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<DOCID>Genorosity_during_a_pow_wow_Justin_Hester.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Justin Hester</AUTHOR>
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Last week was Cultural Diversity week.  The week culminated in a Pow Wow held in the Cooper Gymnasium, which set the backdrop for an act of generosity.

The event started off with all of the dancers entering the circle. Once they had all entered the circle, an invocation was given by an elder of the Sault tribe, and flags from all the tribes and countries involved were presented. A very moving honor dance was then held for all past and present veterans.  This was followed by an intertribal dance which was open to anyone who wished to enter the dance circle and dance along with the lead dancers. As the night went on, drummers from different areas would drum and sing songs for people to dance to.

Among all of the dancing, drumming, and celebrating, an act of generosity went mostly unnoticed. Aaron Payment, the chairman of the Sault Tribe, was honoring an important person in his life by donating a thousand dollars to the LSSU Foundation.  Aaron Payment was donating the money in memory of Al Goodrich.  Goodrich was a counselor for Upward Bound when Payment was a student at LSSU. Payment wasnt exactly a model student at the time; in fact his grades werent good at all. But once the Hobbit reading counselor made a connection with Aaron his view on school changed. Al was the most intellectual person you would ever meet.  He always pushed you farther, and never let you slow down or rest.  Following his time as counselor, Goodrich became director of Upward Bound for five to six years. When Goodrich passed away last month, Payment decided to donate the money in Als memory.

The Pow Wow was the first such event held in the Cooper Gym during a diversity week, was a great success for the community. Payment said that he hopes that the Pow Wow would become an annual event for the community to come together and enjoy.
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