At a time when many issues relating to American Indians are raised, including the current debate concerning Chief Illiniwek, the in-residence Intersections Living Learning Community will sponsor a series of programs this week at Pennsylvania Avenue Residence hall to discuss American Indian Issues.

The American Indian Studies Department, the Department of Journalism and the Office of the Chancellor are sponsoring the events. Two guest speakers will be featured, Rita Pyrillis and Jerry Clown.

Rita Pyrillis, of the Minneconjou Lakota tribe, is a freelance journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, and United Press International among other publications. She teaches at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside and the Native American Educational Services College in Chicago.

Jerry Clown, also of the Minneconjou Lakota tribe, is a cultural preservationist who grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota. He is a direct descendent of Crazy Horse and a passionate advocate for the Lakota people. Clown attended Haskell Indian Nations University and currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The event Monday night will be a “Java Jive” Coffee House at 9 p.m. at the Babcock lounge at PAR. Clown said that he would be giving a prayer, blessing the event.

The events will continue Tuesday at the Native American House with a Lunch and Learn program at 12 p.m. The program will be called “It’s More Than the Chief: Native Issues in the Media.” There will be a reception at 6 p.m. followed by a symposium at 7 p.m. at the Asian American Cultural Center. The symposium will be a panel and a dialogue.

Wednesday night, at PAR, a documentary entitled “Riding with Ghosts” will be shown. It is a documentary on spirituality and will feature a presentation by Clown.

Sunday, the series of presentations began with an interactive dialogue discussion called “Who Are We? Where Do We Come From?”