How ASU Students are Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

Each November, Americans pay tribute to Native Americans through Native American Heritage Month, celebrating and raising awareness about different aspects of the culture. At Arizona State University, the Indigenous Wellness Alliance is working to help bring recognition to the month.

This year, the Indigenous Wellness Alliance is celebrating NAHM at ASU with a walk for wellness. Throughout the month of November, students at ASU can participate in this walk by logging their miles on an app called ‘Strava’, as well as see how other members of the competition are doing.

The purpose of the walk is to not only celebrate NAHM, but also raise awareness about persisting health problems in the Native American communities, and inspire members of the ASU community to get active.

“ Indigenous communities have higher rates of health disparities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and in general poor diet. All of these health disparities began because of colonization. It’s important to bring awareness to health and wellness in Indigenous communities so Indigenous people can continue to live a meaningful and healthy life,” Brandee Joe said. Joe is participating in the walk this month, and is from the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Southeast Arizona.

According to the Center for Disease Control, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest prevalence rate of diabetes amongst any racial and ethnic group in the United States. Almost one in every six adult Native Americans/Alaska Natives have diabetes, and the CDC predicts that one in two Native American children born in the year 2000 will have diabetes if the current trend persists.

“I believe in leading by example. Since I am a dietetics major student and my program is in the health and wellness realm, walking is a great way to stay active without it feeling like a workout,” Savanna Castorena, the facilitator of programming for the Indigenous Wellness Alliance said.

Mia Flores, a current student at ASU is also participating in the walk, and currently on the leaderboard for the most recorded miles at 5.8 just four days into the challenge.

“No person in this country should have to struggle because they don't have access to certain resources that could help. It is even more vital for members of minority communities, like Native American, to receive easy access to health resources because they receive significant inequity in health care compared to other populations within the state,” Flores said.

Although the event also serves to promote a healthy lifestyle, it also serves to raise awareness about Native Americans and their heritage on ASU’s campus.

According to Data USA, only 1.07% of the more than 53,000 students enrolled on the Tempe campus in 2019 were Native American. This is compared to the 5.3% of Arizona’s population that is Native American, as per data from the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau.

“ASU has many great resources to offer but the marketing can be a bit hidden,” Castorena said. “Native American communities and their struggles get highlighted within classroom lectures or textbooks but not much coverage occurs when it comes to the great events we are a part of, such as this one.”