When asked about their experiences at UCLA, many American Indian
students are quick to point out that each one of them has a
different story.
Katya Adachi, a third-year molecular, cellular and developmental
biology student, grew up as an urban Indian in the San Francisco
Bay Area and never lived on a reservation.
Adachi said she finds that many urban Indians are often told
they “are not Indian.” With her fair skin, Adachi
herself does not resemble what many believe American Indians should
look like.
“People look at me and tell me I’m not
Indian,” she said. “People assume you’re only
Indian if you look like Pocahontas.”
The proliferation of the stereotype that urban or fair-skinned
American Indians are not truly Indian means that they face unique
challenges in trying to maintain their culture, Adachi said.
Virginia Myers, a third-year American Indian studies and
sociology student, grew up as a reservation Indian along the
Klamath River in Northern California, where she lived in a
primarily American Indian community.
“I’m one Indian among the others; my experience is
very different,” she said.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Americans Indians is
that they are the same, said Theresa Stewart, a fourth-year
American Indian studies student who grew up as an urban Indian in
Los Angeles County.
The three students, who were involved in the organization of the
American Indian Student Association Pow Wow this weekend, said they
face a range of stereotypes: Adachi said she often hears people say
all Indians come from broken families, and Myers said she has been
told all American Indians powwow and live in tepees.
Stewart emphasized, however, that with over 500 tribal nations
and populations of reservation and urban Indians, every member of
the American Indian community is unique.
Stereotypes can be frustrating and isolating for those who
already feel misunderstood. As a result, many American Indian
students seek out one another for understanding and support.
The American Indian Studies Center runs many of the programs
that American Indian students join to feel a sense of community,
Stewart said.
With student-initiated retention and recruitment programs, along
with other programs to further the understanding of American Indian
culture, students said the center provides students with a venue to
connect with one another. Myers notes that the powwow was a
“pan-Indian” event and that the dancing was a form of
healing.
Many of the American Indian students on campus credit the center
with making it possible for them to feel at home at UCLA.
Stewart, a shy student in high school, said upon entering UCLA,
she immediately wanted to become involved with other American
Indian students.
“I’m really happy with the community that I’ve
found,” she said.
For Adachi, “AISA is my home.”
However, even with the center, many students feel that not
enough has been done to make American Indian students a real part
of UCLA’s campus.
Often American Indian students feel their community is invisible
and given little importance, as they are such a numerically small
part of UCLA.
Adachi said that educators “don’t understand the
need for AI students to be close to their elders, their need to
powwow.”
The number of American Indian students has decreased
dramatically at UCLA since the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996,
which banned the use of race as a factor in UC admissions.
Adachi said not enough is being done to bring American Indian
students to UCLA, because for those with the power and ability to
make a difference, recruitment is “not a priority.”
Stewart would like to see changes as well. While she believes
that outreach programs implemented by students are a step in the
right direction, she is concerned that there are fewer and fewer
American Indians students each year.
“Will we ever get to a point where there are no (American
Indian) students?” she asked.
In an ideal situation, both Adachi and Stewart agree that they
would like to see more university-funded recruitment catered
specifically to American Indian students, so that they can continue
to benefit from higher education.
Myers said that it is frustrating when outsiders treat the
American Indian culture as invisible.
“We’re still here, we still exist.”