The East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Residence Life Diversity Committee will celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November and Diversity Week from November 11-16 on the ESU campus.<\/p>\n
During Diversity Week, nationally known multicultural motivational speaker, storyteller and poet Bobby Gonz\u00e1lez will present a lecture titled \u201cThe Tapestry of American History Through Native Eyes: An Alternative Perspective,\u201d at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 12 in Lower Dansbury Commons.\u00a0\u00a0According to his website, www.bobbygonzalez.com<\/a>, <\/strong>Gonz\u00e1lez was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City, in a bicultural environment and draws on his Native American (Taino) and Latino (Puerto Rican) roots to offer discourses, readings and performances that celebrate his indigenous heritage.<\/p>\n The title of his latest poetry book is \u201cThe Last Puerto Rican Indian: A Collection of Dangerous Poetry.\u201d \u00a0These verses reflect upon five centuries of dramatic upheavals and heroic triumphs of native peoples from North, Central and South America and theCaribbean.\u00a0 Gonz\u00e1lez seeks to empower his audiences by encouraging them to embrace their heritage and use this knowledge to create a dynamic future. \u00a0The event is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n Also during Diversity Month, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) will hold a silent auction of Native American cornhusk dolls. \u00a0The silent auction will run from November 1-23 and the dolls will be on display in Kemp Library and Stroud Hall until November 30. \u00a0In addition, the dolls will be displayed during the Bobby Gonz\u00e1lez event. The dolls also can be viewed at www.esu.edu\/oma<\/a> on the resource page. \u00a0To place a bid, send an email to oma@esu.edu<\/a> with your name and the number of the doll you are bidding on, and the amount of the bid.<\/p>\n The auction will wrap up during the last week of November when the silent auction winners will be announced.\u00a0 The auction will benefit multicultural organizations, and some of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief.<\/p>\n