(Posted September 27, 2004)


HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Bobby Gonzalez, a Taino Native American and a renowned lecturer and storyteller, will speak at Juniata College on "Genocide in the Americas: 1492 to the Present," at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science on the Juniata campus.

The talk is free and open to the public.

Gonzalez is a founding member of Taino Del Norte, an organization formed to study and promote Taino culture.

"My people, the Taino, were the first to encounter Columbus," he has been quoted saying. "We know first-hand the biological consequences of 1492."

Gonzalez' talk will be an overview of American history from a Native American perspective. His talking points will include the legacy and real story behind the discoveries of the New World and America in particular. He also will talk about such milestones in Native American history as the massacre at Wounded Knee in the 19th century and the guerilla movements in Chiapas, Mexico.

Gonzalez is the author of the book "The Puerto Rican Indian Wars II" and writes a monthly column for the Latino Village Press. He also has served on New York City's Native American Heritage Committee, which sponsors various programs on Native American culture.

A published poet, Gonzalez has had his work published in such journals as Red Ink, Dark Night Field Notes and La Concha.

He also is an accomplished storyteller whose repertoire includes "The Skunk Who Fell in Love with the Moon and other Native American Folk Tales" and Matu the Manatee and other Native American Stories from Latin America."

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.