The Native American Advisory Council
Purpose and Mission
The ºÚÁÏÃÅ Native American Advisory Council (NAAC),Ìýformally known as Native American Community Advisory Board (NACAB), wasÌýestablished by the Task Force on Native American Inclusivity (2016). TheÌýNAAC’s members provide strategic expertiseÌýandÌývaluable adviceÌýon how the University can better serve, recognize, and support our Native American students, faculty, and staff, as well as Native American communities more broadly.ÌýThe NAAC’s work is both internalÌýand external to the University. Internally, it focuses on what we can do to better support our Native and Indigenous community members, as well as reckon with and learn from our institution’s painful history. Externally, the ±·´¡´¡°äÌýconsults on how we can meaningfully connect with and celebrate Native American communities in Colorado and beyond.
After a year of dormancy from 2019-2020, in September 2020, students demanded the ±·´¡´¡°äÌýmeet again to discuss important Indigenous and Native American initiatives at the ºÚÁÏÃÅ. The NAAC last met in November 2020.Ìý
The next meeting of the NAAC will take place in spring 2021.ÌýTribal representatives of the Northern Cheyenne, Northern Arapaho, and Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho nations, as well as members from the Ute communityÌýand ºÚÁÏÃÅ Indian community, will gather to continue our ongoing collaboration.ÌýThrough these meetings, we aim to strengthen our partnership with Native American and Indigenous communitiesÌýand promote healing and understanding.
Goals
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Build and Nurture Partnerships
The NAAC's focus is to build and nurture meaningful partnerships between DU and the Arapaho and Cheyenne nations, as well as the broader Native American and Indigenous communities and organizations, especially in the ºÚÁÏÃÅ Metro area.
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Historical Commemoration and Institutional Memory
The NAACÌýaddresses issues of historical commemoration and institutional memory, the development, and expansion of Native American curriculum and academic programs. The Council will also address recruitment and retention strategies for Native American students, faculty, and staff.
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Resource for the Special Advisor
The ±·´¡´¡°äÌýserves as a vital resource for the Special Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost on Native American Partnerships and Programs. , currentlyÌýholds this position.
Statement of Vision
The ºÚÁÏÃÅ was founded and is located on the land and territory of the Arapaho and Cheyenne Nations while bordering the territories of the Ute and several other Native nations. This imperative acknowledgment honors these geographic relations and the complex sense of historical responsibility bound within them.
The Native American Advisory Council (NAAC) is instituted to encourage a greater understanding of this shared past and to promote and support efforts to enhance diversity, inclusivity, and the public good as relating to Native American faculty, staff, and students as vital elements of the ºÚÁÏÃÅ’s institutional mission and strategic goals. This advisory board is also conceived and intended to provide a means of bringing the ºÚÁÏÃÅ and non-affiliated constituencies together to support the aspirations of the diverse Native American peoples, communities, and nations that the ºÚÁÏÃÅ serves.