First Nations interim director no stranger to racial stereotypes

Joseph Stahlman knows what it’s like to be stereotyped, to be misunderstood and to be a minority.

He’s a member of the small First Nations community.

People have asked Stahlman, the new interim director for First Nations Educational and Cultural Center, if he is Mexican or if he lives in a teepee.

“I’ve never experienced overt racism,” Stahlman said. “Just stereotypes, and sometimes they are silly stereotypes where you just want to chuckle. Some people think Indians get free money, but if that was true I wouldn’t be working my job – I would be taking it easy.”

Stahlman, who is originally from upstate New York, moved around as a child. As a Native American of the Tuscarora tribe, he often faced questions about his culture and who he was.

In his new position, he’d like to educate the University about First Nations and its role on campus.

The First Nations community makes for a small demographic at IU.

There are approximately 12 nations represented on campus, Stahlman said. There are 564 federally recognized tribes in the U.S.

Each nation is different, and it’s not fair to group them together, Stahlman said. The purpose of the center is to counter stereotypes and to make the University more aware that there are different backgrounds on campus, Stahlman said.

From last year’s statistics of about 40,000 IU students, about 119 students are in First Nations, Stahlman said.

The First Nations community is small, but its members share a strong camaraderie, Stahlman said.

Just like Stahlman, many Native American students stand out as the “Indian student,” he said.

“We are a dynamic people, everyone is dynamic,” Stahlman said. “They don’t just want to be solely known as Native American. They want to get degrees. There are other additions to their identity other than just being an Indian. Sometimes being an Indian is just a small part.”

The center is looking for Native American students interested in Native Americans or students interested in the Native American experience, Stahlman said.

One of Stahlman’s goals during his one-year tenure as interim director is to increase recruitment and retention of Native American students. Stahlman has been talking with three First Nations communities in Indiana to recruit future IU students, and he has contacted organizations on campus about financial aid and other packages for next year’s incoming freshmen.

Stahlman said his other goal is for the culture center to be an emotional aid package.
“When students move away from the reservation to come to the University, they strip away everything,”  Stahlman said. “They don’t have that community support. There is not a reservation close to here. In order for me to get home to where my family lives it’s a 10-hour drive.”

As a Native American, Stahlman brings a lot to IU, said Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa and last year’s interim director for First Nations. She said Stahlman knows the needs of the community.

“He keeps that at the forefront,” she said.

Stahlman has two master’s degrees and is pursuing his Ph.D. in social cultural anthropology.

For his doctoral work, Stahlman is tackling the stereotypes of Native Americans in the area of natural resource conservation and does his research in Honduras.

His future career goals include working with indigenous communities on the retention of land, language revitalization and various forms of social activism.

Stahlman, along with three others, was involved in the planning and proposal of First Nations in 2005.

“He has been involved for years, and he is enthusiastic and hard working,” said Mary Connors, program assistant coordinator for First Nations.

“He has a lot of ideas for community outreach to different culture centers around the country. He wants to develop a community and help educate against stereotypes of the Native American cultural heritage.”