Students from the American Indian Student Union currently are working with faculty members from different academic departments to form an American Indian Studies program at the University.
“At this point I think what’s happening is that there is interest and energy and some initial steps towards seeing what we could do to expand native studies in the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Assoc. Anthropology Prof. Jeff Hantman, one of the faculty members involved.
The initiative is part of the increasingly visible American Indian presence on Grounds.
American Indian Admissions
Admissions Dean Greg Roberts said last year the University accepted seven students who indicated they were of American Indian descent on their applications. This year, however, the number jumped to 71, he said. Roberts noted that the federal government’s recent decision to require schools to allow prospective students to indicate more than one ethnicity on their applications may have been the leading factor of the increase. He added that the University has seen a rise in the number of applicants from every ethnicity.
“We are finding that all our numbers in terms of race and ethnicity are dramatically increased,” Roberts said. “It’s likely that most of it is due to the change in format. We are still investigating to see how it compares to previous years. On paper it looks as if there are a lot more students that have applied this year, but I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate.”
The University is on the low side of the spectrum when it comes to American Indian admissions. Just 0.2 percent of all University students identify themselves as being of American Indian descent, said George Stovall, director of institutional assessment and studies. Numbers range from 0.1 percent at Pennsylvania State University and Brandeis University to 2.5 percent at the University of Arizona, Stovall said.
The University is working to increase those numbers, Asst. Dean of Admissions Valerie Gregory said.
“We work very closely with the Native American student group on campus [to attract more American Indian students],” Gregory said. “We’ve had dinner a couple of times with the Virginia American Indian chiefs to talk about admissions.”
The University also hopes to attract prospective students with special mailings and an e-mail campaign in which current American Indian students contact prospective students to answer questions they may have, Gregory said.
Roberts cited both financial and logistical difficulties in increasing the number of American Indian students.
“Most students don’t self identify during the inquiry process,” Roberts said.
He noted that the Admissions Office has tried to increase the University’s visibility for prospective American Indian students. Nonetheless, a lack of funds prevents the office from visiting reservations, where a larger American Indian population might be contacted.
“It’s not for lack of interest, it’s for lack of funding and the ability to identify students, but we are anxious to do that,” Roberts said.
Creating an Indian Studies Department
Students and faculty members have been researching possibilities for an American Indian Studies department and have been conducting talks with the provost’s office. Second-year College student Jessica McCauley and third-year College student Laura Farnsworth are American Indian Affairs interns with the Dean’s Office and mentorship co-chairs in the American Indian Student Union. Both have been working with Hantman to determine the future of any American Indian studies program at the University. Hantman and other students and faculty are debating whether the program should have its own department or should be an interdisciplinary program comprised of courses from other departments.
“There are pros and cons to having it as a separate entity as a life of its own,” Hantam said. “Departments have more funding and more autonomy, but given the nature of our faculty and the economic times we’re in, it would be more realistic to think about developing the strengths we have already and having a program that cross-cuts departments.”
McCauley also raised the possibility of creating the American Indian Studies program as an umbrella program under American studies. They also have been discussing whether the program should focus on Virginia, or if it should attempt to cover the entire breadth of the Americas.
“It’s such a new field,” McCauley said. “We don’t really know what we’re doing, but we’re trying.”
Hantam noted that, while the exact form the department might take is still a long way from being determined, the administration has encouraged the group to put together an introductory course to Native Studies that will be offered beginning fall 2010.
McCauley said the Indian Studies program could benefit the University in more than one way.
“We think that we will be able to attract more students if we can say, ‘You can major in this,’” McCauley said. “It’s not just our tiny little group ... You can’t attract diverse students if you don’t have the program.”
Farnsworth, meanwhile, added that another goal was to build a positive long-term relationship between the University and the tribes.
“Academia has always been considered an enemy,” Farnsworth said, noting that several past University officials were once leading proponents of eugenics in the commonwealth.
While the University has been supportive, AISU is frustrated by the lack of American Indian faculty, McCauley said. Hantman, however, noted that the hiring of American Indian faculty is another goal of the potential American Indian Studies program.
Community reactions
The nascent program has been met with positive reactions from the American Indian community.
“I think that we need to have curriculum offerings in disciplines that expand people’s knowledge of different cultures and way of looking at the world,” said Karenne Wood, a member of the Monacan Nation and director of the University’s Virginia Indian Heritage Program.
Wood also supported the idea of hiring American Indian faculty.
“I understand funding constraints, but we’ve been talking about this for five years and it would be nice to see some movement in that direction,” Wood said, adding she will be acting as an unofficial liaison between AISU and the Monacan Nation.
Kenneth Branham, chief of the Monacan Nation, also said there is a need for this program.
“The native people of this country have been long overlooked and there’s a lot to be learned from the past and contributions the native people have made to this country,” he said.
Branham added that some people do not realize there are eight American Indian tribes remaining in the state of Virginia today.
“It is something that needs to be taught in our schools,” Branham said. “The native people of this country are not fossils.”
Branham also noted the importance of the University’s ability to use outreach and education efforts to increase the number of American Indian youth that will view a college education as a real possibility for themselves.
McCauley said she is excited about the program’s potential to bring speakers to the University. She said she hopes that the publicity the program could bring will help AISU reach out to other ethnic student unions and embrace diversity within the community and country.
“So many people have a mixed identity,” McCauley said. “We stress that you don’t have to look Indian, to have a card that says you are from this nation or that nation. American Indians are the only identity where people focus on what percentage you are. Nobody asks you ‘How black are you?’”
Hartman noted that he was pleased with the administration’s encouragement.
“What’s exciting is it’s the first time since I’ve been here that people across departments who teach in areas related to native studies are talking to one another about coordinating their efforts, possibly expanding our course offerings, [and] looking actively for native scholars to join the faculty if possible,” Hartman said.
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