SUNY Potsdam Creates Coordinator of Native American Affairs Position

Native American students attending SUNY Potsdam who need help in just about any area of college life have a new administrator on their side.

Rebecca Smoke now works full time at the school's Center for Diversity as their Coordinator of Native American Affairs.

"It's a new position developed to increase recruitment, retention, grad rates for Native students," Smoke said.

Her job includes not only helping students from all Native nations navigate their college careers, but promoting Native cultural awareness on campus as well.

"They (Native students) know they have a safe place to go, we can help them," she said.

Students like 19-year-old Dennis Bero, a sophomore, turn to Smoke's office for just about any issue of any size.

Smoke said he was having trouble figuring out how his meal plan worked, as many new students do, and all he had to do was ask.

"We went right to the page, printed it out and got it for him," Smoke said.

"It's pretty comforting ... knowing people from the community are here on a daily basis," Bero said, adding that his college experience has been thus far positive. "I'm enjoying it."

Smoke said she doesn't function as students' actual academic advisors, but can step in before and after to make sure they are heading in the right direction.

"We have access to student records, we help keep them on track and make sure they're not wasting their time," Smoke said. "Sometimes they don't feel comfortable with an advisor they don't know."

"At least a few times a week we have students come in."

She doesn't deal with too many financial aid issues, but can help students work with the financial aid office.

"Whatever we can't answer we direct them," Smoke said.

Smoke also works with the campus community to help educate on Native culture.

"Some of my job duties are to find programming, guest speakers, and be in touch with different departments," she said.

One of her current projects is finding a Mohawk to speak to the Women and Gender Studies class.

"I think it's more than just being here for Native American students, but to educate all students about our Native American population," she said. "Even Mohawk classes, you don't have to be Mohawk to take it."

She said in the long-term, she wants to see more going on around campus outside the classroom and perhaps even a group dedicated to promoting Native cultures.

"Plans are to have guest speakers get in, do presentations throughout campus, maybe to build to larger scale group on campus ... so more people can have access to all the knowledge," Smoke said.

Smoke is not running a one-woman office.

It is also staffed by Chanel Cook, an education specialist for the Native American Teaching Initiative.

"It's to increase the number of Native teachers in New York State," Cook said. "My job to make sure 10 students who are juniors get their teaching certificate and get them into job placement, but while here I'm also helping with mentoring and teaching a one-credit seminar course for three semesters on issues in Haudenosaunee education."

The three-part class includes portions where the students learn from "presenters from different realms of education in Haudenosaunee territories."

The office where Smoke and Cook work is centrally located on campus in Sisson Hall, which is connected to the Barrington Student Union, across the street from the academic quad and a brief walk from the three main dorm halls.

The building includes a student lounge, a computer lab with about 20 computers and a silent space for those who need absolute quiet.

"I would just like people in the community, if they're ever interested to come to campus and get ahold of our office and we can set something up, a visit, a tour," Smoke said.

She can reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (315) 267-2211. They are also on Facebook, the page is called "Office of Native American Affairs." They post, get messages and events, offer helpful hints and give weather updates for commuter students.