Indigenous Student Union

Emily DiSalvo

Quinnipiac University sits atop lands that formerly belonged to the Quinnipiac tribe and alongside a mountain with an indigenous legend associated with it, and yet, when junior Kiara Tantaquidgeon arrived at Quinnipiac, the school had no organization related to it.

Tantaquidgeon, the president of the Indingenous Student Union (ISU), is a descendent of the Mohegan Tribe and spent her childhood exploring the legacy of her ancestors.

“Being indigenous was a huge part of my life,” Tantaquidgeon said. “My last name is Tantaquidgeon so it was kind of hard to escape my native identity even if I wanted to.”

That’s why she set out to form the ISU at Quinnipiac — because this was a part of her life too important to leave behind when she got to college.

Now, the organization is working to make students more aware of the story of Quinnipiac’s land and the people who originally lived here. One way to do that is to challenge the university’s attempt to culturally appropriate Sleeping Giant with “The Legend of the Bobcat.” “A personal goal of mine is that when every student steps on to Quinnipiac’s campus, they should take a breath in and think about what happened to the land.”

Kiara Tantaquidgeon President Gabriella Colello Secretary Christina Cardino Treasurer