Native American sorority offers support, friendship
First ever at University of Oklahoma
NORMAN OK
Christina Good Voice 2/18/2005
The first Native American sorority at the University of Oklahoma is stepping out and showing everyone across campus what Native sisterhood is all about. In the process, the ladies of Gamma Delta Pi are giving new meaning to the word "sorority."
Gamma Delta Pi is not cut from the same mold as other sororities, said Star Oosahwe, co-chair of the sorority’s White Council, which is responsible for social, university, Greek and academic affairs.
“Although we have Greek letters and are considered a sorority, we are very different from the typical white and black sororities,” Oosahwe said. “It’s because of the nature of our culture, and we have a lot of girls. ...We are a women’s society and a support group.
“We attribute that to our founders because they built it that way, and we try to keep that going,” she added. According to Gamma Delta Pi’s Web site, the founders created the sisterhood “based solely on the ideals, culture, tradition, and legacy of American Indian women.”
The five founders were Jennifer Nez-Blanchard, Navajo; Sedelta Oosahwee, Cherokee/Mandan/Arikara/Hidatsa; Joyce Shield, Comanche/Osage/Chippewa-Cree; Robin Williams, Kiowa/Apache/Nez Perce/Assinaboine Sioux/Umatilla; and Shema Yearby, Seminole/Creek/Mississippi Choctaw.
Founded in August 2001, the sorority has 20 active members who belong to Native tribes nationwide, including Navajo, Pueblo, Mandan/Arikara/Hidatsa, Kiowa, Muscogee (Creek), Coushatta Creek, Kickapoo, Sac & Fox, Absentee Shawnee, Caddo, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Ponca and Comanche.
Support System
“The biggest benefit of the sorority is the support from all the other girls, especially for girls who come to OU without a support system or not a lot of friends,” said Star Oosahwe, 29, a graduate student who is a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.
In addition to providing a support system, the sorority is a place to find others with common interests or just a similar sense of humor.
“It makes it an easier transition for girls coming here from reservations,” said senior Katrina Foley, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) tribe who serves as co-chair of the White Council. “We offer them a familyness and the comfort of being around Natives. We offer them the opportunity to meet other Natives and help to keep them in good academic standing.”
Foley said what she likes most about the sorority is the opportunity to create friendships with women from other places.
Besides university events and activities, the sorority sponsors several fundraisers throughout the academic year, including an all-Indian basketball tournament in the spring and Native-style buffets.
Gamma Delta Pi’s annual basketball tournament has gained so much publicity over the last two years that it has become one of the largest basketball tournaments in the state.
Traditional Food
The Native-style buffet gives Native students and non-Natives a taste of what the sorority members eat back home, with a menu consisting of grape dumplings, corn soup, frybread, lamb and hominy and red chili stew. The buffets usually attract a strong turnout of people who support the organization, Foley said.
Gamma Delta Pi donates part of proceeds from the fundraisers to its chosen charity – Mikaela’s Miracle, an organization geared toward raising awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
“We’re about community service to our Indian, OU and Norman communities,” Foley said.
Oosahwe said she thinks that people view the sorority as a group of engaged American Indian women who are “doing something” on campus.
“This is important because I think we set a precedence on campus that we are here,” she said. “Our sisterhood represents the future of American Indian students.”
Christina Good Voice, Muscogee, attends the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She is a 2001 graduate of the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute.
This story originally was published by reznet
Reznet News the online newspaper by Native American college students.
NTN Article#: 6033
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Last updated on February 24, 2005