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Interview with Dwight Howe about intercultural communication
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Filed Under: National

The Sioux City Journal interviews Dwight Howe (Omaha / Ponca) about living intercultural communication.

"Question: What does living in two worlds mean?

Answer: Before Thurston was a county, before Iowa was a state, before Nebraska was a state, there was the Omaha Indian Reservation. Even though we live 30-40 miles away, at times it can be 400 miles away because of the lack of interaction or exposure or awareness of the two people living pretty much side by side, but separately. ... I firmly believe if we look long enough and hard enough, we are more alike than we are different.

Q: Do Native Americans and non-Natives have preconceived ideas about each other that block communication?

A: Some of it is generational. It's passed down from generation to generation. It's not so much how we are perceived. At times it's how we feel we're perceived. It's our own prejudice.

Q: How can communication open up between Native Americans and non-Natives?

A: I had a presentation I gave to leadership in Sioux City. Out of those 30 people I said, 'Who all has been to Macy?' Not one of them raised their hand, and they're from Sioux City. If there was more interaction, if there was more opportunities, let's say, when Sioux City did something in town and had an event that there was something set aside for 10 Omaha kids to go and see. I think the more we interact, and the more we talk, and the more those issues can be addressed, that we can break down barriers."

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Speaker to discuss intercultural communication (The Sioux City Journal 1/25)

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