To address the gap between American Indians and non-American Indians and topics that have divided them in the past, the university hosted a dialogue on Friday between Joyce Wolburg, associate dean for graduate students and research for the College of Communication, and Alfred Young Man, chair of Native American studies at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.

About 40 students and members of the community attended "Wannabees, Noble Savages, and Other Stereotypes — A Dialogue on the Red/White Divide."

"We want to bring Natives and non-Natives closer together by addressing issues that have divided us in the past," said Wolburg, who, along with Youngman, organized the event.

According to Young Man, "wannabees" include non-American Indians who try to adopt the culture but also criticize American Indians who do not fit the stereotypical idea of an American Indian.

"Wannabees" try to "out-Indian the Indians" by assuming they know more about Indian culture and "encroach on who (American Indians) are as individuals," Young Man said.

"You are born an Indian, not made, and I am an Indian man. We do not look at ourselves as others do; we look at ourselves for who we are," he said.

According to Wolburg, the lack of identity in the white culture contributes to the fascination with American Indians and their traditions and is why whites try to make that culture their own.

Whites "are working out their own personal identity crises through (the American Indian) culture without you even knowing about it," Wolburg said.

As one of the major hot-button issues surrounding the Marquette community in recent years, the use of the Warrior mascot added to the negative image of American Indians, Young Man said.

"On one hand you want to honor us, but then you make us mascots. It doesn't make sense," he said.

"The people we are talking about come from an ancient culture," Young Man said. "That common sense of respecting other people's history is important."

Mary Stanko, a senior in the College of Communication who attended the lecture, said it was "definitely eye-opening."

"As a white person you look at it and it leaves you with an overwhelming sense of guilt sometimes," Stanko said.

Although she found the dialogue informative, Stanko said she disagreed with the claim that whites lack an identity, citing herself and others she knows as evidence of people who have a strong sense of their background.

While the dialogue addressed many major issues facing the relations between American Indians and non-American Indians, Wolburg and Young Man feel there is still a long way to go, but those involved can reach that goal by taking as many steps in the right direction as possible.

"There are problems that are too big for me to fix, but I'm not going to give up," Wolburg said.