Richard Lundy was one of a handful of American Indian students who attended Iowa State in the early 1970s, when there was no Symposium on the American Indian and a group of white students known as “The Tomahawk Club” was politically correct.

On Saturday, Lundy watched as about 30 American Indian men, women and children, dressed in full regalia, danced in an exhibition powwow. The powwow closed the 33rd Symposium on the American Indian, a celebration Lundy helped launch back in 1971.

Since then, the American Indian student population at Iowa State has not increased as much as Lundy and others would like. But events such as Saturday’s powwow help create a sense of belonging for students on campus.

Lundy grinned as he observed the dancers, some not even 2 years old, whirl and bounce beneath basketball hoops and a huge Iowa State Cyclones emblem in a Forker Building gymnasium. He said “the little ones” are still his favorite part of the powwow, which he has rarely missed in the 33 years since the event began.

“That continuity for us is a big thing. If the young ones are doing this now, they’ll teach their young ones, and then their young ones. Our hearts are in them,” said Lundy, who graduated from Iowa State in 1973 and is now the chairman of American Indian Studies at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Neb.

Crowds of more than 150 people were present at each of two Grand Entries Saturday, as a beating drum reverberated from the gymnasium walls.

Ben Bear, master of ceremonies and member of the Meskwaki nation, recognized American Indian ancestors who fought against the United States as well as those who later fought and died for it. Bear asked all veterans to step forward and be recognized.

“We want to remember those men and women who did not return to home soil,” Bear said.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, stepped forward from the crowd and joined the circle, along with three other men. Hill, who was in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point during the Vietnam War, stood with his hands folded behind his back, watching the dancers and other veterans.

Celebrations such as the powwow have an impact on recruiting and retaining American Indian students at Iowa State, Hill said later.

“It is an acknowledgment and recognition of Native American culture,” he said.

Hill said events such as the powwow are helpful because they provide students with something familiar and help create a sense of belonging.

He said the University of Iowa has aggressively recruited American Indian students, but many still choose to come to Iowa State. In most cases, Hill said, it comes down to personal choice.

Tim Legg, senior in computer engineering and member of the Cherokee nation, said powwows are a good opportunity to dispel stereotypes about American Indians.

“This is a time for people to learn how it really is. There’s a huge amount of really bad misconceptions out there,” Legg said.

Legg said he’s encountered obstacles as an American Indian student at Iowa State, including a professor who made racist comments. He said he only knows a few other American Indian students in Ames.

“We know each other, but we don’t see each other that often,” he said.

Legg attended the University of North Dakota before transferring to Iowa State to pursue computer engineering. He said the campus climate at North Dakota was different than that of Iowa State.

“[The University of North Dakota] has created a depth of Native American programs. We have tried to have such programs get off the ground [at Iowa State]. They don’t have any support,” he said.

Legg would like to see curriculum implemented so students can get a bachelor’s degree in American Indian Studies at Iowa State. Right now, only a minor is offered.

Despite stumbling blocks, attending college has not been exceptionally difficult, Legg said.

“You have to adapt, you have to survive. We’ve survived a federal government that wanted to eliminate us or assimilate us. College is nothing,” he said.

Lundy, the 1973 graduate, left Iowa State with a double major in anthropology and American Indian Studies. He completed the American Indian Studies degree through the Honors Program.

He said the American Indian Studies curriculum was modeled after classes he took while pursuing the bachelor’s degree.

When he first arrived at Iowa State, there were very few classes in American Indian studies.

“There was almost no classwork available — a couple of anthropology classes and that was it,” Lundy said.

He said part of the reason why he worked to help create the first symposium was to bring American Indian issues to the attention of ISU administrators.

“It sort of worked, and it sort of didn’t,” Lundy said. “There was some response on the university’s part, but it didn’t gain a lot of wind.”

He said he feels close ties to Iowa State, even after more than 30 years.

“In and out of the classroom, there was a lot of learning going on,” Lundy said of his time at Iowa State. “The learning environment is an excellent one — to strengthen the Native cause would be a blessing.”