Fundraising

Does anyone have any fundraising ideas for NAGSA?

What are your experiences?

What have your experiences (both good and bad) been as an American Indian/Alaska Native or ally at IU that pertain to the campus climate for Indians?

Some thoughts: what do we want

Hi everyone,

Although IU Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs administrators have chosen not to respond to us directly, from other people, I gather the response from IU so far is that they are going to try to hire a part-time director for the center (which they've been promising to do for a long time).

We need to let them know that this isn't enough. The director must be full time and native.

Another thing they aren't addressing is the overall exclusion of Natives from DEMA. We are not just excluded from having a cultural center (although that is a big deal). It goes beyond that: we are excluded from being represented at a high level within the university and thus having advocates for appropriate services for Native students in other DEMA offices. Many universities have Deans for underrepresented groups. Even if we get a real cultural center, without representation at a high level, we will not have a voice in other diversity efforts.

A Program Idea for Fall Semester

Hello Everyone,

I am guessing that many of you do not know me. My name is Sharlene Toney and I am the co-convener of the Teachable Moments Committee for the IU Commission on Multicultural Understanding. I am also an alum, staff member, and associate faculty member at IUB. I have been a supporter of the First Nations Education and Cultural Center since its opening. Becca and I have also worked together on various projects.

Needless to say, it has been incredibly upsetting to continually hear of the problems that have occurred and the ultimate lock out of the offices. I have been talking with Becca and thought that the Teachable Moments Committee might be able to work with all of you on a large scale program this fall that would bring attention to the struggles and need for a center. Becca asked that I post my idea to get feedback. So here goes....

Take a moment to view the YouTube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

Now imagine if we could bring together 200-300 students, faculty, & staff who would commit to doing this at 2-3 specific times on one particular day, prompted by the bell tower on campus. We could create 3-4 different t-shirts in the colors from the center's logo and on the back of each have a different "fact" -- something that you feel would be important for others to know who may not be aware of what is happening or what the experience is like for a Native student coming to IUB. In addition, it could have day, time, location of a program that can be attended to learn more.

Clearly this type of program would take many volunteers, however, I truly believe that it would be possible and extremely powerful if done well. The Teachable Moments Committee has $2,000 a year allotted to programming, so we would surely, with the buy in of the other members of the committee, foot the cost of the t-shirts. If this is an idea that people like, Kathy Byers, Director of the Bachelor of Social Work program here has already offered access to students in Social Work classes to see if there are students interested in being involved. I also have many contacts in the theatre department and could solicit theatre students who may be interested in helping.

I would love to know what people think.

Best,

Sharlene

The Purpose of this Blog

This blog is open for posting to all IUB AISA/NAGSA members and community supporters who are personally known to a current member or supporter. If you would like to post, e-mail me, and I'll add you as an author.

This is not just a space to talk about the FNECC. It is a place to talk about your experiences as an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian person in Bloomington or IUB, or your relevant experiences as a non-Native. It is a place to tell OUR stories, which for too long have been devalued, excluded, misrepresented, or appropriated by others.

Board of IUB American Indian Center Quits After Lockout; American Indian Students Seek Equitable Treatment Within IU...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Riall,
Chair Native American Graduate Student Association
C/O Anthropology Department
Student Building 130
Indiana University—Bloomington
Bloomington, Ind. 47405
Phone: please e-mail for phone
Web: http://iubnatives.blogspot.com
E-mail: nagsa [at] indiana [dot] edu

Board of Indiana University American Indian Center Quits; American Indian Students Seek Equitable Treatment Within IU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs and Plan Independent Community Center

Today, volunteer members of IUB’s First Nations Educational & Cultural Center (FNECC) Board, which serves American Indian students, resigned. American Indian student groups are calling for IUB to bring FNECC up to par with other campus culture centers, which have homelike atmospheres, room for student gatherings, and culturally sensitive staff. “The center must have some decision-making autonomy and be a space where students can get support from elders,” said Terri Miles, (Muskogee), Native American Graduate Student Association officer. Student group members plan to start an independent community center, but insist that IUB must include American Indians in its diversity planning.

“IU has cultural centers for every underrepresented group. Each center has its own building and several full-time paid staffers who support students—except the center for American Indians,” said Rebecca Riall (Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama), one of the Board members who resigned.

Riall is one of a group of students and faculty who proposed the center in 2006 after floods damaged the office previously loaned to American Indian student groups by another department.

Instead of a director, the FNECC, which is the student center for American Indians, had an unpaid board that implemented programs, represented IU to American Indian communities, and supported students. Instead of a building, FNECC comprised two former dorm rooms on the 6th floor of Eigenmann. Two student groups, the American Indian Student Association (AISA) and Native American Graduate Students’ Association (NAGSA), relied on the boards’ access to use the FNECC for meetings, programming, and coordinating outreach events.

