The Wake

If you’re ever wandering around Coffman trying to kill time between classes, meander your way up to the second floor and go into the American Indian Student Cultural Center for a place to relax, hang out and grab a bite to eat. “Everyone’s welcome,” says Marisa Carr, director of the center.

The AISCC was established in 1978 and has moved to several different locations since then, but the center made its last move to Coffman when the union was remodeled a few years ago. In 1999, the AISCC merged with the American Indian Student Association “to make a bigger community,” says Amy Ojibway, secretary of the AISCC. “It’s more solid to have one organization that tackles everything,” says Kate Beane, vice president.

According to the Student Activities Office website, the mission of the AISCC, a registered student organization, is “to provide a center dedicated to promoting and preserving American Indian culture on campus, also to provide space for students to study and learn.”

“We provide a safe space for native and non-native students,” Carr says, adding that the group dispels stereotypes about American Indians and creates cultural programming. “We provide support,” Ojibway says.

Some negative stereotypes about the American Indian community have been spread since last year’s shooting at the Red Lake Reservation, members say. “There were a lot of stereotypes spread as opposed to Columbine,” Ojibway says. “They didn’t talk about the community.” However, it wasn’t just people in Red Lake that were affected by the tragedy’s aftermath. “The Red Lake community was painted in such a negative way. It wasn’t fair,” Carr says. “The event affected all of us by being a big part of the community,” she adds.

The AISCC strives to support its members and provide a sense of community that can sometimes be hard to come by at such a large university. “The [American Indian] community is very central and to be away from that community [while at college] can be hard,” Carr says. “We [at the center] help fill that hole,” she says. “Many of our members come from tight-knit communities and it’s easy to feel lost,” says Carly Beane, president of the AISCC. Here, members can find people like them with similar interests and values, Beane says. “It can make a difference in whether or not you succeed here,” she says.

The AISCC has about 200 members and about half of these members are non-native students. A majority of their members are from the Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota tribes, but they have members from all over the country and from many tribes, Carr says.

Once a month the organization hosts a “Frybread Fryday” when they make Indian bread and tacos, and play bingo. “They’re very popular,” Ojibway says of the events. Their next Frybread Fryday is March 31 at 5 p.m. The AISCC is also hosting an event to honor women in native communities on April 14 in the McNamara Alumni Center.

If you’re interested in becoming a member, go to the AISCC (Room 204 in Coffman) and sign up with your name and e-mail. The group holds weekly meetings Mondays at 3 p.m. and all members are welcome to attend.