A community meeting was held at the Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC) at Portland State University (PSU) on Monday, April. 21. Dozens of Native students, staff, alumni and supporters gathered to hear the candid and often emotional testimonies of students as they shared perceptions of administrative neglect, poor working conditions and a lack of transparency from Global Diversity & Inclusion (GDI)—the NASCC’s supervising department within PSU.
The meeting was largely prompted due to concern within the campus’s indigenous communities over proposals to relocate Native student resources from the NASCC to the Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU). GDI Vice President Ame Lambert denied intentions to displace Native resources, instead citing greater student traffic at SMSU as justification for the proposals.
Lambert was expected to attend the community meeting on April. 21, but did not, leaving one of the largest NASCC meetings of the year unattended by University Administration. According to students familiar with the matter, Lambert withdrew due to concerns about her safety.
“I went to her office to speak with her,” said Davineekaht White Elk, a PSU Student who met with Lambert one-on-one earlier this year. “And then that’s what she mentioned to me… that she wants to remove native clubs out of the NASCC… I told her that was a bad idea, because, you know, [the] relocating of native people and the history of that… It’s just causing oppression on Native people.”
Davineekaht said Lambert later sent them a series of late-night emails explaining why she wouldn’t attend the meeting, describing them as “very manipulative.”
In a letter sent nearly two weeks prior to the Apr. 21 meeting, Lambert addressed the most prominent concerns staff and students had been raising about the center.
“Trying to kick all Native/Indigenous groups and activities out of the NASCC due to low attendance… has never been a consideration or a question at all,” Lambert stated. “The building is the Native American Student and Community Center and exists because of students and community. It is your space.”
One of the greatest concerns echoed at the meeting was the relocation of Native staff to SMSU, a shift that has been ongoing since the beginning of the academic year. Lambert addressed the concerns in the letter, stating, “staff members still do work [one] day in the NASCC.”
“The change is to get closer to where students are starting to show up more, so we can reach our students and serve them… Our Native students have intersectional and multiple identities, and we want to ensure that those holistic connections and supports are provided. The staff have access to the space and have been encouraged to have programming there,” Lambert stated.
Multiple students spoke about the toll of being left without proper staff, resources or information, noting both practical and psychological impacts. Several of them delivered their testimonies through tears.
“They change the rules all the time, and they don’t give them the information they need,” said Carma Corcoran, PSU Adjunct Professor, who facilitated the meeting.
She cited missed security deadlines for the upcoming powwow and a lack of access to necessary forms to unlock student funds.
Other students expressed feeling a disconnect between PSU’s marketing image and the reality of life on campus.
“I came here because it was one of the few schools I thought respected its Indigenous students,” said a PSU student who wished to remain anonymous. “And I found out that really isn’t the case.”
Brianna Lopez, Lead Coordinator for student group United Indigenous Students in Higher Education (UISHE), said she and others had been flagging these issues with GDI for months.
In a recurring theme, those present often described the NASCC as more than just a campus facility.
“This space feels like a home,” said TJ Purvis, a longtime PSU Student Worker. “It’s very sacred to the tribe, very sacred to people. And the thing is, they don’t see people. They see numbers.”