Ujamaa (Umoja)

The student organization Ujamaa worked on campus to promote African American culture and identity. The word is Swahili for cooperative economics. Ujamaa created projects to introduce black high school students to Evergreen, community outreach programs, and brought dynamic speakers to the campus, such as Kwame Ture in 1973 and Berkeley sociology professor Harry Edwards,  as well as sponsoring events like umoja week, a celebration of black unity that featured a three-hour performance by jazz musician Walter Zuber Armstrong and the Black Arts West play “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.” Students from the organization participated in meetings and social activities with other black student groups in the area, as well as attending the national black student convention in New York and conferences on ethnic diversity in California and Seattle.

Ujamaa co-sponsored events with other First Peoples organizations, including MEChA, NASA, and the Asian Coalition (sometimes called the Asian/Pacific Alliance), as well as groups such as the Women’s Center. By 1990 they had changed their name from Ujamaa to Umoja (Swahili for unity) and from there morphed into the Black Student Union as it is now.

Asian Coalition

Among the student organizations associated with First Peoples Coalition was the Asian Coalition. In the early days, the function of the organization was to educate Evergreen and the greater Olympia community about the needs, issues, and culture of Asian Americans. The coalition sponsored workshops in cultural awareness, art, speakers, and cultural events. In the ‘70s, along with the Third World Women’s Association, the organization sponsored several Asian American

students to go to San Francisco for the International Women’s Year conference. The coalition established a library of books and periodicals about Asian culture and concerns. In the '90s, the organization set up an Asia exhibition on the third floor of the CAB with objects donated by alumni including two Korean formal dresses and one Chinese formal dress as well as small statues, figurines, and artwork. The student group also sponosored Asian American Heritage Week throughout the '80s and '90s and brought Asian American writer/performer/poet Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn to give a workshop called "Poetry and Performance" in 1982.

Later the name would change to Asian Students in Alliance (ASIA) to the Asian/Pacific Alliance. Currently the organization is called the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC). APIC currently describes itself as: “a space for students of Asian (including Desi and South/East Asian) and Pacific Islander descent to decompress, celebrate ourselves, and find community. We are from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures, sharing common interests and struggles, and working together to heal, grow, and fight for the needs of Asian Pacific Americans. We welcome all students, from API nationals to multi-generation immigrants to non-API students willing to stand in support against racism and fetishization in all forms.”

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanos de Aztlan (MEChA)

Students from the Contemporary American Minorities (CAM) in 1971 organized a chapter of MEChA on the Evergreen campus. Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) is a student organization on college campuses throughout the USA. Its intent was to celebrate the language, culture, and social movement of Chicano people. Evergreen’s chapter consisted of Chicano/Hispanic/Latinx students on the Evergreen campus. They presented programs, including showing films, bringing in speakers, and having music all connected with Chicano culture.  They were also active in helping sponsor the community radio program “el Mensaje del Aire.” 

In the First People’s Coalition catalog, MEChA described itself as “a Chicano student organization that embodies a concept of self-identity, cultural heritage, history, brotherhood and contemporary Chicano student activities. Our goals include educating the Evergreen and Olympia communities to the total Chicano experience. We exist to fill the gap for all Chicano and Hispanic students that the normal resources on campus fail to meet. We are also here to meet both your academic and social needs.”

The Native American Student Association (NASA)

The Native American Student Association (NASA) existed to serve Native students’ needs on the Evergreen campus. NASA’s role was to educate and create awareness about Native issues, such as racism and prejudice by recognizing and embracing cultural differences in a positive way for people living in a plural society. NASA sought to strengthen and perpetuate Native American culture and heritage by involvement with various tribal communities, reservations, organizations, and urban areas throughout the Pacific Northwest. NASA was active with the production of a Native Radio program, the sponsorship and co-sponsorship of various speakers and conferences as well as participating in the Indigenous Peoples Day on the Evergreen campus.  

Women of Color Coalition

The Women of Color Coalition (originally known as the Third World Women Coalition) was created to fulfill the needs of women of color on campus whose needs were not being met by other women’s groups on campus. It provided a space for women to get together, and worked with the national women’s movement in addressing issues pertinent to women of color. The Coalition ensured the representation of women of color at First People’s or women’s events at Evergreen.  The Women of Color Coalition sponsored events such as an open house potluck in celebration of Kwanza as well as participating in Indigenous People’s Day and International Women’s Day. In the ‘80s the coalition sponsored displays of pictures in the library by and for women of color.

Since the First Peoples Coalition's inception in the '70s, it has hosted a variety of other student clubs. Other student groups that have come and gone have included: Hui O Hawai'i, Pacific Islander Association, the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), the Middle Eastern Resource Center, and others.