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.