IU is forming an advisory group to strengthen the University’s relationship with the Native American community. This new advisory group, the First Nations Leadership Ambassadors Council, will advise IU on how best to recruit and keep more Native American students and faculty, according to an IU press release.
The Council will meet with IU officials April 6 and 7 before the annual Powwow .
The council will be made up of six members, each of who has stated their support for the Native American community: Ben Barnes, second chief of the Shawnee Tribe; Glenna Wallace, chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe; Nicky Michael, secretary of the Delaware Tribe of Indians; Phillip Deloria, professor of American culture and history at the University of Michigan; Richie Meyers, tribal relations director for South Dakota State University; and Kelli Mosteller, director and tribal historic preservation officer of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
“I hope this council will increase a Native voice at Indiana University,” Barnes said in the press release. “Since Indiana is named after Native people, I would like to see a stronger Native presence at IU. I would like to see more Native students, particularly from the tribes that were removed from Indiana.”
The council will advise the University on issues such as helping IU recruit and retain more Native students and faculty, increasing scholarship and financial aid opportunities for Native students and providing services that help IU form a better connection with the Native community.
Nicky Belle, director of the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center, said he believes the council will have a positive influence on the relationship between IU and Native communities.
“The people who have been invited to serve on the First Nations Leadership Ambassadors Council have an incredible amount of wisdom and experience that can help guide IU to better serve Native students and faculty, and improve and streamline interaction between tribal communities and the university,” Belle said in the press release.
James Wimbushhttp://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/11/the-significance-of-native-american-heritage-month-at-iu, IU vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, said in the release, the council is the first step in improving relations between IU and Native Americans and will help create an environment where “Native students and faculty can thrive.”
Dominick Jean
