Organizers of a Native American Day celebration on the Tempe campus Monday were asked to unplug their sound system after unknowingly violating school noise policy.
The event, which was held on Hayden Lawn to celebrate Native American culture, was scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but the event grew quiet at 1 p.m. because ASU policy prevented loud speakers from being used, said Loren Buford, the event organizer and ASU Indian education graduate student.
Organizers were told that sound after 1 p.m. during midterms was disruptive, she said.
“If the rules were explained to us, we would absolutely have redone our schedule to meet those requirements,” Buford said.
The Student Services Manual states that a Memorial Union staff member can decide whether an activity is disruptive and whether the activity should cease.
Monday marked the first time Native American Day was held on Columbus Day, although it is an annual event.
The ASU chapter of the American Indian Council, which sponsored the event, wanted to include the public in a celebration of its cultural traditions, including food, dance and speeches, she said.
“Historically, this day has been a sad day for a lot of cultures,” Buford said.
Last year, The State Press reported students protesting the holiday at the Memorial Union because they said the day celebrated abuses against Native American people.
The holiday marks the day one of Christopher Columbus’ three ships landed at the island of Guanahani in the Bahamas.
The American Indian Council serves as an umbrella organization for all the Native American organizations on campus, Buford said.
ASU’s large Native American population includes representatives from 62 different tribes, she said.
She said earlier in the day the event received a lot of support. Three groups were scheduled to perform after the event was forced to stop amplifying its sound.
Gabriel Ayala, a classical guitarist from Tucson, was invited to perform at the event but couldn’t because of the sound issues.
He has traveled all over the world and performed with many mainstream artists, including Boston, Journey and The Temptations. He was also nominated for nine Native American Music Awards in 2009.
He said he came to the Tempe campus because he wanted to show students what is possible to achieve with a good education.
“It is disheartening to come see this happen,” Ayala said.
He said when he performs he tries to break stereotypes that people have about the Navajo people and Native Americans in general.
“People think we are only able to hit a drum or play a flute,” he said.
Six different Native American groups at ASU sponsored the event, including the Native American Business Organization and American Indian Graduate Student Association.
The Navajo Basket Dancers from Westwood High School in Mesa were scheduled to perform after 1 p.m., so they performed to music on a laptop.
Jessyca Becenti, a senior at Westwood High School, said it was “nerve wracking, but we pulled through.”
Jolyana Bitsuie, an ASU applied linguistics graduate student, said her Navajo singing class from the Navajo Culture and Language Center in Phoenix was invited to come out to the event.
They were scheduled for 4:30 p.m. but tables and the stage were being packed away.
“We were a little disappointed,” Bitsuie said.
The class includes people from 6 years old to senior citizens, she said
Events like these “give them a chance to shine,” she said.
Reach the reporter at mary.shinn@asu.edu
