From the Mich. Daily:

Alys Alley, external co-chair of the Native American Student Association, is on a mission to spark dialogue among students about the obstacles minorities face on campus.

Alley, an LSA sophomore who is a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, began this dialogue last Friday at an event called “Reflect, Remember, Regroup.” Alley led a discussion with about 20 University students in the multicultural lounge in South Quadrangle Residence Hall to talk about past and current cultural barriers for minority students.

Alley began the dialogue with a movie called “Fight Like Hell,” which describes the history of the controversy surrounding the campus senior society Michigamua, now officially called Order of Angell, to show the difficulties minority students and minority groups face on campus.

Order of Angell is a senior honor society formed in 1902. The society allegedly both used Native American artifacts as part of its proceedings, and members spoke in a dialect that mocked Native Americans during group meetings.

In 2007, Michigamua was renamed the Order of Angell and has since remained mostly secretive about its role on campus, though it now releases the names of its incoming members each year. Continue reading →