News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 2/20/03   SOUTHEASTERN SUMMER INSTITUTE TO FOCUS ON NATIVE AMERICAN VOICES       HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University English professor Carole McAllister has received a $32,553 grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities for “Native American Voices: Making Connections,” a summer institute for teachers.       The institute, scheduled for June 3-26,  is open to 25 Florida Parishes history, social studies, literature and art teachers of all grades levels. Teachers will receive a $500 stipend and can earn three hours of graduate credit. Three-hour classes will meet four days a week for four weeks on the Southeastern campus.       Teachers can apply for a tuition waiver through their local school boards.       "Native American Voices: Making Connections" will focus on the importance of story by listening to significant Native American voices, past and present, McAllister said. Participants will “hear” the voices through readings of Native American myths, tribal stories, family memories, and personal narratives, as well as contemporary poetry, short fiction, and novels.        “People of all ages love to listen to stories; they reaffirm our humanness,” McAllister said. “When we study Native American literature, we learn the importance of story to the survival of their culture. We learn how to listen to the voices of many different cultures.”       McAllister said class readings will concentrate on Native Americans of the Southeast and Southwest, but will also touch on significant voices from Northwest and Plains cultures.        The institute will open with tribal stories by Coushatta tribe member Bertney Langley, a professional storyteller. Participants also will hear from a number of scholar consultants, including Kellen Gilbert, head of Southeastern’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, who will speak on the anthropology of indigenous peoples of the Americas, and Kara Faust, visiting professor of psychology, who researched Navaho storytelling for her doctoral dissertation.       Rebecca Sanders, curator of anthropology at Louisiana State University’s Museum of National Science, will lead a field trip to a Native American burial mound site in Tangipahoa Parish. The institute will also hear from a representative of the Chitimacha Native American tribe, Southeastern English instructor Francis Broussard, and Native American Johnnice Daniel, who is an area resident.       McAllister said her interest in Native American studies stems from one of her students, Carlon Andre, who asked her approximately eight years ago to direct her master’s thesis on Chitimacha creation myths. “Her interest and knowledge sparked my own curiosity,” McAllister said. “In order to learn about Native American literature, I developed a special studies course.”       The deadline to apply for the summer institute is March 31. Interested teachers can contact McAllister for an application and brochure at 985-549-2044 or cmcallister@selu.edu.  Return to News Releases