Native American students make up less than 1 percent of this university’s population but continue to fight to make their presence known.
As American Indian Heritage Month continues through November, events highlighting Native American culture and customs attempt to teach the university community about a population that often falls below the radar, Native American students said. These students only make up 0.3 percent of the university’s population — compared to the 0.8 percent of this country’s population that identify as Native American according to the U.S. census. Because of their small numbers, they say, many of the issues they face are often overlooked.
“We’re still in the process of fighting for recognition,” American Indian Student Union President Erin DeRiso said. “It’s like, ‘Hi we’re here and we don’t all live on a reservation and don’t all wear headdresses.’ In classes [native] people feel like they have to be an educator, always having to explain their culture.”
In addition to feeling underrepresented and stereotyped, DeRiso said Native American students must also overcome obstacles like university recognition, department cuts and stigmas attached to the Native American image.
This adversity, DeRiso said, doesn’t impact the way the Native American community on the campus relates. The community at the university is tight-knit and extremely active.
Because they lack numbers, the AISU co-sponsors events with larger groups on the campus and uses opportunities like this month to continue to educate others about acceptance of the Native American students.
To celebrate their culture — and to bring in greater numbers — the Native American community at the university partners with local Native American community centers like the Baltimore American Indian Center and the Maryland Commission of Indian Affairs to put on their events.
“As Native American people, we are the foundation of American history,” said Cornelius Allen Red Deer, a member of the Maryland Commission of Indian Affairs. “Without us, there is no United States history. And this is something we like to inform everyone about so they will be able to tell their children and their children’s children.”
Upcoming events for American Indian Heritage Month feature guest speakers like Jay Winter Nightwolf, a radio personality for WPFW 89.3 FM, who will talk about what it means to be Native American in today’s culture.
Today, the Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education and the AISU are hosting “Reality at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota,” an event at which Nightwolf will talk about the Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Sioux tribe in southwest South Dakota.
Other events draw attention to Native American cultures and traditions like hoop dancing — a form of storytelling that incorporates complicated dance movements and hoops to represent animals, weather and other natural elements.
The heritage month will end on Saturday with a day-long Pow Wow. Although the month is ending, Native American students will continue to keep native issues at the forefront of the university conscious, DeRiso said.
“[Students] need to reach out,” DeRiso said. “We’re here, we have an office in the Student Involvement Suite. Come visit us, talk to us and get to know us. I would just suggest for people to just get outside their comfort zone and the bubble that exists on campus and just learn more about native people. It’s about breaking out of stereotypes and not letting preconceived notions stop you.”
hampton at umdbk dot com
