Over spring break, 17 Indiana University Northwest students involved in programs offered by Student Support Services (SSS) and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (ODEMA) traveled to Washington D.C to participate in the Sankofa Experience. 

Sankofa, a Ghanaian word that translates to “go back and get it” or “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind,” describes an educational journey for our students to visit a number of Smithsonian museums and reflect critically on our nation’s past and their roles in shaping our future.

Visually and symbolically, “Sankofa” is expressed as a mythic bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. Students were asked to think critically about the design of the museums and the narratives being told within them. The overreaching questions were “who’s stories are being told and who’s stories are being excluded?”

Funding for the trip, which included round-trip travel, lodging and some meals was provided by SSS and ODEMA. The Office of Student Affairs provided snacks for the bus ride to Washington D.C.

During the Sankofa experience, IU Northwest students visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of American History, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Each day, students were asked to journal their experiences and to make connections between the past, present, and future.  In addition to exploring the museums, the students visited with First District Congressman Pete Visclosky who hosted a private breakfast with the group on Capitol Hill.

During the session, the students engaged in a dialogue with the congressman about his efforts to address a variety of issues that are important to the Northwest Indiana region. Congressman Visclosky encouraged the students to develop their own individual agency by getting involved noting “it’s not enough to simply be against something, you have to identify what you are willing to stand up for.”

Students that participated in the Sankofa Experience will share their journey with the IU Northwest campus community at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19 in the John W. Anderson Library Conference Center, Room 105ABC. The session will include artwork and photos describing their experiences in addition to an open forum Q & A.  

Special thanks to Doug Wasitis and Susan Oursler from the IU Office of Vice President for Government Relations for their assistance in coordinating the students’ meeting with Congressman Visclosky.

Article contributed by James Wallace, Office of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs