In the corner of Currituck Ballroom, a group of students sat in a circle. Surrounding a big handmade drum, the students held beaters, ready to kick off the event with traditional Native American music. When the song started the crowd was magically captured by a kind of music that many people have never heard on their own.

That’s how the 2024 Indigenous People’s Day Celebration started on Thursday in Talley. 

The event continueds with a student panel. The five students who sat on the stage were originally from some of the eight federally and state-recognized tribes. These include Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony and Waccamaw Siouan. 

Their answers about being Native American students, their origins and their life before NC State, give a better idea of what it really means to be a Native American in our contemporary age.

Gavin Bell, the assistant director of Multicultural Student Affairs and organizer of the event, said the reason behind the celebration was not only to give a space to Native American students, but to educate those whose knowledge about Native tribes is limited.

“There are often a lot of stereotypes, because of what you see on TV,” Bell said. “We like to have an event that’s very student-oriented and student-ran, where they can showcase the actual culture, the authenticity, some of the beautiful pieces of it, some of the challenging pieces of it, for the rest of the campus community to learn.”

Mya Lowry, a graduate student in public administration and president of the Native American Student Association, said despite the efforts of MSA and different organizations on campus, a lot of work is still needed to educate people about Native American culture.

“A lot of people think of Native Americans as being in the past,” Lowry said. “When that’s a common thing that people hear growing up, they’re not really going to be that interested in learning about Native American cultures, because they don’t really think they’re that alive and that we have strong cultures, but we do.”

One of the proud achievements of the Native American community at NC State is the land acknowledgment statement, passed last year by the University’s staff, faculty and student senates. 

“Part of what the land acknowledgement does is not necessarily to highlight some of the negative things that may have happened in the past,” Bell said. “It’s more to highlight the current, present day communities that exist today, because NC State and other areas like UNC, for example, have property in all 100 counties of North Carolina.”

The event concluded with dancing. After a dance performance in traditional powwow regalia, the crowd held hands and danced around the ballroom, allowing most of the audience to learn a traditional Native American dance for the first time.

“Even if it’s beyond just Raleigh, NC State still has a role in some type of proprietorship,” Bell said. “The land acknowledgement is more so to continue to encourage partnership, collaboration and support between NC State and these tribal communities.” 

November is Native American Heritage Month. If you’re interested in learning more about Native American culture, you can join the Native American Student Organization or attend the Multicultural Student Affairs upcoming events throughout the fall semester.