places that were allegedly meant to improve our health, but instead decimated community connections, right, you know, and built a lot of unhealthy systems for the kids coming up under those environments.

Unknown Speaker 12:24
You know, the interesting thing about that whole paradigm is the fact that I work in education, I work to support students who don't have access to education. And this is a central component that's always had me on edge in terms of what my role is, you know, and for me, education means something different than what it meant for my grandmother, who actually went through the boarding school system. I am a product of her, and basically, she went to boarding school was not allowed to speak her own language actually was beaten in the schools and what have you. And in those early days, I'm Apache, and we were the last to be put on reservations. And in that process, actually, we were prisoners of war until the 1920s. And so she was the very first of a generation that was born not as a prisoner of war that was patchy. And so that strong connection to the need to colonize, and ensure that especially those fierce Apaches, don't, you know, jump the reservation and do some damage, some more, really pushed the education system as well as the church, a number of them into using the efforts that they had to colonize, and really disconnect us from our identities. It's really interesting to along those same lines is that America, United States was founded, we're always told, you know, the Pilgrims came because they couldn't practice their own religion that they wanted to. And England, at least that portion of US history. And so that was a major thing that brought individuals to this land in this community. Yet, we weren't granted the ability to practice our own religions until 1978. Chrissy have it, right. And so in 1878, with the passage of the American Indian Religious religious freedom act as when we gained the ability to actually practice our own religions. And by that point, we had been fairly disconnected from those roots. And now there's a burgeoning movement to reconnect to those identities now.

Unknown Speaker 14:32
very impactful, you meant we mentioned about languages and as I'm looking at my notes, and it says that Native Americans spoke more than 300 languages. And I had no idea and being forced to not be able to practice your religion not to speak in your native tongue. How do you educate even more people understanding that may not even know they may be Native American, but not be privy to the fact that your culture is known for over 300 languages and how do they decipher the According to your different tribes, how was that made up and requested 300 languages?

Unknown Speaker 15:05
Well, I think that's honestly an undercount as well. So

Unknown Speaker 15:10
Wow. What would you say the number you think is?

Unknown Speaker 15:13
Well, if you look at federal reporting, there are 574. I believe that at this moment, 574 federally recognized tribes, and that means tribes that have been recognized by the US Department of Interior, as having a legal status as American Indians. And so each of these communities did also have their own languages that they used prior to colonization, and some are still alive. But for the most part, a lot of the indigenous languages have either died or on their way out and becoming extinct. And so you have burgeoning language development programs all across the country, that are trying to save indigenous languages. And that's one of the things that's happening, let people know that they're from an indigenous community. More than likely, even the people that are connected to the community probably don't have direct connection to the languages anymore. It's fairly strong in the southwest, where you'll find indigenous communities that have a stronger connection to their languages. But on the coasts, those are some are entirely extinct now. Wow.

Unknown Speaker 16:22
I'm so disappointed to hear that. You know,

Unknown Speaker 16:25
you mentioned reservations earlier. And you and I were talking about one of my favorite children, reservation dogs, because I don't know that I had a full understanding of what life on the reservation was or what it meant to live on a reservation. And one of the reasons I liked that show was because I felt like well, first of all, it was produced, directed, starring, written by American Indian. So there's an authenticity that is so real there. But I had not realized even maybe until I think COVID, the lack of access and resources that sometimes exists in those communities. So can you share a little bit about what so what qualifies as a reservation?

