aboutus

Our History

The Ivy Native Council (previously called the All-Ivy Native Council) was founded in the fall of 2004 with the intention of bringing Native students from all eight campuses together to engage in conversations around issues facing Native students at these campuses, build professional skills, and establish a network of other motivated Native students.

Picture: (left) Deana Around Him with (right) Wilma Mankiller at Brown University

Prior to the formation of INC, students would connect at different tribal/university Powwows and socials in the northeast especially at the Dartmouth College Powwow. With small Native populations (5-20) at other campuses, Dartmouth would be major location where students would come to socialize and network with other Native students. A group of friends (Deana Wagner Around Him, Cody Harjo, Nicole Willis, and Cara Wallace) noticed the importance of connecting Ivy Native students together for support and community. The idea was passed on to other students from other campuses and culminated into the first conference at Dartmouth College.

More than 10 years later, students continue to consolidate at a different campus each semester for conversations about issues Native and Indigenous communities are facing, for a unified presence that Native students indeed are at these schools, and for construction of a long-lasting network and community.

Timeline

2004

Formation of the organization (Darricksen Begay, Nicole Willis, Cody Harjo, Deana Wagner Around Him)

First organized Conference at Dartmouth College: Feb. 19-22

2005	“Honoring Our Ancestors.Strengthening Our Communities. A Call to Action” at Brown University:

2006	Fall Summit at Dartmouth College:

2007	Spring Conference at University of Pennsylvania Fall Summit at Yale University

2008	Spring Conference at Harvard College Fall Summit at Cornell University

2009	Spring Conference at Yale University Fall Summit at Columbia University

2010	Spring Conference at Brown University: April Fall Summit at Harvard College

2011	Spring Conference at Dartmouth College Fall Summit at

2012	Spring Conference Fall Summit at Dartmouth College: Nov. 9-11

2013	“The Council of Emcees” at University of Pennsylvania: Feb. 22-24 “Sovereign Spaces” at Cornell University: Oct. 18-20

2014	Tradition and Sustainability: A Narrative of Indigenous Adaptation” at Yale University: April 4-6 “Laugh \| Heal \| Resist: Confronting Historical Trauma through Performance Arts” at Brown University: October 3-5

2015	“Economic Vibrancy in 21st Century Native Communities” at Harvard College: April 10-12 Fall Summit “Intersectionality within Native Communities” at Dartmouth College