“It’s something I’ve stayed involved with,” she says. “It is a community of people I hang out with and knows what I’m talking about when I talk about Indian stuff.”
NAHC Secretary Leah R. Lussier ’07 calls Native Americans the “true, true minority,” saying her ethnic background is a source of curiosity for people she meets.
“People get very interested and say, ‘Wow that’s so cool,’ and ‘Can I touch your hair?’” Lussier says.
But Lussier, who is a member of the Red Lake Chippewa tribe in Minnesota, says her identity extends deeper than the terms Native American, American Indian, or Native suggest.
“My culture is very different from, say, the Navajo,” she says. “People view us as a Pan-Indian group. Yes, I am American Indian and there are things in common, but there is something more identifying me as Indian.”
There are over 550 recognized Native American tribes in the United States, and NAHC members hail from all over the country.
But the group exists as a social and cultural haven for the discussion of issues shared by undergraduates from all tribes, such as recognition at Harvard.
“People don’t even realize that there are still Natives,” Scott says. “That point of view is totally absent.”
Scott also points to the socio-economic plight of Native Americans, saying that many people are unaware that Natives have the second shortest lifespan of any ethnic group in North America.
Youpee-Roll likened her neighborhood in Montana to a ghetto.
“I grew up on the reservation,” she says. “It’s very rural, poor....Reservations aren’t known for being great places.” She lists poverty, diabetes, and alcoholism as common problems on reservations.
Scott says that Native issues simply aren’t as “sexy” a topic for people to get involved with.
“People don’t even consider going to Indian areas because it’s not that talked about in the academy,” she says.
This year, the University offered assistant professorships to two scholars—both of Native American descent—who specialize in Native American studies.
These appointments came after University President Lawrence H. Summers drew criticism in September at a conference on Native American studies.
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