At Portland State, Native American center provides home away from home
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Jordan Molnar is the only person in her family with red hair.
For most people this wouldn’t be a problem, but for Molnar — who is part Native American — it almost stopped her from getting involved with the Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University in Oregon.
“Coming from a background where my father is white and my mother is Native American, I felt I was possibly too white,” Molnar says. “But then I started getting emails because the school knows your background. I just felt like I was going to be out of place.”
Molnar eventually enrolled in a Native American studies course and was persuaded to volunteer at a pow wow through the course. After that, she said she knew she had to get involved. Molnar is now in her second year as the student coordinator for the United Indian Students in Higher Education at PSU.
“For the first time in my life I told people I was native and they didn’t ask how much,” Molnar says. “I felt like I was at home at the native center and never wanted to leave.”
November marks Native American Heritage Month, a time dedicated to paying tribute to the ancestry, tradition and culture of Native American tribes in the U.S.
The Native American Student and Community Center at PSU is celebrating its 11th year on campus and is one of many at universities throughout the U.S. that welcome dozens of native students every year. The centers become a home away from home for students who come from rural reservation towns, says Alina Begay, NASCC manager at PSU.
“It is super important (to have a Native center) because native culture is all about family,” Begay says. “But family is not just your parents and your siblings. Having a place to go for that closeness is important for these students when they’re at school. It’s important to build that community and have a place where they can practice tradition and connect with other people.”
Begay was a student at PSU before becoming the manager of the NASCC. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and identifies as full Navajo. She first got involved at the center as a student and says she felt the community was the perfect fit.
The center is home to student groups for native, Alaska Native and Pacific Islander cultures. Begay says there are more than 1,100 students that self-identify with one of these cultural groups. She says the come from tribes across the nation, including the nine tribes that claim Oregon as home.
The native center at PSU is unique, Begay says, because it is located on an urban campus while most of the students that congregate there come from reservations in rural areas.
The center is also a community center open to the public for events, Native American education and as a place to simply enjoy.
“We do our best to provide a sort of home away from home for indigenous students,” Molnar says. “Coming to PSU, it’s an urban campus. It’s right in the heart of downtown Portland. For a lot of native students, especially ones who come from reservations, that can be kind of jarring.”
The NASCC hosts weekly events for native students, including a daily smudge ceremony — a native tradition seen as a way to cleanse mind, body and soul for the day.
Though the center — and others throughout the region — embraces Native culture year round, Molnar says Native American Heritage Month is an opportunity for people to learn more about the culture and get involved in the center, regardless of their personal heritage.
She says people often ask why there needs to be a month dedicated to celebrating native culture, because they believe it’s always a priority for those in the community.
“The unfortunate thing is, being a culture that is technically classified as a minority culture we are doing things all the time, but if we don’t have this month that we’re advertising and getting it out there people don’t notice,” Molnar says. “I think that it’s a really great opportunity with all of the events that are going on for people to understand not only why the native center is here and why it’s important, but to realize we have a huge indigenous student population. If PSU is going to pride itself as a diverse campus, it’s good to know just how diverse it is.”
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Jordan Molnar is the only person in her family with red hair.
For most people this wouldn’t be a problem, but for Molnar — who is part Native American — it almost stopped her from getting involved with the Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University in Oregon.
“Coming from a background where my father is white and my mother is Native American, I felt I was possibly too white,” Molnar says. “But then I started getting emails because the school knows your background. I just felt like I was going to be out of place.”
Molnar eventually enrolled in a Native American studies course and was persuaded to volunteer at a pow wow through the course. After that, she said she knew she had to get involved. Molnar is now in her second year as the student coordinator for the United Indian Students in Higher Education at PSU.
“For the first time in my life I told people I was native and they didn’t ask how much,” Molnar says. “I felt like I was at home at the native center and never wanted to leave.”
November marks Native American Heritage Month, a time dedicated to paying tribute to the ancestry, tradition and culture of Native American tribes in the U.S.
The Native American Student and Community Center at PSU is celebrating its 11th year on campus and is one of many at universities throughout the U.S. that welcome dozens of native students every year. The centers become a home away from home for students who come from rural reservation towns, says Alina Begay, NASCC manager at PSU.
“It is super important (to have a Native center) because native culture is all about family,” Begay says. “But family is not just your parents and your siblings. Having a place to go for that closeness is important for these students when they’re at school. It’s important to build that community and have a place where they can practice tradition and connect with other people.”
Begay was a student at PSU before becoming the manager of the NASCC. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and identifies as full Navajo. She first got involved at the center as a student and says she felt the community was the perfect fit.
The center is home to student groups for native, Alaska Native and Pacific Islander cultures. Begay says there are more than 1,100 students that self-identify with one of these cultural groups. She says the come from tribes across the nation, including the nine tribes that claim Oregon as home.
The native center at PSU is unique, Begay says, because it is located on an urban campus while most of the students that congregate there come from reservations in rural areas.
The center is also a community center open to the public for events, Native American education and as a place to simply enjoy.
“We do our best to provide a sort of home away from home for indigenous students,” Molnar says. “Coming to PSU, it’s an urban campus. It’s right in the heart of downtown Portland. For a lot of native students, especially ones who come from reservations, that can be kind of jarring.”
The NASCC hosts weekly events for native students, including a daily smudge ceremony — a native tradition seen as a way to cleanse mind, body and soul for the day.
Though the center — and others throughout the region — embraces Native culture year round, Molnar says Native American Heritage Month is an opportunity for people to learn more about the culture and get involved in the center, regardless of their personal heritage.
She says people often ask why there needs to be a month dedicated to celebrating native culture, because they believe it’s always a priority for those in the community.
“The unfortunate thing is, being a culture that is technically classified as a minority culture we are doing things all the time, but if we don’t have this month that we’re advertising and getting it out there people don’t notice,” Molnar says. “I think that it’s a really great opportunity with all of the events that are going on for people to understand not only why the native center is here and why it’s important, but to realize we have a huge indigenous student population. If PSU is going to pride itself as a diverse campus, it’s good to know just how diverse it is.”