That ended on Thurs., Jul. 24, when, without advance notice, FNECC locks were changed, ending Board members’ abilities to hold evening hours or to let the AISA and NAGSA groups in after hours. In this context, AISA and NAGSA have renewed calls for American Indian support services.

They also decry the exclusion of American Indians from IU’s general diversity polices, such as the IU Strategy for Increasing Underrepresented Population (available online at http://www.indiana.edu/~dema/EnrollmentStrategy.shtml), which make no mention of American Indians. “It seems a shame that just when Native students were starting to reach out we got our hand slapped. As uncomfortable, inconvenient, and tiny as the center was at least it was a start. Now we are locked out and only able to access the center when non-Indians let us in. So much for an Indian center,” said Miles.

“As the only member of my tribe attending Indiana University, my freshman year I felt lost and alone in a sea of people who did not understand my ways or culture,” added Laura Reagan (Lipan Apache or ‘Hleh-pei N’de). “I only knew a few other American Indian students. We had heard of a Native group on campus but were never able to find out any information. Finally, when the offices opened up for AISA and NAGSA, American Indian students had a place to come together, share our common struggles and interests, and even talk about homework and our social lives. Having a Native director and time to access the center is essential for Native American students on campus to feel we have a place to be accepted by people who understand our culture, and have a voice in the Indiana University Community.”

Riall believes that the lockout fits a general pattern in which Board members were not given adequate administrative support. “Instead of providing help, diversity administrators seemed to see us as a burden. We had no financial or personnel authority. Every little expense had to go through an administrator who often did not respond to requests in a timely way, causing events to often barely be pulled off. IU was happy to take credit for our successes, but every little event was a struggle. We were patronized and denied critical information, and promises were broken many times.” For Riall and student group members, the lockout was the last straw. “The Board did the work that for every other group is done by paid, full-time, culturally competent staffers. We do it at the expense of our studies, our families, our health because we want other American Indians to succeed. How demeaning, then, that IU doesn’t even give us the courtesy of letting us know ahead of time that the locks would be changed, or work to give us access again in a realistic and timely way.”

“The culture centers on campus provide such a strong support to students who are far from home, as well as a wonderful opportunity for other students to learn more about our diverse student body. I am a strong supporter of the Native students, faculty, and staff on campus and it saddens and upsets me that they do not have the same support and space available as other centers,” said Sharlene Toney, an IU alumna and current staff and associate faculty member.

Student group members hope that the board’s resignation will lead IU to hire a director who is an enrolled member of an American Indian nation. To them, equity—and keeping promises—means that American Indian students should have a building, too. “Otherwise the recruitment numbers for American Indians, especially people who are active in their communities, will remain abysmal,” said Riall.

Some students believe an official task force of high-level officials on the status of American Indians should study issues faced by American Indians on campus, particularly those who were raised traditionally. “It would signal that we are important,” Riall said. She argues that American Indians and other underrepresented groups should be represented at a high level in the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. “There are no American Indians there. There must be American Indians in high levels so we have a voice to advocate for ourselves.” While administrators often cite abysmal American Indian enrollment figures as a reason to deny American Indian students a full-fledged center, the student groups argue that enrollment figures will not increase until a staffed, stand-alone center exists.

“Success of Native events should be measured in terms of quality of community and not quantity. If IU wants to attract more Native students then IU needs to build a proper support system for Native students to feel welcomed, recognised, wanted, and less lonely when surrounded by the dominant culture,” says Miles.

Moreover, not only American Indian students would benefit from a real center. “As a non native, the center has provided me with opportunities to learn about Native American history and culture, as well as about some of the issues that Native American communities face today. The way the members of the board of the FNECC were treated by IU is just one more example of the struggles that Native Americans are facing. It is a shame for an institution like IU which emphasizes ‘diversity’ not to provide for its Native American students. This Center gives Native and non-Native students an important opportunity to be active and educate themselves and others about Native Americans,” says Del Criscenzo, a Master’s student in African-American studies and NAGSA member.

Currently student group members and community allies plan to launch a nonprofit organization which will seek donations to buy a house and hire a staff person who can provide support. But they emphasize that these plans don’t let IU off the hook. “As a nonprofit and student groups, we can only do so much,” Riall explains. “There needs to be someone in the system who will passionately advocate for the needs of American Indians, which are often different from those of other groups. Education is crucial to maintaining tribal national sovereignty, yet American Indians often feel unwelcome and unsupported at institutions like IU.”

