By Cindy Chen
To commemorate the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Autumn Rose Miskweminanocsqua Williams was invited to deliver a lecture on what it means to establish belonging. The event took place at Weber Chapel on Monday, Jan. 23.
Autumn Rose is a proud Afro-Indigenous woman who grew up on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, New York. As a result of being immersed in Shinnecock culture from a young age, she developed a strong connection with her Native identity. However, when she left her reservation for the first time to attend college at Virginia Commonwealth University, she began to lose touch with who she was.
While attending a party on Halloween, Rose noticed a group of people dressed as Native warriors. When she asked them whether they knew their costume was offensive, the group became defensive, and some of the guys even began to make mock battle calls to drown out her words. This experience was one of many that left Rose feeling like she was invisible.
The ignorance these students displayed towards Indigenous culture was one of the many experiences that left Rose feeling like she was invisible. However, instead of letting outdated stereotypes silence her voice, she channeled her anger towards opening people’s eyes to what it means to be Native American. She vowed to always be authentic to who she is and teach others the importance of her people.
Although Indigenous history is rarely taught in schools, Rose urged the audience to “learn about Native tribes and communities that contributed to the creation of the United States because there is so much history there.” As an example, she mentioned the Great Law of Peace—an Iroquois law that the Constitution was based on.
In addition to being a social activist, Rose also served as Miss Native American USA during 2017 and 2018. During these years, Rose went to Native Project workshops where she met with Indigenous students from all over the West Coast, and it was at one of these workshops where Rose realized the positive impact of her role as a pageant queen. A mother of one of the students pulled Rose aside and told her that she desperately wanted Rose to come because her daughter had never seen a pageant winner who looked like her. When she heard those words, Rose experienced a “full circle moment.” She had become “the representation that she herself so desperately needed as a young girl.”
Rose ended the lecture with a recall to the figures who paved the way for civil rights; however, she cautions the audience against abandoning the movement for equality as the generations of tomorrow are counting on us to continue the fight.