SIX DIRECTIONS: All you ever wanted to know and more!

Hi UMC friends,

Most of you guys are aware of Six Directions' presence on campus and within UMC, but our members do a lot of advocacy behind the scenes that I'd like to bring to the community's attention! That's what the UMC blog is for, right? Here is a little something that I wrote up about 6D for Penn's Center for Native American Studies forthcoming newsletter. Hope you learn somethin!

Mia

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Six Directions is Penn’s Native American affiliation and interest group. Originally founded in 1994 by alumni Desiree Martinez and Bryan Brayboy, the group’s primary dedication is to raise awareness of Native Americans on Penn’s campus. Throughout its brief history it has experienced a lot of frustration, but also a lot of progress to that end.

During the late 1990s the group lacked organization and lost momentum. In 2001, members Jaime Hale and Sabrina Austin revived the group and it has been going strong ever since. Our activities include general meetings for discussion and planning, which provide community-building among Native students and allies, participation in Penn’s United Minorities Council umbrella organization, as well as strategic meetings with university faculty and staff to increase awareness of Native issues at Penn. In the past two years we have met with the University Provost, the Dean of Admissions, and representatives from the Office of the President to discuss our concerns and provide suggestions for improvement.

Concerns we have brought to the University’s attention center on the topics of student recruitment/retention, increasing Native faculty and staff, and creating a Native American Studies program or minor.

As it stands, Native Americans are the most underrepresented group in Penn’s undergraduate admissions, at less than 1 percent of the incoming class. This number lags behind other Ivy League schools. Penn also has zero Native faculty. We feel that the university must continuously try to improve its recruitment efforts by supporting the Center for Native American Studies (CNAS) and creating a Native American Studies Program that includes both academic and student life programming.

Penn can offer so many resources to Native students who are interested in studying in an urban environment. We believe the University must seriously commit to increasing the number of Native students who are given access to these opportunities.

In addition to advocacy within the University, Six Directions connects with communities outside Penn. Through the dedication of our mentor and elder Ann Dapice, we have made lasting connections with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, attending their annual powwow and collaborating on events.

Perhaps most importantly, for the last three years we have participated in the bi-annual gatherings of the All-Ivy Native Council (AINC). AINC is a consortium of all the Native American student groups in the Ivies (and a few other Northeast universities). AINC provides a much needed space for collaborating on ideas and strategies, and of course making friends!

This past April, Six Directions hosted the larger of the two annual AINC events, the All-Ivy Native Conference. Our theme was, “Raising Visibility and Voice.” Over 100 Native students from across the Ivies attended. They arrived after long hours on buses, cars, and trains. They slept on dorm-room floors of their Penn student hosts. This gives you an idea of the members’ dedication to AINC!

Hosting the Conference was a huge undertaking and there are so many people who poured their heart and soul into making the event happen. Six Directions started planning in September and did not stop till April. We raised over $18,000 from University and private sources. All in all, we pulled off a weekend conference that was jam-packed with world-class presenters and content. Participants heard presentations by: Joe Garcia, President of the National Congress of American Indians; Suzan Harjo, primary litigant in the pending defamation court case against the Washington Redskins; Rosita Worl, who sits on the board of the National Museum of the American Indian; among many others.

We hope that the University will take notice of the Conference and realize the contributions that Native peoples can make to this community if more are given the chance.

Thank you for your continued support of Six Directions! We will keep doing our part if you do yours!