BLOOMINGTON, Ind.
Indiana University administrators are working to find a new space and director for a support group for American Indian students weeks after student leaders accused IU of not supporting the group.
In early August, members of The First Nations Educational & Cultural Center said the group’s governing board was dissolving due to inadequate treatment by the university.
But school administrators are now working to secure a new space, a director and additional staff for First Nations. The group held an open house Friday that drew about 70 students.
Lillian Casillas, director of IU’s La Casa, the campus’ Latino cultural center, has agreed to serve as First Nation’s interim director for up to a year.
“It would have been the most ideal to have somebody from the beginning,” Casillas said.
She plans to hire two work-study students to staff the center so it can be open longer hours. Currently, it’s open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
