By Timothy Rasmusson JR.
Indigenous Creation Tales is a new campus activity this fall semester that is hosted by the Men’s Area Coordinator for Rothenbuhler and Lambein Hall, Shua Wilmot.
Regarding the event, Wilmot told the STAR that members meet once a week, and they listen to a creation tale about various religious groups. After discussing the cultures together , he asks the other members what stood out to them.
Some of the questions that are often asked are, “What does the story suggest about their creator?” Another is, “What might you think about these values?”
Wilmot describes the environment of the event as “a safe space for students to develop critical thinking”, and it challenges the students to dig deep into what the stories are all about. They also reflect on the Genesis story, share knowledge, and he claims that “there is truth in every story”.
Senior Gabriel Huizenga told the STAR that the event is more of a come and go, and you do not have to commit to going every week it is held.
Andre Spronk, a sophomore, said the event takes place in Echo Base on the first floor of Rothenbuhler, and that they meet every Monday night at 7:30.
When asked what he liked most about the event, Huizenga said that everyone goes to it not knowing what to expect from the stories. Additionally, he said it allows them “to leave our own expectations and our own assumptions, and cultural ideas behind.” To him, “the point of it is to listen to them and talk about them as if we don’t have preconceptions of our own of like how the world was made.”He described listening to these stories as “seeing it [the world] through a new lens”. ★
