[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2025\/12\/xiyonne-projects-1.jpg” min_height=”800px” min_height_tablet=”800px” min_height_phone=”523px” min_height_last_edited=”on|phone” height_tablet=”” height_phone=”470px” height_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”297px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”54px” text_line_height=”1.72em” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”-36px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”54px” text_font_size_phone=”28px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_line_height_tablet=”1.72em” text_line_height_phone=”1.2em” text_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” text_text_shadow_style=”preset3″ text_text_shadow_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The Silent Decline: Native American Student Enrollment at Ohio State<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”1409px” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”–et_global_heading_font|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”29px” text_line_height=”0.5em” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”52px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”52px||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-38px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”29px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_line_height_tablet=”0.5em” text_line_height_phone=”1em” text_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” text_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0.56em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
By Xiyonne McCullough | Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Reporter<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#727272″ text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”||-7px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]Credit: Chloe Limputra | Web Editor<\/em><\/p>\n What she found instead was a sense of belonging that felt temporary.<\/p>\n During her first year, she remembers being surprised by how present the Native community seemed. The Center for Belonging and Social Change funded student trips to powwows, a Native student advisor, Madison Eagle, helped organize beadwork nights, connected students to faculty and cultivated a small but vibrant cohort.<\/p>\n \u201cThat told me there was at least something here,\u201d Walkup said. \u201cNative student experiences were heavily funded through the CBSC. It felt like people cared about our success.\u201d<\/p>\n But within four years, almost all of that infrastructure disappeared. The CBSC was closed, Native-affiliated programs shrank and the Native American and Indigenous People Cohort dissolved this semester due to low student numbers.<\/p>\n Walkup, now a fourth-year in psychology, will graduate from a university posting its lowest Native American enrollment in a decade.<\/p>\n According to Ohio State\u2019s 10-year enrollment trend tables based on the 15th-day enrollment report census<\/a><\/span>,<\/span> Native American enrollment has steadily fallen across the past 10 years. On the Columbus campus, the number of students who identify as Native American dropped from 99 in 2013 to 37 in 2023, the most recent year available.<\/p>\n Faculty at Ohio State who teach within the American Indian Studies program say the drop is the end result of a pattern of reduced institutional support over several years, which ultimately coincided with the closure of the CBSC after a state law banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all Ohio public universities.<\/p>\n \u201cOver time, there has been a reduction in those support systems,\u201d Teresa Lynch, an assistant professor in the School of Communication and a faculty member in the American Indian Studies program, said. \u201cMadison was at first dedicated to supporting Native students, but her role shifted, and eventually she left because she wasn\u2019t being given funding to support students.\u201d <\/p>\n Land acknowledgments are a statement noting the university resides on tribal land, as purchased through the Morrill Act of 1862.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to the university\u2019s website outlining SB 1 guidelines, Ohio State may not issue statements that engage in advocacy or calls to action, which they consider land acknowledgments.<\/span><\/p>\n Elissa Washuta, an associate professor of English and director of the American Indian Studies program, said territory around what can and cannot be said feels muddy.\u00a0<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s hard to feel like I\u2019m allowed to be fully Native in the classroom at this point because of the lack of clarity around what we are and are not allowed to say,\u201d Washuta said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a professor, Lynch echoed a similar sentiment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been hard as a Native faculty to watch many colleagues leaving, and knowing that\u2019s just going to make the issue more difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cThese university workers end up leaving for other Big Ten schools that have programs and allow them the freedom to be openly Native.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Faced with these issues, university spokesperson Chris Booker said Ohio State both acknowledges and provides resources pertaining to indigeneity.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOhio State continues to support students from Indigenous communities, offer courses in American Indian Studies and other indigenous cultures,\u201d Booker said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Walkup said she remembers a time during the fall semester of 2022 being asked by university officials to participate in discussion around their findings of Native American enrollment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI remember I went to one meeting with four or five officials, and it was a mixture of students, staff and faculty that identify as Native American,\u201d Walkup said. \u201cWe talked and planned out how to improve student enrollment from Native American communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At this point, Native American enrollment across the Columbus campus sat at 34. Even with the efforts, Walkup said there was still a feeling of abandonment from the university.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDespite what did exist, it was definitely noticeable that there were a lot of issues that kind of came across as the university not really wanting to meet the Native community where they were,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Across all six Ohio State campuses, the count fell from 119 to 44 over that same period, according to racial demographic reporting, ending in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Enrollment trends tables \u2013 10 years (2023)<\/a> \u201cNative American and Alaska Native enrollment trends at Ohio State mirror similar enrollment trends in higher education,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n A 2024 report from the American Indian College Fund states that, since 2010, enrollment among Native American and Alaska Native students has dropped 40 percent nationally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The trend at Ohio State is consistent, year after year with no rebound in sight.