Dr. Laurel Vermillio, the keynote speaker for the Fall 2019 Civil Rights Lecture, shared the lifestyle and experiences of the Indigenous people to a packed Torp Theater at Central Connecticut.
Throughout her speech, she highlighted her personal triumphs of becoming the President of Sitting Bull College on the Standing Rock Preservation, along with emphasizing civil rights for all people.

“I think Dr. Laurel Vermillion’s experience is quite unique, her mission of leading Sitting Bull College and educating the future leaders is the core of the mission of colleges,”Stephen Balkaran, African American Studies professor, stated.

“I think by her sharing her experiences will inspire many of our students and members of our community to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them,”Balkaran said.

Balkaran hosts the event at CCSU every semester for many years. He notes that by bringing such scholars to the campus, it enlightens students on current civil rights leaders.

“The Civil Rights Lecture series has become one of the highlights of the academic semester for the last 10 years at CCSU, we have had wide range of scholars sharing their experiences of civil/human rights from their vast background to continued involvement in the struggle for equality in America,” Balkaran stated.

For the Fall 2018 Civil Rights Lecture, Balkaran invited LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, a Native American civil rights activist and a member of the Lakota Tribe in North Dakota, to speak on the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

During her speech, Allard heavily emphasized the importance of water to the tribe, which was also translated through Vermillio’s speech as well; calling the source the center of life.

When asked about the challenges faced over the past year, Vermillion stated, “That the government needs to play a more active role on the reservations, issues of dropout rates, drugs addiction, violence, etc. need to be address by the government, after all it’s the Government that created these problems in the first place.”

Vermillio noted the history of Indigenous people has not been easy, as life on the reservation has limit access to opportunities and resources from the U.S. government. Due to their mistreatment, the people of Standing Rock Preservation began to boycott, specifically against the pipelines placed over their land and its negative impact upon the Indigenous tribes across the country.

“Her dedication of providing access to opportunities to many in her reservation is the key to success which remains the core of any academic institution. We must compliment her for doing this and it’s an honor to have her speak at CCSU,” Balkaran added.

“I think the Indigenous’ people civil/human rights experience is still a story that has to be told, we continue to ignore their plight in American history and as a result we have become oblivious to their struggle and exclusion to many of the opportunities that are presented in America,” Balkaran stated.