UW Native American Center Receives National Award

The staff of the Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center (NAERCC) has always strived to make the facility a “home away from home” for University of Wyoming Native students since the center opened in 2017.

Those efforts have proved fruitful on the national level, as the Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Community (IPKC) recently honored the NAERCC as the 2023 Outstanding Indigenous Student Support Program Award winner. The NAERCC’s staff accepted the award at the recent Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) -- formerly known as the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators -- conference in Boston.

The award honors a professional or group of professionals who have developed a new or enhanced an existing program that directly or indirectly affects the personal and academic development of Indigenous students. Programs considered must facilitate learning and engage Indigenous students or staff. They can be one-time events or a coordinated series of events, activities and resources intended to promote Indigenous student success.

Since the NAERCC’s operation began six years ago, the center’s director, Reinette Redbird Curry, a UW graduate from the Wind River Indian Reservation, has seen firsthand the increase in Native student numbers at UW and in student engagement.

“It is an honor to accept this award on behalf of our team. This award would not be possible without our Native students being actively involved, reaching out to us for support and allowing the NAERCC to be a part of their college experience,” Curry says. “Our team works hard to provide services and resources to students, and it is improving now that we are fully staffed and have the capacity to host more events. I am proud of our team and the effort we put in toward student success.”

Curry, a Northern Arapaho, Northern Ute and Pyramid Lake Paiute, recently was named as the co-chair of professional development on the NASPA IPKC leadership team.

Her other two staff members at the NAERCC are Cass Underwood, a Northern Arapaho who is the project coordinator, and Christie Wildcat, a Northern Arapaho, Navajo, Cherokee, Pawnee and Euchee tribal member who is the senior office associate.

Underwood is the newest member of the center’s team.

“Since I have been part of the team, I have seen the growth in the Native center and, most importantly, the growth of our students,” she says. “It is an honor for me to be able to serve our Native communities in the Native center.”

The NAERCC provides student support services and houses the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program, the Native American Summer Institute and the High Plains American Indian Research Institute.

The center’s award-winning programming builds a sense of community for Native UW students, with weekly and monthly events such as “Rez Food Dinner”; “Scholar-sips and Tips” with hot chocolate and tea and discussions centering on financial aid; Native American Heritage Month planning; a noontime knowledge speaker series; Native film screenings; weekly “Smart Cookie Study Nights”; and cultural events focused on Native identity.

The staff also supports both Native student organizations: Keepers of the Fire, the oldest student organization on campus, and the newly formed American Indian Science Engineering Society Chapter at UW. Collaboration with campus partners, specifically Multicultural Affairs for student programming, also is a main part of the center’s activities.

“All of the programming held within the NAERCC assists us with retention and provides our Native students with tools to be successful and reach their higher education goals,” Curry says.

Research has shown that a physical space for Indigenous students is of vital importance, which is crucial to building a sense of community, Curry says. Providing support services and resources to meet the unique needs of Native students is the key to the NAERCC’s success. The center is a place of community, support, engagement and learning while also helping Native students maintain their cultural identity, Curry says.

“It is great to see the student programming offered for our Native students since the NAERCC has opened,” Wildcat says. “It is an honor to receive the award, but the reward is seeing the student involvement increase and seeing the students active and present in the center.”