American Indian Students’ Needs for Center
• Full-time, paid, culturally-competent staff
• Homelike atmosphere
• Support services for American Indian/Alaska Native students
• Educational outreach services for non-Natives
• Room for gatherings
• Support from elders
• Decision making autonomy

American Indian Students’ Needs for Inclusion Within IU
• Task force on the status of American Indians on campus
• Representation in Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs
• Inclusion in official diversity policies

Copies of a) the original proposal for the FNECC written by current and former board members and b) the list of last year’s programs undertaken by the board and student groups are available upon request.

###

Becca's Resignation Letter from the FNECC Board

You are receiving this email because you are either a friend of the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center (FNECC) or an administrator who holds some responsibility for the FNECC's future success. I am writing to tell you why the FNECC Board is dissolving and to share with you my challenge to IU include American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in diversity policies.

In the remainder of this letter, I speak only for myself, not my former fellow Board members.

The FNECC Board fought for the establishment of an American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian student center and has, on a volunteer basis, organized the FNECC's programming, represented IU to American Indian communities, and provided student support services since
2006. We have done so because IU has chosen not to hire a director for the FNECC. Rather, IU has relied on the Board's willingness to serve our peoples by running the center at the expense of our own studies, health, and families.

Speaking only for myself, I am resigning because the Board *cannot continue to perform the duties of a director without the authority and basic tools essential to doing so*. Specifically, administrators with power over the center have neglected critical communication and
consultation with us. Most recently, for example, without prior notice, the locks to our offices were changed. This interrupted evening office hours and student support activities. New keys were never issued. While I am cognizant of a policy of not issuing keys to students (although two board members, myself included, are also IU employees), I am puzzled that we were not warned of the change nor was an alternate access policy ever made available. Emails and calls to the appropriate administrator were not answered.

This is merely the latest development in an ongoing lack of adequate communication which I have documented. The problems have intensified so greatly that I believe I will be more effective advocating for native students elsewhere. I will remain active in the Native student groups, both of which are watching closely to see what happens next.

The Board and Native student groups have worked in an environment in which American Indians and Alaska Natives are excluded from the overall diversity vision. I have been told repeatedly that because our numbers are small we do not receive the same support services as other underrepresented groups. Yet, paradoxically, our numbers remain small at IU *because* there are few institutionalized support services for American Indian students. Moreover, as set out in its mission statement, the FNECC does not serve only American Indians.
It also serves non-Indian community members wanting to learn accurate, non-stereotypical information about the heterogeneous, contemporary characters of our nations and tribes. Throughout the year, FNECC volunteers have served thousands of people at IUB and
throughout central and southern Indiana.

The ball is now in IU's court to demonstrate that Natives are valued as part of diversity. Currently, a widespread belief exists among Native students that IU is to an extent a hostile place for Native students, particularly those who grew up immersed in the culture of
their particular American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian nation.

Like others, I cannot help but notice that the official IU Strategy for Increasing Underrepresented Populations fails to mention American Indians, Alaska Natives, or Native Hawaiians even once. I see plans for extensive relationships with HBCUs but not tribal colleges. I see marketing plans exist for Latino/as and African Americans, but
not for our communities. IU is known for researching our nations--at least the Plains Nations--yet we are the racial group least likely to graduate from college. Are we valued as research subjects more than as members of the university community? As subjects more than human beings?

In short, I challenge IU administrators to prove wrong common perceptions of IU as a hostile place for American Indians and to meaningfully, substantively include American Indians in IU's diversity vision. I believe that a faculty Task Force on the Status of American Indians, composed not only of Natives, but also of non- Native allies, similar to task forces on other critical issues, could make meaningful strides. It is unfair to continue rest the burden
solely on Native students and faculty, especially considering the dearth of tenured Native faculty at this university.

IU must stop lagging behind other Big Ten schools--notably, Purdue--which demonstrate their prioritization of American Indians through a variety of institutionalized support services and emphasis on Native faculty recruitment. These schools have institutionalized support
for Natives rather than standing on the backs of Native students, faculty, and staff. I hope IU will seek innovative ways to include our students because diversity cannot exist where certain ethnicities are excluded.

To those of you who have supported FNECC board members and student group leaders: thank you so much. I hope we'll be in touch soon as the Native student groups continue to create new programs, including, I hope, a non-profit, independent Bloomington American Indian
Community Center.

More information about student groups' plans for activism around these and other issues will be available later.

Regards,

Rebecca Riall

JD Candidate, School of Law
PhD Student and Instructor, Department of Anthropology
Former First Nations Educational and Cultural Center Founding Board Member
Chair, Native American Graduate Students Association
Indiana University--Bloomington

Email: rlriall@indiana.edu
Phone: 812-391-3457