Members of the American Indian Student Union hope to establish a Native Studies minor within the College. The program would be a part of a larger effort to create a more welcoming community on Grounds for prospective American Indian students and faculty.
The University requires organizations to gauge student interest before they apply to create a minor. Members of the AISU, therefore, have circulated a survey via e-mail to see whether students would participate in the Native Studies minor. The organization must receive 250 completed surveys before it can progress to the next step, according to an e-mail from AISU Programming Chair Chelsea Hicks.
To offer the minor, the University will need to expand its list of courses about American Indian topics, which currently include classes such as "North American Indians" and "Native American Art," according to the spring 2010 course catalog.
It is particularly embarrassing for the University that other Virginia schools - including Randolph Macon College, the College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech - already offer Native Studies majors or minors, Hicks said. The AISU - which was founded in April 2007 as the first active American Indian organization on Grounds - believes this lack of a Native Studies program has damaged the University's credibility with prospective American Indian students and faculty, she said.
In fact, there generally has not been a large American Indian community on Grounds.
"No Native American faculty members have ever been tenured, and the University lacks a Native American department [or] programs at the University. There is no office and no phone number to call," said 2009 University alumnus Anthony Lopez, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe.
Some University administrators expressed interest in attracting more members of American Indian communities to Grounds.
"I would love to see an increase in the population of American Indian students and faculty here at U.Va," said Marcus Martin, interim vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity.
The University is beginning to see an increase in the number of American Indian students, Martin said, noting that 31 of these students enrolled in the University last fall, whereas just five enrolled in fall 2005.
Lopez said the minor may not be enough to serve the entire University community, however. A full Native Studies program would help students to understand the environment, culture and history of American Indians to appreciate "the actual human experience of North America," he said. If they do not study those topics, the students instead will view history from "an arguably colonial perspective," he added.
"We need an actual department, not just a minor, or we need to be integrated across the board in departments that would benefit from having such knowledge included," Lopez said.
The addition of a Native Studies minor is "a very small concession that is way overdue," he said.
Fourth-year College student Read Ezell agreed that American Indian history often is overlooked, despite its significance.
"Native American history [is] something people glaze over, and it's part of American history," he said.
Other students noted that the program may not be successful, regardless of its relevance.
"It's important to keep in mind that the substance and content may not be comparable to other minors as a new program," third-year College student Selam Asihel said. Moreover, it may be difficult to find qualified professors for the program, she added.
Concerns aside, Asihel said she remains optimistic about the program's potential.
"There's a starting point everywhere," she said.
-Bethel Habte contributed to this article.
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