Right at the beginning of her freshman year at Gonzaga University, senior Grace Crantz began working at the Office of Tribal Relations, which aims to help Native students succeed at GU and hosts events for those students as well as the larger Spokane Native community. But despite the work of the Office of Tribal Relations, Crantz said she found herself disheartened by the lack of communication between Native students, as well as between those students and Native faculty.
In response to this shortfall Crantz saw, during the fall semester of her sophomore year, she began the process of starting a Native American Student Union at GU that has now been up and running for two years.
“I was already immersed not only into the Native community on campus but also into the Spokane community,” Crantz said. “I felt there could be more impact among students themselves, and that’s part of why I started the club, to raise awareness and strengthen connections.”…