However scant their numbers relative to the U.S. population, Native Americans are that much more under-represented on Penn's campus, which makes creating a student organization for them particularly difficult.
Still, in 1994, a group called Six Directions was created by an alumnus named Brian Brayboy, who finished up his undergraduate career with a dissertation on Native American students in the Ivies.
While the organization has slowly dissipated since then, United Minority Council Admission Co-Chairwoman and Wharton sophomore Sabrina Austin has, with the Council's support, made the effort to bring the organization back.
Austin attributes the prior disbanding of Six Directions several years ago to the limited manpower available to keep it running.
"It didn't stay set, because the people who came to the school probably didn't know about it," she said.
Yet, Austin can't boast much either with regard to manpower since she admits similarly modest levels of interest.
With the help of fellow Wharton sophomore Jaime Hale, she has contacted the admissions office for a list of students who have checked the box for Native Americans or Pacific Islander upon admission. Of the entire undergraduate class, she has only received around 10 responses, but she hopes for more exposure through Unity Week, which began last Friday and concludes tomorrow.
The new group's first official meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Greenfield Intercultural Center, where the group will watch the movie Smoke Signals.
Austin is well aware of the difficult task she has undertaken. She said the key to the success of this organization is to keep the organization running, "whether there are two members or 20 members."
"Just because there is a small number of people doesn't mean that they shouldn't be entitled to a constituent group," Austin added.
And many UMC members have not disregarded the University's comparatively low recruitment numbers for Native Americans.
UMC President and College junior Papa Wassa Nduom referred to the historic importance Native Americans played in the development of the nation and in explaining the importance of both boosting recruitment and focusing support groups around this ethnic minority.
"It is in the best interest of the University of Pennsylvania to focus on a group that has been discriminated against for so long and is pivotal in the development of the population," he said. "This increases our awareness of important social inequalities and different perspectives."
Greenfield Intercultural Center Director Valeria De Cruz said that for a number of years, there had been no strong voice on the issues facing Native American students. It is unclear to her whether the reason for this was the deficiency of these students on Penn's campus or the general apathy for this form of communication among the Native American Penn students.
"In every community, individuals who are interested in a particular issue do not bring their concerns in one particular way," said De Cruz, a College of General studies senior.
Austin said she hopes that within her limited time at Penn, the numbers will rise.
"I don't know if we have the lowest representation, but we are definitely at the bottom," she said.
Other Ivy League schools, including Columbia University and Dartmouth College, do include programs and support groups for their Native American students.
Columbia has a student league called the Native American Council that is extremely active on campus. Similarly, Dartmouth's extensive Native American Studies program regularly commemorates the month of November as Native American Heritage month with a number of speakers and events.
In reference to Six Directions, De Cruz said that the group was active when there were students who wanted to have a voice and be visible on significant issues.
"I don't think it actually disbanded," De Cruz said. "Some groups are active some years and not active others."
Austin, who is one-eighth Trinidad and has a great great grandfather who was once the chief of a Native American tribe in New Jersey, said she believes that there are a host of others like herself who seek to understand these roots.
Rather than going about this process individually, she proposes that students do it as a unified whole.