Unknown Speaker 17:05
Well, reservations themselves are pretty much political and legal boundaries. So they're, they're not barriers, and only natives can enter what have you. They are basically political boundaries that draw the distinction from where the state or county has legal authority to where the federal government does. And so within American into communities on our reservations, you don't have what the federal government's the only jurisdiction that can that lives there, if you will. And so the reservations themselves really started with the attempted well as part of the colonies and colonization process to move into American Indians to specific lands out of the way. So there's a large amount of American Indians who live on reservation lands that are not the best, they weren't the best for farming for growing for grazing, what have you, because those were being given to the burgeoning frontiersman or the colonists and what have you that were coming through the lands. And so the reservations themselves develop as places where the federal government moved us so that manifest destiny could take place. Now, there, those are still the remnants of it. That's the history of it. My reservation, for example, I mentioned I'm from the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Interestingly, here, Las Vegas has a straightforward Apache. But the Fort Apache was the last one of the last outposts that the federal government use before they transported American Indians in particular Apaches out to the reservation systems at the time in the late 1800s, included Florida, North Carolina, Carolina and Oklahoma. So Geronimo and his band were forcibly removed after he had surrendered in Mexico, and taken from and guarded through Fort Apache on our reservation up into Arizona and across the country. And so, in that sense, the legal boundaries grew from that to say, Okay, now this is a space that no longer serves as the physical outpost to move people through or contain them, but rather, contains people legally. And so you have a group of individuals now that are under the auspices of the US Department of Interior or your Bureau of Indian Affairs. But these are also spaces now that are communities that are taking hold of their identities and truly embracing our sovereign status. And that is something that we have started on the road on oath in the late 70s and into the 80s and really started developing into the 90s and into the 2000s. The notion of of our communities as sovereign identities and sovereign community, so we control our nations, we control our status, and we're slowly moving to that type of space. Now, that fluctuates depending on who's in office and who's controlling what and what have you. But you know, that's that's where we're at. I always

Unknown Speaker 20:20
like, redemption or victorious story, and I just liked the resilience behind your your culture, you know, just I, I mean, we have some some similar similar experiences as people of color, African American, Dr. Tang, and I, but I love the idea, or I appreciate the idea that though your people have gone through a lot, you're still resilient, and putting things into place that can make a better life for your culture, and experiences. So I salute you, Kyle, for being a representation, like you said, you started in the program, now you're now serving, and bringing awareness within the program and working for the program that will help a lot of generations to come. So and

Unknown Speaker 21:07
thank you for being here. Because I feel like there's so many things that are unsaid and unknown, about the American Indian population, you know, now that we've moved past westerns, and all that ridiculousness that came along with that, can you talk a little bit more about sovereignty? What does it mean to have tribal sovereignty,

Unknown Speaker 21:26
sovereignty is basically the reference to running and controlling ourselves, sovereign nations. And so a sovereign, I think, for my mind, I tended to think of and use that term for kings and queens, you know, they had their sovereign status, and they oversaw a land kingdom, what have you. The American Indian sovereignty is actually built into our constructs that the federal government created, knowingly or unknowingly, but they're, they're we're in we actually have our own identities. And this happened in the 1930s, when the United States was starting to enter into the what is that the the Great Depression, you go, there you go, thank you. And during that time, we're in you had a group up until that point where that were really domestic dependent nations, you know, we have this group of individuals that were prisoners of war, and we're taking care of them. We can't afford to take care of them anymore. So let's give them their they can take care of themselves now. So that actually started to emerge from there. And through the years and decades, it's actually moved into a more formal system of organization where in, we have our own governments, we have our own police forces, we have our own system and infrastructures on our reservation communities that we control, that the federal government does not have insight and oversight, like they used to, prior to these movements that have started, that's highly dependent on money funds, how do we actually sustain ourselves to ensure that these infrastructures exist? And that's where I think a lot of communities are having these conversations, and certainly why you see the development of the casino industry and a lot of Indian communities where that took rope, because that was something that they could do to sustain. And so now it's diversifying itself more, and we have a lot of opportunity available to us, because we took back our identities and said, This is who we are. And fortunately, we had supporters and allies at the state, as well as the federal level that supported those efforts.

Unknown Speaker 23:39
Amazing. So finally have a sense of agency. Yes, you know, you get to control your own destiny, right towards to a degree, I guess, right? Because it depends on you know, where the leadership stands on that particular thing. So I want to ask, can you tell me something about, I guess we all have things in our culture that we're particularly proud of. So can you tell me what in your culture are you particularly proud of? Go ahead, sorry.

