Megan Bang, the director of Northwestern’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, would have never let her children apply to NU 10 years ago.
The reason?
NU’s lack of Indigenous representation. Her first son did not apply, she said.
“There were no centers of gravity,” said Bang, who is Ojibwe and of Italian descent. “There was not a student group, there wasn’t a (Native American and Indigenous Studies minor), there wasn’t a graduate group of students, and all those things exist now.”
Bang was part of the nine-member committee that created the Native American and Indigenous Strategic Plan, a set of frameworks to support the Native and Indigenous community at NU.
Native American and Indigenous Initiatives held a kickoff event for the plan at the Segal Visitors Center Wednesday night. The plan first launched on April 27 at the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance’s third annual Pow Wow.
Wednesday’s kickoff was for individuals to learn, reflect and see how they can be a part of the NAI Strategic Plan, titled “Jiimaan Journey,” said Jasmine Gurneau, director of Native American and Indigenous Affairs, who is Oneida and Menominee.
“Jiimaan” is an Ojibwe term that translates to “canoe.”
“I really hope that people feel like they can take action within their spheres of influence to be a part of this journey and fulfill their responsibilities to Indigenous peoples,” Gurneau said.
The Jiimaan teachings were used to establish the framework of the strategic plan. The plan’s five focus areas include resource investment, leadership capacity, Indigenous knowledge and education, tribal community partnerships and student engagement.
Gurneau said the strategic plan is “broad enough” so that any student, faculty or school, has the opportunity to contribute to it and push it forward.
Gurneau said the title “Jiimaan Journey” was inspired by NU’s birch bark canoe, created by former CNAIR artist Wayne Valliere in 2021. CNAIR Associate Director Pamala Silas, who is Menominee and Oneida, said the front of the canoe represents the future and its back represents the past.
“We thought that would be a good metaphor for what we’re trying to do here,” Silas said. “We’re trying to get from one place to another, and there are lessons in that. It’s not the destination itself.”
During the event, Jordan Gurneau, a second-year Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering, sang his original song “Niizhnagano,” which he said means “Second Song” in Ojibwe.
Then, several members of the Strategic Plan Committee and NU Provost Kathleen Hagerty spoke.
Hagerty said that the strategic plan will “deepen” and “sustain” commitment to Indigenous communities and that her job is to listen and help ensure its progress.
Committee member and SESP senior Alivia Britton, who is Odawa and Potawatomi, said the kickoff is representative of the progress the Native and Indigenous community has made and will continue to make at NU.
Bang echoed Britton’s outlook and said the University could be an “institutional leader” in the next five years, reengaging Indigenous students with their languages.
“This year is the first time this university has ever offered an Indigenous research methods class,” Bang said. “That, to me, is an important step to saying we’re not just studying about Native people, we’re creating knowledge and service of Native people and (continuing) to think about, ‘How does the University have capacity to do that, for our students, for our faculty, for our staff?’”
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