I strongly agree with Dr. Larry Gross’ perception of the importance of cultural understanding in his letter Tuesday. It is especially important that representatives of American culture such as Iowa State better balance their outstanding achievements in American sciences and economics with a similar record in human rights, a tangible means of helping correct the perceptions of other cultures suffering from unimaginable abuses who have come to judge us deserving of the most basic forms of justice.

Dr. Gross is also correct in pointing out problems with Iowa State’s history and current involvement with “minority” faculty. In fact, it appears that the inappropriately small number of faculty now on campus who specialize in cultural understanding will soon be gone because they are all facing situations similar to that described by Dr. Gross.

It may have been understandable in the past that other cultural practices, such as tribal ways of living, that allowed American Indians to live with a much higher degree of social and environmental harmony than do modern mainstream societies, were considered romantic and useless.

That attitude must certainly be changed by the events of Sept. 11, but also by widespread world crises that have demonstrated how lacking we are in cultural understanding.

Iowa State’s attitude toward and involvement in advancing cultural understanding is also in serious need of immediate improvement, including thorough review of existing policy and implementation of better means of supporting diversity faculty who can’t be expected to endure much more than they already have.

Sidner Larson

Director

American Indian studies