Native American Symposium

I attended the Native American Media Symposium on Friday Oct. 6 to hear Olympic Champion Billy Mills keynote address. Mills spoke of his Olympic gold metal in the 10,000 M race and essentially what he took from sports: "life values through competing." He also stated that sports, especially the Olympics bring "global unity through diversity."
Mills' went on from there to explain the importance of Native American journalism. He pointed to the young Native American journalist stating, "Native American Journalism is needed. You are the heart and sole. You are the only ones speaking for us, and the world is beginning to listen." What I believe Mills' was referring to is that Native American journalists have a lot to offer the world. And what they have to offer is more than what some mainstream media outlets perceive and stereotype native americans as.
Mills' obviously wishes for more of a positive image of the Native American people and their culture in the future. He believes that Native American journalists have the potential to promote a more promising image for their people.
Ultimately, Mills uses his Olympic accomplishment as a metaphor: that any Native American, if they have their mind set on accomplishing something special and promising, can do anything.
I especially enjoyed the story he told about him and his daughter standing in line and hearing the conversation on "what happened to the indian guy who won the 10,000 M race in '64?", and how he was hurt by how people perceived Native Americans. I think it well-represents how people stereotype others, often without even thinking about it.