For the love of all things American Indian

Students from the U's American Indian Cultural House--(left to right) Julia Littlewolf, Cyless Peterson, and Shea Fleming--share smiles during the open house on Saturday, Sept. 13.

by University of Minnesota News Service

From eNews, September 18, 2003

The American Indian Cultural House, a pilot program at the University of Minnesota aimed at helping American Indian students adjust to campus life, is the first of its kind among Big Ten universities and third in the nation after Harvard and Dartmouth.

Located in Comstock Hall on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, the cultural house is a co-ed, living and learning community for incoming American Indian students or freshmen interested in American Indian culture.

"The goal of the cultural house is to provide a supportive community where the academic experiences of students will be nurtured and enriched," explains Jillian Berkland, a recruiter in the University's Office of Admissions and founder of the cultural house. "It will also help students make friends and find their niche on campus."

Berkland says the house, a partnership between the U's Department of American Indian Studies and the Office of Housing and Residential Life, is an important addition to the campus because many first-year American Indian students were having trouble getting used to life in their new surroundings. Many of them come from reservations, she says, and were experiencing cultural shock and isolation. In addition to helping the students combat those first-year blues, the program is a way to boost college retention rates among American Indians.

The 10 participants this academic year (beginning fall 2003) will take courses together, form study groups, attend movie screenings, and participate in activities, such as field trips, that celebrate the American Indian culture. Students who remain with the program after the first year may become peer mentors and initiate tutoring networks.

"I was attracted to join the American Indian Cultural House because of the opportunity to enrich my culture and learn more about it so that I will be able to pass it on to my children some day," says freshman Laura Marlowe, from Veblen, South Dakota.

To learn more about the U's American Indian Cultural House, e-mail Jillian Berkland at berkl002@umn.edu or call 612-625-9565. For information about other special living and learning communities at the U, see www.umn.edu/housing/student/sllc.shtml.