Multicultural Center

About American Indian Student Services

WELCOME to AISS

Mission

The office of American Indian Student Services (AISS) is dedicated to empowering American Indian students through the creation of opportunities for engagement and leadership in an environment that celebrates the rich diversity of our campus and the communities we serve.

The four, intersecting principles of the Multicultural Center that guide our work are building community, promoting social justice, being central to the academic experience and facilitating individual transformation.

Building Community

AISS wants to move students from "excellence to eminence" (E. Gordon Gee, President of The Ohio State University).

We are committed to sustaining and creating communities within each Indigenous culture as well as creating communities interculturally where the dignity of individuals and groups are respected. We encourage genuine pride and the promotion of civility and mutual respect through the safe and authentic examination of the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences that separate us Tribally/Nationally as well as interculturally from each other and which prevent us from seeing one another as completely human and inherently worthy of being treated well. We support activities that celebrate our uniqueness and that help others understand our differences Tribally, Nationally, and interculturally, as well as those that enable us to find common ground and interconnectedness as a human family. 

Promoting Social Justice

AISS seeks to engage the hearts and minds of individuals and encourage all to value a just society that is free of bias, discrimination, prejudice, and harassment. We strive to create opportunities for examination of the issues surrounding social and institutional structures  that work to disempower groups and individuals. We encourage active participation towards the creation of positive, systemic change.

Being Central to the Academic Experience

The AISS strives to create an intellectual and cultural experience for all American Indian/Indigenous students that furthers their capacity to think critically and supports achievement of their academic and professional goals. We encourage engagement in this environment beyond representation to genuine participation.

Facilitating Individual Transformation

AISS believes in every American Indian/Indigenous person's capacity for self transformation and the ability to learn from others. We create environments that encourage an openness to change and safe spaces for self-exploration. We are driven by the belief that if individuals can begin to understand the world through others' perspectives, then they can progressively transform themselves into empowered individuals and become allies for others within their own cultures and other cultures - Indigenous or otherwise.

History

The AISS office was created out of a need, initiated by students in 1996 to be able to have a safe space for them to addresses specific academic and cultural needs while here at OSU. Our philosophy takes a holistic approach to academics that is based on a foundation of collective work, leadership, and vision. American Indian Student Services strives to empower students to be successful here at OSU and elsewhere in their lives.

We encourage you to stop by American Indian Student Services located within the Multicultural Center, 128 Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive.

New Virtual Community

We have a new group at Yahoo. If you are interested in joining, please click on the link below. It is a closed group, restricted to all students, faculty, staff, and allies at OSU who identify as or with American Indians.