The Native American Student Assembly celebrated the first day of Native American Heritage Month Wednesday night with a beaded jewelry-making circle. Eighteen students gathered for the event at Tutor Campus Center.

In the 16th century, beaded jewelry and goods became a popular form of Native American art. Beadwork became a symbol of Indigenous resilience and survival in the face of colonialism. According to the Kansas Historical Society, Native American communities still make beaded jewelry and art to wear and display as an act of Indigenous pride.

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Mandy LaMere, a sophomore majoring in architecture, led the event and gave an in-depth tutorial on how to make a beaded keychain. This year, LaMere will begin leading similar beading circles for NASA every other Thursday.  

LaMere’s family belongs to the Chippewa Tribe on the Rocky Boy Reservation, and her grandparents were the ones who introduced her to beading when she was a child. Although LaMere’s grandparents passed away before they could finish teaching her how to make beaded jewelry, she attended workshops and collaborated with groups from her community until she eventually learned enough to open her own jewelry business, Formed by Flora. 

Outside of making and selling her own beaded earrings and necklaces, LaMere said she is also passionate about introducing others to the art of jewelry-making. 

“It’s a very soothing cultural practice because my family always taught me that beading is praying,” LaMere said. “Every bead that you put on is a prayer and it releases all of the negative emotions that you’re holding in. It puts out positive energy and allows you to cleanse yourself, and then, whoever you gift your beadwork to … will hold all of the prayers and good energy.”

Kiyan Zamanian, NASA’s co-director of cultural and community outreach and a senior majoring in Spanish, attended the event and made a personalized keychain. Zamanian said he enjoyed the event because it was a fun opportunity to spend time with the Native American student community.  

“I didn’t get in touch with my Native side and my heritage until coming to USC and joining the Native American Student Assembly,” Zamanian said. “This is really the place where I found another family in NASA.”

Looking forward to the rest of Native American Heritage Month, LaMere said she’s excited for the upcoming events that NASA will host. 

“I’m excited that we get to see more events this year,” LaMere said. “I’m excited that we have a lot of new members that get to experience being together this year, and I’m glad that USC is having a larger representation of Native American people and we’re putting an effort to have more visibility on campus.”

Ethan Galbraith, a junior majoring in journalism, said he is also looking forward to the rest of Native American Heritage Month because it’s an opportunity for him to showcase the size and strength of the Native American community on campus.

“There’s sometimes a misconception that Indigenous Native American culture no longer exists or isn’t as strong as it actually is,” Galbraith said. “November is a time for us to show it and say, ‘Hey, we’re still here. Not only are we still here, but we are strongly here.’”

Daniel Williams, NASA’s co-executive programming director and a junior majoring in non-governmental organizations and social change, said he is excited to celebrate Native American Heritage Month with other NASA members. Moving forward, Williams said he is hoping to see the University continue to invest in Native American students on campus by supporting efforts to create more scholarships for Indigenous students and providing the necessary funding for an embedded mental health counselor for NASA. 

“You look [at the funding for] all these [other student cultural] assemblies, and then finally you get to the bottom and there’s us,” Williams said. “I get that the reasoning and argument behind is like, ‘Well, you don’t have the population,’ but you have to consider the history behind [why that] is.” 

In 2022, the Daily Trojan reported that NASA receives the fifth-lowest amount of money out of 15 student assemblies funded by the Undergraduate Student Government, In fiscal year 2023, the assembly received $14,000.

As the only Native American programming entity at USC, NASA has taken on the task of planning and hosting special events in November to promote awareness and support for the University’s Indigenous community, including a pow wow at the Los Angeles Autry Museum this coming Saturday, a traditional bird singing performance Nov. 15 and a NASA wellness day workshop Nov. 29.