The Native American Student Association (NASA) held its first general body meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The meeting included a discussion of upcoming events and an opportunity for members to contribute ideas for the future.

NASA is one of over 250 student organizations at the university. Like many of those organizations, it is currently working to reestablish itself on campus since being affected by the pandemic..

When asked what NASA was, Club President Brandon Schonour said there are two parts that make up the club’s identity. 

“First is to create a sense of community for Native students who go to South, kinda like a home away from home [where] they can be with like-minded people at college,” said Schonour. “I think number two is to educate the general student body here at South [and those] who are interested in learning about Native American culture and history.”

Club Secretary Caitlyn Lambeth expressed that there is a lack of awareness concerning the Native American community at South and that one of the main goals of the club is to garner attention and give recognition to the community.

“[Since] bringing the club back that [there are] not many people on campus [who] identify as Native American, which shocked me,” said Lambeth. “I think a big part of our purpose is to bring [awareness] that we are here, and also like Brandon said, just educating people and ourselves as well. Every tribe is different, I feel like we’ve learned a lot from our members that are of different tribes.”

NASA is not exclusive to just Native students. The club is for everyone, and a core attribute it focuses on is creating an environment where its members can learn about each other’s cultures.

“I feel that there is a big [push-back] when [potential members] see ‘Native American’ and they’re like. ‘I’m not Native American so I can’t be in the club,’ but we are open to everyone,” said Lambeth. “Right now, we do have a majority of Native American students, but we would love for everybody of all different types of backgrounds and cultures to come and join us and learn about some of our cultures while also learning about theirs.”

Moving forward, Schonour and Lambeth expressed that they hope for the club to grow and prosper as the years go on.

“I just hope to see the club flourish and be able to survive long after we’re gone,” said Lambeth.

The club has many activities in queue for the rest of the semester. Members will volunteer at the Tvstvnvke (Warrior) Mud Run held by the Poarch Creek Indians on March 16, 2024. Then, on April 3 and April 5, they will participate in the Southeastern Indian festival, an educational event at Poarch Creek pow-wow grounds in Atmore, AL. Monthly meetings will be held the first Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. except for March. Due to spring break, the March meeting will be held on the second Wednesday. NASA also hopes to participate in social events in partnership with other organizations. For more information about NASA and upcoming events follow their Instagram.