Native & Indigenous Students Association

The Native and Indigenous Students Association (NISA) is a student organization that facilitates a space dedicated to supporting, celebrating, and and advocating for all Native American, Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous, Native Hawai’ian (Kanaka Maoli), Native Alaskan, Freedmen, and First Nations students across Amherst College and the Five Colleges. Our community represents a wide range of tribal nations and communities across Turtle Island. NISA hosts weekly meetings, various events, and social gatherings in our own student space located adjacent to the Ford Hall Event Space. Our events have included; beading nights, dinner meetings with takeout from local restaurants, movie screenings, and collaborative events with other student organizations. NISA works closely with the Native faculty on campus to advocate for Native and Indigenous students at the faculty and administration level. Our goals for the upcoming academic year consist of; planting a medicine garden, working with the archives and neighboring communities on a campus land acknowledgment, holding events for Indigenous Peoples’ Day and MMIW Day and more!