Native Narrative Tour highlights American Indian influences on campus

Students and community members gathered for the second Native Narrative Tour hosted by the American Indian Center on Friday.

The goal of the tour is to educate people about the American Indian presence on UNC's campus.

“We know that there’s the Black and Blue Tour,” tour guide Kayshel Trudell said, referring to the tour about African-American history on campus. “And we really think that the native story should be told.” 

The two tour guides — Trudell, of the Menominee Indian tribe, and Teryn Smith, of the Sappony Indian tribe — started the tour at the UNC Visitors' Center and ended at Abernethy Hall, where the American Indian Center is housed. The tour visited eight buildings and landmarks around North Campus and mid-campus that each contributed to the history of American Indians on campus. 

Carolyn Fryberger, a staff member for the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, was on the tour. 

"My favorite part was hearing specific stories that really kind of personalized the tour and learning about North Carolina tribes that aren’t federally recognized," she said.

To help tell the American Indian story, the tour played recorded narratives at each stop, and exhibited the pottery, weapons and artifacts of southeastern American Indians housed in two buildings on campus.

Trudell said The Gift is her favorite part of the tour. The Gift is comprised of southeastern Native American symbols designed into the brick walkway between the Frank Porter Graham Student Union buildings. 

“The Gift is really important … to just know the significance behind it, and the story behind the creation of it, and what it means in anyone’s life who walks through that path is really significant," Trudell said. "I’m glad to share that location with people because otherwise they wouldn’t really think about it or notice it."

The wall outside Lenoir Hall and Davis Library are two other historic American Indian landmarks. Tour guides said students lounge around the wall between classes and might not know it served as the first meeting place for Native Americans on campus whose gatherings later became the Carolina Indian Circle. 

The fifth floor of Davis Library is where the first historically American Indian sorority, Alpha Pi Omega, held its first study session. 

The tour came to a close at Smith’s favorite spot, the American Indian Center.

“It just ties everything together at the end of the tour,” Smith said. “You have the contemporary experiences, the students (and) the community partners. It’s also a space where you can talk about the histories and share stories.”

Participants asked questions at the end, eager to expand on the knowledge they received during the tour.

“I thought it was really interesting," Fryberger said. "I enjoyed hearing about the history of native tribes and how UNC supports native tribes in the community.”

The next tour will be held April 15 at 3 p.m.

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