<\/span><\/p>\n Native students represent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the student population, making them one of the smallest racial demographics at the university.<\/span><\/p>\n For the faculty who teach Native studies, these numbers are not abstract figures on a spreadsheet. They determine whether student organizations can remain active, program offerings and where institutional investment goes.<\/span><\/p>\n Lynch said earlier this semester, she learned that the student organization, Native American and Indigenous People Cohort, had to pause meetings due to low student numbers.<\/span> Lynch arrived nine years ago at Ohio State when programming for Native students was run through what was then called the Multicultural Center.<\/span><\/p>\n Madison Eagle, the Native student advisor at the time, single-handedly planned cultural events, handled one-on-one advising and ensured that Native students had someone within the university who understood the challenges they faced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That support, Lynch said, made a substantial difference.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe did a lot of program development,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cShe brought people together to share experiences, and those activities gave students a sense of community and identity.\u201d<\/span> During its existence, the CBSC served as the prime physical location for Native American students to meet with Eagle. After her departure, Lynch and Walkup said meetings were still held by students in the physical location until its closure this year.<\/span><\/p>\n The closure, as part of the implementation of Ohio Senate Bill 1, dealt what Lynch described as the last straw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs Indigenous people, space is very important in our cultures,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cNot having a space is really a blow to the community, and these very few things the university was doing to support Native students are being taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, students are left questioning if this university is right for them.<\/span>
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]When Briana Walkup arrived at Ohio State, she hoped to find something she had never had growing up in rural northwest Ohio: a Native community.<\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|-57px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2025\/12\/G6A3198.jpg” title_text=”_G6A3198″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#727272″ text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”-14px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-14px||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-14px||-81px||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]Sarah Hinkelman, Newark Earthworks’ historic site manager, gestures to the earthworks on a map of the area during a presentation before the northernmost moonrise at the Octagon Earthworks Dec. 5.\u00a0Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor<\/em><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]The shift also coincided with the implementation of Senate Bill 1, or SB 1, a state law that required the university to \u201csunset\u201d land acknowledgments. The law, effective March 25, bans diversity, equity and inclusion programming and faculty striking, limits the teaching of controversial topics and requires course syllabi to be posted online.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-49px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” min_height=”640.5px” custom_margin=”-100px|||||” custom_margin_tablet=”-100px|||||” custom_margin_phone=”-20px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”] <\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2025\/12\/Xiyonne-graph-FINAL-1.png” title_text=”Xiyonne graph FINAL (1)” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”83%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-52px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#727272″ text_font_size=”15px” width=”70%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-14px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]The number of American Indian and Alaska Natives enrolled at The Ohio State University by year according to most recent data available. Graph Credit: Chloe Limputra | Web Editor<\/em><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|-49px|auto||” custom_padding=”2px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]Booker said this trend in enrollment is not just present at Ohio State.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]\u201cWe don\u2019t have the critical mass of students for them to have a formal organization on campus,\u201d she said. \u201cHearing that was demoralizing and sad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#1b2c49″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”24.5px” background_color=”#1b2c49″ background_layout=”dark” global_colors_info=”{}”]\u201cAs Indigenous people, space is very important in our cultures,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cNot having a space is really a blow to the community, and these very few things the university was doing to support Native students are being taken away.\u201d<\/em>
\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”1px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]However, gradually the infrastructure that supported Native students began to shrink. Positions like Eagle\u2019s were restructured, and funds once dedicated to Native programming were disappearing, Lynch said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2025\/12\/xiyonne-graph-2-FINAL-2.png” title_text=”xiyonne graph 2 FINAL (2)” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”86%” width_tablet=”86%” width_phone=”500px” width_last_edited=”on|phone” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”89%” max_width_phone=”105%” max_width_last_edited=”on|phone” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”0px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”|0px||0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#727272″ text_font_size=”15px” width=”78%” width_tablet=”78%” width_phone=”78%” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-14px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]Breakdown of the American Indian and Alaska Native academic community at The Ohio State University according to most recent data available. Graph Credit: Chloe Limputra | Web Editor<\/em><\/p>\n