A young student from Olympia, Washington was given an english assignment to define what the American identity is. It seemed simple enough to spout the rhetoric of centuries past: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," throwing in a few "freedoms" here-and-there. Unfortunately, that is not the reality of what is uniquely modern America. The perception of today's America abroad is stained with the wars and poorly operated foreign relationships of days-gone-by. There are starving youth in Africa, and wounded masses on the streets of Iraq and Somalia who see us Americans as their enemies. They are right. We have turned our backs on the wrong-doings, leaving countries torn apart for nothing more than money and oil. We are changing this reality. The American Identity resolves to wash the blood of innocence off our golden name, and bring an ultimate peace to our beautiful world. June 11, 2009 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm The Loft on Cherry 525 Cherry Street SE Olympia, Washington 98501 *We are going to set a strategy for the actions we are prepared to take. I want to make take this group all the way, and really change the world. It's going to take a village to raise this baby up! (Suggested donation of $5 per person to offset the rental of the space.) Visit TheAmericanIdentity.com for more information!

South Puget Sound To Celebrate Native American Heritage South Puget Sound Community College will host the college’s first Native American Heritage Celebration on Saturday, April 18 at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts. The day-long event, kicking off at 11 a.m. and running through 5 p.m., will feature workshops, performances, presentations, vendors and more. The Minnaert Center Gallery will also be open, displaying an exhibit of Native American art exhibition, which begins April 9 and runs through April 30. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. Workshops will include carving, beading, basket weaving and general kids activities. The Canoe Families will be among the performances, which will also include traditional storytelling. Presentations will focus on native language, anthropology and more. Vendors will be on hand with food, arts and crafts and more. All activities are open to the public for this free, all-ages event. For more information about the Native American Heritage Celebration, contact Dave Rector, the Dean of Student Life at South Puget Sound, at (360) 596-5306. For questions about the gallery exhibition, contact the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts at (360) 596-5501. ABOUT THE MINNAERT CENTER: The Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts, South Puget Sound Community College’s signature building, houses a 500-seat main stage theater, the Black Box Theater, an art gallery and state-of-the-art music facilities. In addition, the building’s classrooms for art labs and choral and instrumental music rehearsals offer home bases for the college’s humanities and communication programs.