We all want a place where we belong. Finding that place is where things get tricky.

As members of the Lumbee tribe, Sophia Gromek 鈥�27 and her cousin Jasmine Mouring 鈥�25 grew up deeply connected to their community, attending annual Pow Wows filled with food, dancing and fellowship. But creating that same cultural connection on a busy campus proved to be a challenge. So when the two heard about a new group for Indigenous students, they made it a point to show up.

What they got was a sense of shared experience. They met fellow Indigenous students from Maryland, the Dominican Republic and Chile and talked for hours. The group compared backstories and discovered shared acquaintances. They found commonality over a sense of straddling two worlds and a feeling of responsibility for preserving cultural traditions. Some chuckled or nodded along as they discovered a shared curiosity about classmates with traditionally Native names.

It wasn鈥檛 long before they were making plans for another meet-up.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see other people who look like you or are doing or thinking the same things as you,鈥� Gromek said. 鈥淭hat representation is important.鈥�

A welcoming environment for all

Visibility and representation are exactly what Student Success Librarian Emily Minner was hoping for when she first envisioned the group. Minner is a proud member of the Lumbee tribe, whose members migrated from North Carolina to Baltimore during the post World War II industrial boom. At its height in the 1970s, the Lumbees had an estimated population of 7,000 and were believed to be the largest community of tribal members in an American urban area. Yet when Minner shares her Lumbee heritage with non-Natives, she鈥檚 often met with surprise.

People just don鈥檛 think there are Natives in Maryland. I want us to have more visibility, so they understand Lumbees and other Indigenous People are still here.

Emily Minner

To that end, Minner hopes more students with Native and Indigenous heritage will join their group for monthly conversations and crafting in Cook Library. The next meeting will be Nov. 18 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in CK 512. Any student with a connection to the Indigenous community is welcome, regardless of membership or enrollment status. For students like Maddy Chavis 鈥�28, who didn鈥檛 grow up in a Native community, the group offers an opportunity to understand new parts of her culture.

鈥淢y grandpa was Native American but my dad didn鈥檛 grow up around other Lumbee, so when grandpa died we sort of lost that connection to our history,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to learn more (through this group) and have people to talk with about it.鈥�

Becoming the newest student union

As membership grows, the group hopes to become the Native American & Indigenous Student Union鈥攁 place where students like Sophie, Jasmine and Maddy can find that sometimes elusive but deeply affirming sense of belonging that comes with a shared history. Eventually, they envision taking trips and launching advocacy campaigns, but for now, they鈥檙e happy to have a dedicated space to be together and build connections.

I love the feeling of community I have with people from my tribe and other Native Americans. It鈥檚 good to have that feeling at school too.

Sophia Gromek 鈥�27