Native Student Program

Syracuse University’s Native Student Program supports the transition to college for students who are members of state and federally recognized Native American tribes. While this program is specially designed for students identifying as Indigenous, the Native Student Program is open to to all eligible students without regard to race, gender, national origin or other characteristics.

“Being of the Navajo and Crow Tribes and growing up on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, it has been difficult adjusting to a college that is 2,000 miles away from home. Attending a prestigious university such as Syracuse, I have found my place in the Native Student Program. I have met students and faculty from Native American Tribal affiliations that share the same love for frybread as I do.” – Michael Buffalo ’16, Navajo, Crow

About Native Student Program

The Native Student Program was established in 2006 through a collaboration among the Office of Academic Affairs, the Student Experience Division and Belonging and Student Success.

The program includes a three-day orientation for first-year and transfer students.
Members gather weekly for workshops and receive guidance that promotes academic success, including academic counseling.
Through faculty, staff and peer interaction, the program also offers opportunities to engage for growth and success beyond graduation.

Opportunities to attend conferences and to remain connected to Native American culture and history.
A Native Identity Series is offered each year, culminating in a spring trip to museums, Native communities or historical sites. Past trips have included visits to the Ganondagan State Historical Site in Victor, New York; the Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community in Fonda, New York; and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Darrin White
(he/him/his)
Program Coordinator

Nevaeh R Marshall
(they/she)
Academic Consultant

Claudia Rose Pels
(she/her/hers)
Graduate Assistant, Intercultural Collective

Contact

To learn more about the Native Student Program, please email Native Student Program coordinator Darrin White or call 315.443.0258.

113 Euclid Ave.

113 Euclid Ave. serves as a “home away from home” for Native students and a gathering place for those who are interested in exploring Native American culture and history. A student-led design represents the Haudenosaunee Confederacy alongside Turtle Island tribal communities. This includes exposed pine beams representing the Roots of Peace along with the four directional colors of the Medicine Wheel. Additional highlights of the renovated space include the following.

A culture room dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous languages and traditional regalia.
Fireplace lounge with beanbag chairs.
Indigenous artwork pieces.

Events and Programs

A series of introductory programming during opening week designed to help new students acclimate to the college environment.

The Ionkerihonnien:ni Guide Program was created in 2017 by a then-undergraduate student in the Native Student Program, Nicole Smoke. This is an Indigenized peer mentorship program within the Native Student Program, intended to support Indigenous first-year and transfer students with adjusting to campus life, including, but not limited to, academics, finding community and more. In our communities, we do not believe in hierarchies; therefore, within the Ionkerihonnien:ni Guide Program, we intentionally learn and teach one another.

This program includes weekly workshops, one-on-one guidance and advising/support from staff. If you’re interested in joining the program, reach out directly to our graduate assistant, Claudia Pels, at clpels@syr.edu.

An annual celebration that honors graduating students by presenting them with a symbolic stole. For more information, contact Darrin White at ddwhite@syr.edu.