Unknown Speaker 24:11
No problem. I there's quite a few things. One thing that actually I refer a lot to is we are matrilineal and Macha, local, at least for my community. And what that means is our descendancy is traced through our mothers and not through our fathers. So although I have my father's last name, my ancestry is actually measured through my mother's bloodline. And so when I introduce myself in my native language, I make reference to the dish cheatin born to the Navajo, which is Utah, Utah, so we're the horizontally red people born from the Navajo, in, that's where my lineage comes from. That was my mother's heritage, her mother's and then her grandmother's etc, etc, etc. So For me, I think we really need to acknowledge the role that our, our mothers, our sisters play, and really identifying and making it known who we are. Because we're not for them, we wouldn't be here. You know, we tend to give out the props to, to the Warriors, the fighters and what have you, but women could be those two. And they were. However, it was these individuals that allowed for our bloodlines to continue. And these are the individuals that actually teach us about our history, and our core values and who we're supposed to be our obligations, when all of those come together. So for me, that's always something that, that I really admire the most. And I see quite a bit when I, especially in higher ed spaces, when you see faculty of color, and in particular American Indians, and I tend to see more American Indian women, and to hear their stories is just so amazing. Talking about I was doing my doctoral program, and I had my child in the, you know, their carrier right beside me while I was in class, that kind of thing. And that's resilience. And that's, you know, wanting something better for the future. And that is something that I think just resounds with me because we don't we don't give them that. That proper, honoring,

Unknown Speaker 26:21
right, yeah, recognition. We only have a few minutes left, which I'm disappointing, but me too. He's you you can't see him behind. He's given us a countdown letting us know. And I really hope that you come back and speak with us again, outside of it being Native American Heritage Month weekend, this is something that we definitely need to continue the conversation about. With that being said, can you tell us Kyle, if for the audience that's listening, where can they find out more information about your programs and some of the services and things that you mentioned. And then also, we want to leave the floor open for you to give any final words, anything that you want to leave with the listeners, as the last touch as we close out the interview, right?

Unknown Speaker 27:03
My formal connection to now vs. I am the director of our college programs. So we basically house our college success programs, including TRiO Student Support Services, trio McNair and our Anna PC program that are housed here at UNLV. So I oversee those projects, you can find out more information@unlv.edu slash C, A EO. And those are the academic support programs that we have here within UNLV. The other role that I have is I'm a member of our American Indian Alliance here on campus. And that's, I believe, unlv.edu/aia I believe that's it. If it's not, it's American Indian lines in the search bar,

Unknown Speaker 27:44
V licking Google at

Unknown Speaker 27:48
houses information. That's pretty much all volunteer basis, there's a group of us that maintains that information to be a part of but also to instruct individuals on campus as well as to learn from others. And I guess the thing that I would want individuals to know is, one, we're still here. You know, I think there's this this romanticized notion that American Indians are no longer here. And if they are, they have to appear a certain way, in a certain way. And I think the show reservation dogs demonstrates that really beautifully in that they show contemporary American Indians in the environments we grew up in. But there's also the references to the Okay, we're gonna have this stoke Indian on a horse. But, but he's great. Sounds so funny, and that he's making fun of the fact that, you know, we tend to think of him like this, so let's make him the story. But But yeah, but use that to actually infuse the humor that exists within our cultures. And I tend to hear that a lot with my family and our communities is that we're not for humor, we probably would have been eradicated and decimated our humerus, what has kept us here in our smiles that has connected us to creator. And of course, our mothers who brought us here.

Unknown Speaker 29:11
I love it. Oh, my goodness, this has been wonderful and enriching for my soul. And I'm so glad you're here, and I'm looking forward to more conversations. So look for an email.

Unknown Speaker 29:24
I second. Thank you so much for your time.

Unknown Speaker 29:27
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I really do appreciate it.

Dr. Renee Watson 29:34
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai