Native American Strategies Group

Native statue outside of Native American ARC in the fall

MISSION & VISION 

The Native Strategies Group is a volunteer coalition of faculty, staff, administrators, students, and community members which meets regularly in order to communicate, plan, and facilitate a holistic vision of service for the Native community. Since its inception in 2010 under the leadership of then Vice President for Native American Affairs, Tom Ball (Klamath), Native Strategies has spearheaded a diverse array of initiatives to build institutional capacity, foster intellectual community, increase curricular offerings, and support efforts toward the recruitment, retention, and support of Native students, faculty, and staff at UO.

MEETING DATES & TIMES 

First Fridays of the month from noon-1:30 pm at the Many Nations Longhouse

Contact Us

Email: native_strategies@lists.uoregon.edu
Subscribe to the Native Strategies listserv here.

Websites:
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS): https://socialsciences.uoregon.edu/native-studies
Many Nations Longhouse: https://longhouse.uoregon.edu/


Recent Initiatives and Successes
  • With AVP&A on implementation of the Home Flight Scholars Program (2022) and Home Flight Residential Community (2023). Provides cost of tuition and fees and a first-year community residential experience for federally enrolled Native students who are residents of Oregon.
  • Implementation of Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) minor (2013) and major (2022), in consultation with tribal education coordinators from the Nine Tribes.
    • Celebrated the major’s first graduating cohort in 2024 (Megan Van Pelt, Umatilla; Carina Peterson, Hoopa Valley Tribes; Tiera Garrety, Chehalis).
    • Currently, the major carries 15 students while the minor carries between 35-50 students term over term.
    • NAIS courses enroll at over 90% capacity on average term over term.
    • Over 85% of NAIS students are Indigenous representing dozens of tribal nations and Indigenous communities in the US and around the world.
  • Collaborative NAIS cluster hire of four positions across five units on campus (2021-22). Additional hires of Indigenous scholars in Journalism and Communications (Brian Bull) and College of Education (Amanda Tachine) (2024).
    • UO now has 10 tenured or tenure-track Indigenous professors, the largest number in history, but still well below national averages and peer institutions (Washington, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Minnesota)
    • Seed grant for the ongoing development of a Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Data Sovereignty (2023-24). Ongoing listening sessions with Campus, community, and tribal councils and stakeholders.
  • Welcoming our 7th cohort into the NAIS Academic Residential Community (NAIS ARC).
    • To date, we have educated over 100 students from over a dozen tribal nations with significantly higher retention and graduation rates than the UO and UO Native averages.
  • Re-Launch of UO-Otago Indigenous Studies Exchange Program post-COVID (2024) (Kaitlynn Spino, Yakama Nation)
  • Ongoing support for our annual Native PRIDE Awards (April) & Native Graduation Celebrations (June).
    • Over the past three years, we have graduated undergraduate and graduate cohorts of 35-40 students and hundreds of family and friends.
  • 10th Native American and Indigenous Studies Research Colloquium Series (est. 2013), which highlights undergraduate, graduate, faculty, alumni, and community research.
    • NAIS undergraduate majors and minors have attended and presented at national conferences, won multiple funding awards for research projects, and earned recognition for their work.
  • Indigenous Comics Speaker Series featuring Cole Pauls (Tahlton First Nation), Michael Yahgulanaas (Haida), and Arigon Starr (Kickapoo)

  Initiatives In-Progress

  • Working with AVP&A and University Development on a strategic fund-raising plan to support Native students and Native-related initiatives, programming, and support
  • Increasing Native student recruitment, retention, post-graduation placement, career/professional development, wellness, and mentorship
  • First Foods and Medicines Garden at the Many Nations Longhouse, in partnership with UO Sustainability Office, Landscape Architecture, Campus Planning, and community partners.
  • Indigenous 2% for Art Installation, in partnership with Art Professor, Brian Gillis, and Indigenous alumni and community partners
  • Collaborative work with UO Law for tenured or tenure-track hire in Federal Indian Law

 Future Priorities & Challenges/Needs

  • Raw numbers of Indigenous student enrollments have remained static over the past decade while the general population has grown by ~30% over that time. While we have a dedicated recruitment specialist in Admissions, we need more resources and support at the institutional level to reach more Native students in Oregon and across the region.
  • Additional faculty hires in the School of Law, Department of Psychology, Knight Applied Science Campus, Planning, Public Policy, and Management, and other units
  • Continued advocacy for Many Nations Longhouse support and expansion
  • Long term, stable support for Elders/Scholars/Artists-in-Residence programs
  • Long term, stable support for Sapsik’wala Education Program in the College of Education.
  • Developing Native alumni relations with Native Duck Nation (NDN)