Feb. 25 film screening, panel discussion to illuminate the struggles for American Indian religious freedom

Feb. 25 film screening, panel discussion to illuminate the struggles for American Indian religious freedomFebruary 21, 2005Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Department of Religion in The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University will host a screening of the documentary “A Seat at The Table: Struggling for American Indian Religious Freedom” and panel discussion on Friday, Feb. 25, from 2-5 p.m. in Shemin Auditorium, located in SU’s Shaffer Art Building.

The event, to be held in honor of the inauguration of SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. Paid public parking is available in the Comstock, Waverly and Raynor lots and the University Avenue Garage.

Seven thousand spiritual leaders and scholars from around the world converged on Cape Town, South Africa, in December 1999 to participate in the Third Parliament of the World’s Religions. Huston Smith, professor emeritus of religion in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences and a renowned expert on religious studies, attended and hosted one-on-one conversations with eight American Indian leaders-Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) of the Native American Rights Fund; Winona LaDuke (Anishinabe) of the White Earth Land Recovery Project; Frank Dayish Jr. (Dine) of the Native American Church of North America; Charlotte Black Elk (Lakota) an advocate for the protection of the Black Hills; Doug George-Kanentiio (Mohawk) an activist and journalist; Lenny Foster (Dine) of the Navajo Nation Corrections Project; Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga) of the American Indian Law Alliance; and Guy Lopez (Lakota) of the Association on American Indian Affairs.

Oneida singer and songwriter Joanne Shenandoah, who will provide a musical introduction to the documentary screening, narrates the documentary.

A panel discussion will follow the screening. Panelists will include Smith; George-Kanentiio; Gonnella Frichner; Oren Lyons Jr., professor of American Studies at the University at Buffalo and faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation; Phil Cousineau, co-author of “The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life” (University of California, 2003); and Gary Rhine of Kifaru Productions, who made the documentary.

For more information on the event, contact Professor Philip Arnold in the Department of Religion at 443-3861 or pparnold@syr.edu . More information on the documentary can be found at http://www.dreamcatchers.org/aseatatthetable.