Michigamua Spokesperson: Nick Delgado

Michigamua spokesperson and LSA senior Nick Delgado gave a wide ranging interview to the Michigan Independent on February 12. The interview touched on the past, present, and future of Michigamua as well as the group’s purpose.

Delgado apologized more than once during the interview for Michigamua’s use of Native American rituals or pseudo rituals. He was nonetheless adamant that the organization had changed and no longer participated in these activities.

The process of reform began, according to Delgado, in 1979 in response to opposition from the State of Michigan. It then continued with the 1989 agreement that Michigamua signed onto with the university and which said quite plainly that "Michigamua does hereby eliminate all reference to Native American culture and pseudo-culture and extensions and parodies thereof, with the one exception being the name, Michigamua, for now and forever."

"1989 is crucial to all of this," Delgado said. The agreement signed in 1989 "really laid down the groundwork," he continued. However he admitted that the group did not begin to make real internal changes until 1991, a view supported by the groups own internal documents - particularly the March 1991 edition of their newsletter. Even at that point, the Michigamua spokesperson acknowledged that the changes were not immediate and absolute. "It wasn’t until last year," Delgado says, "that the organization was free of Native American references," save for the group’s name and the wig-wam like structure that they meet in. He also said that the vast majority of Native American images and artifacts that the Students of Color (SCC) coalition has been showing in its tours were taken from storage and not in use by the group. Nonetheless, Delgado added that the group had asked university administrators to remove all offensive objects and images for which Michigamua "takes responsibility for."

Delgado offered no comment on the folders that the group has kept on potential members. As the Independent has previously reported, these files list the pros and cons of letting certain people into the group. Some people that the group is currently considering have been given such negatives as being mildly retarded and not being familiar with the other "elitist" organizations on campus.

Delgado was quick to talk about the most recent group of Michigamua members. He pointed out that this was the first class to include women and that this group had never consumed alcoholic beverages in the seventh floor office space. Delgado further added that the recent members wanted to be far more open about their activities and went as far as to say that Michigamua "is not a secret society" but failed to give any specifics as what this statement meant in practice. He did say that the group might consider allowing the media to attend and report on Michigamua meetings but would not give any sort of commitment to this or any other action that might give the public greater knowledge about the group.

A professed willingness to change was similarly evident when Delgado talked about the future of the group. In response to the question of why the SCC, the Native American Students Association, or anybody else should trust Michigamua to fully reform itself given its history of violating agreements that the group had signed, Delgado said "they are right in their criticism of Michigamua’s compliance. We apologize for that. We are genuinely sorry." He then added, "we are willing and open to negotiate on all issues" and indicated that the group would be willing to change its name or relinquish its office space if the university provided a "compelling reason." Even after repeated questioning, Delgado never clearly defined what a "compelling reason" reason was.

One thing that has been missing from much of the dialogue about Michigamua has been if the group has a positive identity of its own. When asked about this, Delgado stressed that Michigamua’s primary goal is "to make the university a better place." He stated that the group tries to find "people who are committed to" and who represent "a fine cross section of the university."

The charge of elitism appears inevitably since no more than 25 can join the group each year and there are countless students possessing these traits. Delgado deflects this by saying that the group considers additional criteria like the willingness and ability to work in a group like Michigamua to narrow down the choices. The goal, however, is not to exclude anyone according to Delgado. He states that the reason for the limited number is so that people can form closer bonds with one another than they could in a larger group. Delgado contends that the members form a special bond and commitment to one another because they usually meet at the same time and place each week. And that this bond is not as likely to development through informal emailing, coalition meetings, or any of the myriad of other ways that vast majority of student leaders form alliances amongst one another.

Delgado says that this will benefit the entire university because "Michigamua is rooted in Michigan."

Sleep Over Reflections

Anybody who spent one or more of the past few nights in the fourth floor of the Union will probably have an odd reaction to Delgado’s argument that Michigamua brings people together. The movement against Michigamua appears to be doing the exact same thing.

Starting this past Thursday, the SCC has called on students to sleep on the fourth floor of the Union in order to show solidarity. People began gathering Thursday evening at around midnight. Approximately 150 to 200 people arrived in the next couple of hours and just generally hung out. Michigamua was the most prominent topic of conversation but far from the only one. The crowd was racially diverse but still highly segregated by race. At around 3:45 A.M., one person pointed out the irony of people committed to fighting against racism remaining so divided by race and a free flowing discussion about race and racism ensued. Amidst jokes about not showing up for class the next day were serious discussions on topics like why non-Native American students felt the need to take part in this struggle and whether attending the university was worth it for students of color. People of all different backgrounds spoke openly that night and avoided the contrived and predictable quality that most discussions on race have in and out of the classroom.

Perhaps the most poignant moment came when Joe Reilly spoke about the need to reclaim Michigamua’s space that he and other members of SCC are currently occupying. A senior in the School of Natural Resources and a member of the Cherokee Tribe, Reilly said, "there is a lot of room to heal." He then referred to the fact that Native American elders had performed religious rites in the room Thursday morning and added that "today, I really felt that this became our space."

The next couple of nights took on a different tone. Friday night, there were a couple of DJs spinning tunes from the likes Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, and Tupac Shakur. The mood was more laid back and the crowds were smaller yet the mingling and building of connections between people continued.

A person, such as this writer, who has never attended a Michigamua meeting can’t fully know how bad the group’s racism was in the past. The same is true for the extent to which the group has changed, if it has done so at all, and the level of commitment that develops between the "fighting wolves." Yet it is hard to believe that the experience of Michigamua membership is any greater than what happened on the fourth floor of the Union. Delgado probably believes whole heartedly that the primary objective of Michigamua is "to make the university a better place." The people who slept at the Union share this goal, but also want to improve the entire world. And more than 25 people are welcome to help with that.