University of Richmond

Teaching Respect for Native Peoples

The School of Continuing Studies (SCS) is pleased to announce the nationally recognized Oyate week-long workshop "Teaching Respect for Native Peoples."

"Oyate is a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us. For Indian children, it is as important as it has ever been for them to know who they are and what they come from. For all children, it is time to know and acknowledge the truths of history. Only then will they come to have the understanding and respect for each other that now, more than ever, will be necessary for life to continue." - Oyate.org, About Us

  • Location: University of Richmond campus, Heilman Dining Center Richmond Room
  • Workshops: Monday-Thursday, August 3-6, 2009, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Field Trip: Friday, August 7
  • Cost: $650, includes all workshop materials, three books, two posters and breakfast and lunch.
  • Additional Information
    • Breakfast and lunch will be provided Monday through Thursday.
    • Attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop.
    • Participants may enroll for graduate credit at no additional charge; grades will be posted at the end of the Fall semester (in late December).

Field Trip Details

On Friday, August 7, participants will meet in Richmond to view the "Beyond Jamestown" and "Family Portraits" exhibits, both sponsored by the Indian Heritage Program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. They will also meet Virginia Indian educators and hear first-hand the experiences of contemporary Native people.

Registration Information

Complete the Application Form PDF and submit payment online via BannerWeb or as directed on the Application Form. Contact Byrd Latham ( ) with questions.

About the Oyate Workshop and Trainers

Oyate trainers Beverly Slapin and Judy Dow will guide participants through the murky world of "children’s books about Indians." Participants will learn how to evaluate children’s materials for honest portrayals of Indian peoples and how to select and where to find authentic and respectful materials. Participants will come to a greater understanding of how their behaviors influence children whose worldviews may be different from their own.

Beverly Slapin is co-founder and executive director of Oyate; co-editor, with Doris Seale (Santee/Cree), of Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children, co-author of How to Tell the Difference: A Guide for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias; and a contributor to Multicultural Review.

Judy Dow (Abenake) is a basketmaker and educator who teaches ethnobotany at the grade school and college level. She is on the national board of the American Indian Scouting Association and was the board president of the Dawnland Center, an intertribal education and health center. She is the recipient of the 2004 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Vermont Educator.