Indigenous American student struggles with ethnic isolation at University of Houston
By: Katrina Martinez
Tags: Invisible Minority, Indigenous, University Of Houston, Native Americans, Navajo

Both of her parents, Magdalena and Rolando Pineda, were born in Nicaragua. Her mother’s family fled to the U.S. in 1985 during the Sandinista Revolution, which broke out in 1979 and continued into 1990.

The lineage of Pineda’s maternal grandparents is deeply rooted in the Navajo Nation of North America. Their specific tribe fled to Central America during the time of European colonization, according to Pineda’s mother Magdalena Pineda, but they continued to represent their cultural identity despite being forced from their homelands.

Pineda’s grandfather, great grandfather and their fathers before them were all chiefs of their tribe dating back hundreds of years, Magdalena Pineda said. But with the growing number of disappearances, deaths and the rising poverty in the Navajo Nation, their family was forced to leave the reservation.

Magdalena Pineda is passionate about her culture and her people’s history but has struggled to pass the full experience of being Navajo on to Pineda and her brother.

“It’s very difficult when you can’t really share your culture, your language, your tradition or your beliefs because there’s nobody else but you,” Magdalena Pineda said. “I have raised my two children alone, so I cannot do it. … Being a single parent, it’s hard.”

‘The minority America forgets’

Throughout her 19 years, Pineda has never truly been exposed to the indigenous community outside of her family. She often felt isolated from her peers and said she was teased or treated badly in middle and high school by friends because she was so prideful of her culture.

Celine Pineda stands near the Cullen Fountain, one of her favorite spots on campus. She was hopeful she’d find a community of native students she could relate to when she first came to UH, but that was not the case. | Photo by Katrina Martinez

When she entered college in 2019, she hoped to find a community of peers, professors and natives who would encourage and support her educational endeavors, but that wasn’t the reality.

“I went to the Urban Experience Program, and I’ve been told that they’re trying to find a way to get a Native American scholarship started, but I probably won’t see it within my four years,” Pineda said. “The fact that it doesn’t exist to begin with kind of feels like a backhand.

“We’re the minority America forgets.”

There are no services available specifically for indigenous students because the population is so small, said Varselles Cummings, the director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. However, he said the University is looking into adding some.

CDI recommended indigenous students seek out student organizations or consult with the Center for Student Involvement about clubs.

Of nearly 600 student organizations on campus, only one is relevant to the native population. The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanic and Native Americans in Science at UH was created in the 2018–19 academic year but isn’t the culturally-based organization that Pineda truly longs for.

At the time of publication, the SACNAS advisers or officers could not be reached for comment.

Although there are many cultural organizations on campus, the University is not responsible for creating them, said communications senior and director of the Cougar Involvement Ambassadors Caroline Boden.

Instead, it is up to students to find the need for a club, bring in at least three members and an adviser, and then, complete training and write a constitution to have their club approved.

“We just haven’t had students come forward and say, ‘We want this organization to be on campus,’ unfortunately,” Boden said.

With so few natives on campus, Pineda struggled to find others to help her start such an organization when she tried to establish one during her first semester.

Magdalena Pineda (left) smells Celine Pineda’s forehead, who is her daughter, in the kitchen of their Missouri City home. This is a traditional greeting within their Navajo tribe, and Magdalena Pineda said her people can smell the difference between someone who is their relative and those who are not. | Photo by Katrina Martinez

She blames the University for failing to encourage more native students to enroll at UH. The issue is there are no scholarships or cultural support provided to Indigenous Americans by the University, she said.

“The more diversity you have, the more people you include, the more effort you put in, you will see those benefits,” Pineda said. “Go back to the history of this college and see how they started being more inclusive to minority groups, not only sexuality but also people of color and different backgrounds and ideology. Now, this campus flourishes.

“By not reaching out that hand, the school deprives itself of our voice, and they’re unknowingly pushing us out.”