NASAI NCORE - Road trip: paving the way for the next generation

By Gabriel Lagarde



Adrienne Thunder has been hitting the road lately, racking up miles to attend conferences pertaining to the interests of Native American students and other minorities all over the country.

Thunder, a member of the Native American delegation, traveled to the 29th annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity from May 31 to June 4 in San Francisco. She joined over 3,500 people to discuss issues relevant to Native American, students of color and varied sexual orientation during the conference.

While the talks revolved around issues minorities face on campus, student conduct and effective means to promote diversity in secondary education, Thunder said the topic of identity has come to the forefront in recent years with increased ethnic intermixing and the advent of federal and state funding for students of Native American descent.

“You can’t go by people’s appearance anymore,” she said. “I know quite a lot of Ho-Chunk with blonde hair. Still, they’re participating in ceremony, in our culture. People come at (the issue of native identity) from a lot of perspectives. ”

With numerous cases of tribal disenrollment among native groups, representatives at the conference took a long look at how being Native American is conceptualized and addressed, both in the community and on college campuses.

“It important for college campuses to look at their enrollment processes,” Thunder said, referencing a notable suggestion the delegation considered. “Maybe, instead of just a ‘Native American’ box,’ have them specify what tribe they’re from.”

NCORE has become more sophisticated over the years, Thunder said, and it has been through the efforts of representatives that the unique situation of Native American students has gained national awareness.

She said it primarily comes down to the distinction of sovereignty, not just a matter of skin tone or culture.

“People tend to look at diversity as black or white. We kinda get run over,” Thunder said. “Our identity is based on our political identity. We existed before the United States and we never gave that up.”

Thunder also attended a meeting of the Native American Student Advocacy Institute, or NASAI, during June 6 to 7 at Arizona State University. NASAI is one of multiple institutes sponsored by the College Board to aid minorities and works to develop tools for Native American students, from kindergarten to high school seniors, in order for them to pursue secondary education.

The event marked the end of Thunder’s 2-year term as a member of the advocacy board.
These conferences serve as ways to promote Native American content in public school curriculums, sources of information that address both the rich history of native peoples and their powerful modern impact on local communities and economies, Thunder said.

“It is important to support efforts to teach and learn,” she said, “whether they be local or state or national opportunities. People have tried things to address issues that everybody has, why don’t we use those things?”




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