This meeting was just one of several events part of Native American Heritage Month at MSU. The discussions that took place during the meeting reflected on the hurdles their community has faced both recently and systematically.

Arola hosted the meeting, laying out her grievances and hopes for the future.

Dwindling student body and faculty

According to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report for the 2023-24 academic year, American Indian/Alaskan Native students make up 0.3% of the undergraduate student population at MSU. American Indian/Alaskan Native faculty and staff make up 0.5% of the population. 

“Our numbers are low,” Arola said. “If you were to look at the state breakdown of American Indians and what MSU’s enrollment is, it's lower. So we have work to do. It has improved a little bit, but not greatly”

She also brought attention to Indigenous faculty who have left the university. She said some pursued other faculty positions at other universities, while others stepped away from academia altogether because of the frustrations that come with being a Native faculty member at MSU.

“It was just too exhausting for them,” she said. 

University silence toward targeted instances

Last month on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Native American Indigenous Student Organization painted the Rock to commemorate the day. Shortly after completion, the Rock was painted over by MSU Turning Point, a student organization that promotes conservative values on college campuses.

Arola said the administration’s lack of response to this was disheartening. After no initial response from them, Arola said she and the Coalition of Racial and Ethnic Minorities wrote a letter to President Kevin Guskiewicz and the administration calling for a response addressing this action by MSU TPUSA.

President Guskiewicz did respond to the coalition, writing a letter provided by Arola to The State News.

“I understand the gravity of this incident and its implications for the well-being of our Indigenous and allied communities,” Guskiewicz said. “The university is committed to addressing this issue with the seriousness it demands. All reports submitted to the Office for Civil Rights will be carefully reviewed for policy violations and the impact of this incident upon individuals and our campus, with a priority to ensure safety.”

Emily Sorroche, the associate director in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources office of DEI and AIIS staff member, said this pattern of neutrality by the university encourages groups like MSU TPUSA to continue actions like the painting over of the Rock. 

“They feel emboldened to possibly plan something else for next year,” Sorroche said. 

Being proactive and having a joint effort with not just the Indigenous community but administration as well is key, Sorroche said. 

"It can't just be us all the time to do the work,” she said.

Devon Kuwanquaftewa, adviser for the North American Indigenous Student Organization, said he was aware of a few students alongside himself, Sorroche and Arola who submitted Office of Institutional Equity reports. These were filed a month ago, with no updates on the situation being provided since then.

“A month is a long time to go by without hearing anything,” he said. 

MSU spokesperson Mark Bullion declined to comment on the status of pending and active OIE cases. 

Lack of official university land acknowledgement

MSU is a land grant university, meaning that the campus as it exists now was built upon Indigenous land taken through violence-backed treaties and land seizures. 

Arola explained that MSU does not have a physical land acknowledgement, and Native students drafted versions to be placed outside of Wells Hall in People's Park, where an Indian encampment existed at the time of the university’s founding. 

“It's been four years now,” Arola said. “Four years going back and forth between lawyers, MSU administrators and students on the wording of this.”

Arola said they are at the point now where a very sanitized version of the land acknowledgement may be approved.

Sorroche said this battle by students and faculty to approve a land acknowledgement is a massive burden on their shoulders.  

“This is history,” she said. “It's a much deeper commitment, and that's why it's hard to bring people back to the table. Some folks who have walked on from this work have graduated, and others for their mental health and well being, have had to step away.”

The constant back and forths between administration and those trying to pass a land acknowledgment feel like stall tactics to Arola, she said. 

“It's wasting all our time from actually doing other stuff that would really make a big difference for students,” she said.

Bullion said the university is "supportive" of posting a physical land acknowledgment on campus in People's Park. 

"Conversations to finalize the statement continue to progress and the hope is to come to a conclusion soon on what the statement will be," Bullion said in an email statement to The State News. 

NAISO adviser role rewritten without proper notice

Kuwanquaftewa, who works as the NAISO adviser and serves as student success initiative coordinator in the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions, had his role as NAISO adviser written into the position when he was hired five months ago. 

He said he was informed earlier in the week that this position was being rewritten as OCAT moves to the newly built Multicultural Center. This means that student groups under OCAT, like NAISO, will have to select their own adviser, and if Kuwanquaftewa is selected, he said he will be offered a stipend as an overload pay. 

“These responsibilities would come on top of our full time positions,” he said. 

As it stands now, his new position has not been completely defined and more meetings will clarify what it means, Kuwanquaftewa said. The new position that replaces his current one as NAISO adviser involves action as an operating officer at the Multicultural Center. Kuwanquaftewa said he will be in charge of operations like managing student staff. 

This change in position for OCAT student group advisers came directly from Genyne Royal, the assistant vice president for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Kuwanquaftewa said. 

To Kuwanquaftewa’s understanding, this restructuring of OCAT student groups’ adviser positions came down to placing these student organizations under the same umbrella so they can operate financially under Involve@State, he said. Kuwanquaftewa doesn’t see the difference between this restructuring, as he said advisers under OCAT currently take on the financial responsibilities which Involve@State would operate under.

An MSU spokesperson was unable to respond to requests for comment on the topic at the time of publication

Kuwanquaftewa, who was hired five months ago, said the extent of his knowledge regarding this decision was a meeting he had between Royal and his office two months ago, where this restructuring was still "in theory."

For Kuwanquaftewa, this decision holds a great deal of impact. He said he moved here from out of state to take on this position, with the role of NAISO adviser being a serious draw to the job.

If he decides to continue working as NAISO adviser in addition to his newly structured full-time position, he’s worried he may not be able to handle the workload, which almost always extends beyond business hours. 

“It's a huge job, and it's definitely kept me very, very busy the first few months I've been here,” he said. “So I don't know that anybody would want to take on the job, that's a concern that we have as a staff.”

Sorroche said it takes very unique skills to get Kuwanquaftewa’s position, a position which she and those at Educating Anishinaabe: Giving, Learning & Empowering worked with administration to create a description for which they believed reflected the responsibilities. 

The decision by the administration and a lack of communication to EAGLE regarding it now makes Sorroche feel lied to, she said.

“Is this the Michigan State experience? I'm starting to question that now,” she said.