The Native American Cultural House hosted its fourth annual tie-dye event on Friday as one of several events that occurred during the first week of classes.
The tie-dye event consisted of new and returning students bonding and figuring out how to design their tie-dye shirts.
When asked about how challenging it was to organize the event, Charlotte E. Davidson, director of the Native American House, said it wasn’t hard at all.
“We’ve been doing this for four years,” Davidson said. “We have a lot of volunteers and partners that participate in this event, so it was easy to implement.”
Despite the event not being hard to host, they stocked up on supplies before students came back to school to avoid the lack of supplies in stores.
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“We get our stuff from stores in the community, and it depends on where there are good supplies,” Davidson said. “We buy our stuff in advance to avoid purchasing supplies before students come back to campus because there’s a scarcity of the things we need as students come back to campus.”
According to Davidson, the tie-dye event is one of the most important events the house hosts each year because of the number of new students who show up.
“Our welcome week event is really critical and one of our most important programs that we host because that’s where we meet a lot of students for the first time,” Davidson said. “I’ve met a lot of students for the first time at this event, and they continue to participate in Native American House events.”
One of the participants in the event was Jennifer Johnson, an assistant professor in Education, who came to support the house and the people involved.
Johnson has been involved in activities hosted by the house for three years, ever since she moved to the Champaign-Urbana area, and has since become a regular attendant of the house’s events.
This isn’t the only event that drew in students, as Renata Ryan, an assistant professor in LAS, recounted how one of the new ambassadors, Mia Davlantis, started their involvement last spring.
“She came last spring because she was considering this University and another university,” Ryan said. “I met her recently at the Indigenous Scholars Orientation and got to talk to her, and now she’s an ambassador here.”
The main advice Ryan has for new students going to Native American House events for the first time is to look at the other events coming up.
“Enjoy yourself,” Ryan said. “Learn about what Native American House has to offer since they have different events they do throughout the school year.”
All students are welcome to attend any events hosted at the Native American House, and if students want to get connected, Davidson suggests checking its social media accounts and website.
“Everybody is welcome to attend anything that we do, and we have a staff here that has also nurtured that message in kind and loving ways,” Davidson said. “Follow us on our socials, check out our website and connect with us if you have any questions.”
