Humanities & Society

Urban American Indian community centers help keep traditions alive.Urban American Indian community centers in the United States can look to their neighbors to the north for an example of how to create a strong national voice, says Dana Klar, J.D., founding and interim director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Today, nearly 60 percent of American Indians reside off-reservation, and because of that, the majority of American Indians do not have ready access to the cultural and financial services provided by tribal and federal agencies on the reservations. “We have more recently realized that a national organization can aid the individual centers in advocacy and policy development efforts that affect all urban American Indians,” Klar says. More…

Science on Tap, Washington University’s monthly informal science colloquium, is cited in Wired magazine’s April issue. The program is noted along with seven similar forums across the country that promote science conversation in a pub-like setting. Established in fall 2005, Science on Tap highlights topics developed by Danforth Campus scientists through public discussions at Schlafly Bottleworks at 7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood.

As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary on April 15 of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the “color barrier,” Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., professor of English, of African & African American studies and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences, publishes a column that argues: “Black Americans don’t play baseball because they don’t want to.”

Rwandan hero Paul Rusesabagina will speak on his experiences, his ongoing support of Rwanda, the genocide in Darfur, and current issues involving international humanitarian aid, for the final Assembly Series program at 11 a.m.. It is free and open to the public.

Richard Freund, director of the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford, will discuss “Temple Treasures in the Dead Sea Caves: New Insights from Archaeology” at 11 a.m. April 20 in Room 301, Lab Sciences Building, Danforth Campus.

Smoking while pregnant combined with genetic factors greatly increases the risk of severe ADHD.Past research has suggested that both genes and prenatal insults — such as exposure to alcohol and nicotine — can increase the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But the identified increases in risk have been very modest. Now, a team of Washington University scientists has found that when those factors are studied together, risk of a severe type of ADHD greatly increases.

Social activist, educator and one of the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown Trickey will present “Return to Little Rock” for the Women’s Society annual Adele Starbird Lecture at 11 a.m. April 11 in Graham Chapel. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the event that made Brown Trickey part of American history.

An American Indian Pow Wow, a presentation on American Indian mascots in sports and a traditional food tasting are among the highlights of the University’s American Indian Awareness Week April 9-14.

Acclaimed essayist and cultural critic Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., will give this year’s Phi Beta Kappa Lecture for the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. April 10 in Graham Chapel.

Researchers at the University and elsewhere recently helped the St. Louis Science Center probe the mysteries of a baby mummy. The mummy, part of the Science Center’s collection of artifacts for two decades, went on permanent public display on March 15 in conjunction with the arrival of an IMAX film on mummies.