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The Daily OrangeJunior aims to start SU's first Native American sorority chapter
By Mary Georger
Posted: 11/13/08, 3:47 AM EST Section: News
Shanelle Mohawk sits peacefully. Her chocolate-colored hair is neatly pulled back from her bronze complexion. Her dark brown eyes are focused as she passionately explains what is most important to her: her identity.
Mohawk, a junior economics and international relations major, is a Native American Seneca woman from Cattaraugus Territory. She's starting her venture to establish Syracuse University's first Native American sorority next semester. The university's Native American population has grown dramatically since SU introduced its Haudenosaunee Promise Scholarship Program in 2005 to provide financial assistance to students who are citizens of one of the six Haudenosaunee nations. November is Native American Heritage Month.
Mohawk holds out her hand and displays a tattoo of a wolf paw print on her palm. It looks as if it were colored with a black ballpoint pen. But the wolf, a clan symbol, represents Mohawk's past, present and future.
"It represents aggressiveness and forthright," Mohawk said. "I think it pertains to me because I am upfront about my opinions, I'm honest, and if I want something, I'm going to work hard to
get it."
The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations compose the Haudenosaunee nations in and around New York State. Students from any of the nations are eligible for the scholarship.
Other institutions, such as Dartmouth College and Harvard University, have similar scholarship programs, said Regina Jones, assistant director of Multicultural Affairs and the Native Student Program and a member of the Oneida Nation.
"The Promise diversifies the campus and strengthens the relations between (SU) and Native Americans," Jones said. "Most importantly though is that it says that Native Americans can go to college."
There were 41 Native American undergraduates at SU in 2001, according to data from the university's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. The year after the scholarship was introduced in 2005, there were 81 students. Today, there are 101 students, according to the office, and 105, Jones said.
Mohawk, a junior economics and international relations major, is a Native American Seneca woman from Cattaraugus Territory. She's starting her venture to establish Syracuse University's first Native American sorority next semester. The university's Native American population has grown dramatically since SU introduced its Haudenosaunee Promise Scholarship Program in 2005 to provide financial assistance to students who are citizens of one of the six Haudenosaunee nations. November is Native American Heritage Month.
Mohawk holds out her hand and displays a tattoo of a wolf paw print on her palm. It looks as if it were colored with a black ballpoint pen. But the wolf, a clan symbol, represents Mohawk's past, present and future.
"It represents aggressiveness and forthright," Mohawk said. "I think it pertains to me because I am upfront about my opinions, I'm honest, and if I want something, I'm going to work hard to
get it."
The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations compose the Haudenosaunee nations in and around New York State. Students from any of the nations are eligible for the scholarship.
Other institutions, such as Dartmouth College and Harvard University, have similar scholarship programs, said Regina Jones, assistant director of Multicultural Affairs and the Native Student Program and a member of the Oneida Nation.
"The Promise diversifies the campus and strengthens the relations between (SU) and Native Americans," Jones said. "Most importantly though is that it says that Native Americans can go to college."
There were 41 Native American undergraduates at SU in 2001, according to data from the university's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. The year after the scholarship was introduced in 2005, there were 81 students. Today, there are 101 students, according to the office, and 105, Jones said.
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