by Molly Castle Work

The University of Maryland’s American Indian Student Union celebrated Native American Indigenous Heritage Month under the theme, “We are Tomorrow’s Ancestors” –– prompting student leaders to consider the legacy they will leave behind. 

November was officially declared Native American Indigenous Heritage Month in 1990, but co-president of AISU, Brenee Butler, said observing this month provides an opportunity for Indigenous people to reconnect with their culture and share it with their community. 

“It’s a time to affirm yourself and to make sure that you are confident in who you are and who you want to be,” Butler, a senior studio art major and art history minor, said. “Just empowerment all around.”

Jazmine Diggs, the vice president of AISU, said this month can be especially meaningful to tribes that feel undervalued. 

Diggs, a junior behavioral community health major, is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The Lumbee Tribe was not able to achieve federal recognition because they don’t have their own language, which means they receive no government funding.

“The government kind of sees [the tribe] as less than, and that’s always been a struggle,” Diggs said. “Just because their native language is English, for the government to say that’s not good enough … It’s hard.”

Diggs is frustrated with governmental policies that can prevent tribes from harnessing their full potential. She believes Native American Indigenous Heritage Month is an important moment to celebrate tribes, like Lumbee, that go unnoticed or are silenced.  

To help celebrate the heritage month as the pandemic rages on, the university planned a variety of virtual programming events, including a keynote event with Winona Laduke, a racial and environmental activist for Native involvement. 

During the event, Laduke discussed environmentalism, Indigenous people and a post-COVID economy based on the principles, teachings and innovations of Indigenous nations. 

Diggs, one of the moderators for the event, said that this year’s theme for the university’s Native American Indigenous Heritage Month was based off of one of Laduke’s quotes, “Let us be the ancestors our descendents will thank.”

Though part of Native culture is looking back towards one’s ancestors, Diggs explained that the theme was conceptualized to stress that present actions will impact future generations.

“We want our descendents to be proud of us,” she said. 

As AISU student leaders consider the legacy they want to leave for future students, they have also focused on efforts to ensure their small group persists and grows. 

“We want to make sure that this club can last because there will be students after us who need that community and who will need someone to talk to,” Butler said. “We hope that we’re still here for them.” 

One of the recruitment efforts that AISU hopes to utilize is visiting local middle and high schools to show incoming college students that there is Native American representation and resources available for minority students at the university, Diggs said. Although their plan was derailed by pandemic, they hope to pursue this tactic in the near future. 

In addition to reaching Native and Indigenous students, AISU also wants to engage with the student body at large and encourage them to learn more about Native and Indigenous culture. 

“We’re definitely interested in having a diverse population show up,” Wilson, a senior animal science major, said. “We don’t want just Native people at our event, because what good would that do really? I mean it’s cool to see each other, but we want to educate.”

There are no restrictions on ethnic or racial background, students just need to be interested in learning about Indigenous people, Isabelle Wilson, co-president of AISU, said.  

“It doesn’t matter how much you have to contribute culturally, in terms of practices or knowledge about your own background,” she said. “You don’t have to come having already figured everything out. Because it’s hard.” 

While Diggs appreciates the support that AISU has received from the university, she believes that the university needs to reconsider its legacy as well. They can do more, in terms of representation, she said. 

Diggs said that all the Native students she has spoken to have never had a Native American professor or academic advisor. When students don’t see themselves represented on campus, they might start to question if they belong in certain spaces, like academica, she said. It can take a toll on students’ mental health.

Native American students make up only 0.1% of the university’s student population, according to a report by the university’s Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment. 

“Maryland just needs to push more to want Native students here and show them that they do have a place on campus,” said Diggs. “And that it’s not just a statistic that we’re checking off this year.”

Featured photo: The University of Maryland’s American Indian Student Union participated in a traditional beadwork activity in March hosted by members of the Piscataway Conoy tribe as part of a general body meeting.  The university celebrated Native American Indigenous Heritage Month in November under the theme “We are Tomorrow’s Ancestors.” Photo courtesy of Isabelle Wilson.