Controversy over the role of one of Northwestern University’s founders in an attack on American Indians in 1864 has led the university to rename its Founder’s Day festivities, scheduled for Monday, a “birthday celebration.”
Whatever the name, members of Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance say they plan to use the event to present a petition outlining concerns about the possible involvement of John Evans in the Sand Creek Massacre, in which members of the Colorado Territory Militia killed more than 130 people, mostly women and children, in a Cheyenne and Arapaho camp.
The campus alliance alleges that Evans, as territorial governor of Colorado, played a “political and moral role” in the assault. Although not present, he later faced public outrage over accusations of a cover-up. He was forced to resign his gubernatorial post in 1874 but remained on Northwestern’s Board of Trustees.
In a letter published in the campus newspaper this month, several student members of the alliance, known as Naisa, and Gary Alan Fine, a professor of sociology, took a stand. “In order to grow, institutions must remember their past,” they wrote, “but this university has chosen amnesia.”
Northwestern’s administration has not issued an official statement on the issue but is “working on determining the best course of action forward,” said Alan K. Cubbage, vice president for university relations.
Adam Mendel, a senior and member of Naisa, said he thinks a deeper examination of the institution’s history could make it stronger. He worries about the repercussions of avoiding a sensitive topic, he said.
“When you’re not forthcoming, it really hurts the university,” Mr. Mendel said. “It says there are certain things that shouldn’t be talked about, that aren’t important, that shouldn’t be examined. And that doesn’t have a place in higher education.”
Mr. Fine, whose endowed professorship is one of several named for Evans at the university, likens the situation to Brown University’s recent investigation into its history with the slave trade. “People at Brown—the students, faculty, administrators—came to recognize, with the leadership of President Ruth Simmons, that they needed to confront their past,” he said.
Brown’s Steering Committee for Slavery and Justice, which released a report in 2007, made meaningful discoveries and recommendations for reparations, said Mr. Fine, calling the process “a successful model.” (In response to the report, Brown committed, among other things, to strengthen and expand its department of Africana studies and partnership with Tougaloo College, establish a Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence, and provide free tuition to up to 10 graduate students a year who agreed to serve in local schools.)
Along with a request for formal recognition of Evans’s role in the Sand Creek Massacre, Naisa’s petition asks Northwestern to establish a commission to “examine the role of the university and Evans in Sand Creek and the erasure of its history.” The document, which Mr. Mendel estimated had more than 200 signatures, also calls for establishing a Native American-studies program; building a memorial to honor those killed at Sand Creek; and creating a scholarship fund for Cheyenne and Arapaho students, in conjunction with more active recruitment of American Indian students.
Mr. Mendel said the students were hopeful about their requests. “I have faith in the university,” he said. “If Northwestern wants to, Northwestern can do this.”
Students in Naisa have met with Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, to discuss their ideas, Mr. Cubbage said. They are examining ways to “continue the conversation,” he said.
For now, the Founders’ Feast scheduled for Monday has been rechristened a Birthday Bash. But Naisa plans to press on, Mr. Mendel said. “I understand how long it takes things to actually get to the president’s office,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll come soon. We’ll wait.”
