This year, 53 students of American Indian descent were accepted to Penn, as opposed to 19 last year, according to Six Directions Co-President and College junior Megan Red Shirt-Shaw.
One of the efforts to celebrate American Indian culture was this weekend’s first-annual powwow.
Organized by Six Directions — Penn’s American Indian student group — the powwow featured traditional dancing, jewelry and costumes.
The event was held Saturday on College Green and featured performances from American Indian dancers, as well as American Indian vendors that sold their original jewelry and artwork.
It was the first time Penn has held a powwow since 1993.
“Previous Six Directions members had the idea of having a powwow, but didn’t know how to have it,” School of Social Policy and Practice student and Six Directions member Vanessa Iyua said.
“At Penn, the number of Native Americans was already so low, so we couldn’t really have the support from the school nor the population to make it happen,” she added.
Other schools, such as Harvard University and Dartmouth College, hold powwows annually.
In recent times, however, there has been increased support from the University and other groups, including the United Minorities Council — of which Six Directions is a member — and SPEC Connaissance, which provided funding for the event, according to Red Shirt-Shaw.
Support has also grown in the form of increased recruitment of prospective students.
New recruitment tactics include sending a Penn representative to College Horizons, a three-day weekend conference that prepares American Indian high-school students for college, according to Six Directions Co-President and College senior Paul Garr.
Earlier this year, the office of admissions hired Tina Fragoso, who specializes in American Indian student admissions, to help focus recruitment.
“Recruitment has been a lot more targeted now — in the past, if there were Native students in an area where [admissions officers] were going, they would talk to them,” Garr said, explaining that now admissions officers attend specific American Indian conferences.
Garr hopes Six Directions’ increased visibility will encourage other enrolled American Indian students to get involved in the group.
Organizers said they hope the powwow will become an annual tradition — part of the reasoning behind dubbing it the “first annual,” according to Red Shirt-Shaw.
“In the past, having a powwow was merely a thought — now it’s a dream come true for us and other former 6D’ers,” Iyua said.
