Indigenous students at the University of Alaska Anchorage are rallying to save Native Student Services (NSS), a long-standing hub for cultural, academic, and emotional support, amid mounting concerns that university leadership is quietly dismantling the program. Despite official claims of a mere reorganization, students allege NSS has been systemically defunded, stripped of staff, and undermined without consultation, a move they say threatens to unravel a vital community space that has been key to Indigenous student retention and success. The RIVR spoke with NSS representative Mars Kashevarof, who shared firsthand insight into the program’s erosion and what its loss could mean for future generations of Native students.
1. Can you share what led to the potential shutdown of Native Student Services, and when did you first learn this was a possibility?
UAA has been chipping away at NSS since I started college. I have been actively involved at NSS since my first day in my first semester. I’ve watched the budget get reduced, staff positions get made and then dissolved, and changes be enforced without any input from students or staff. In the past, NSS staff has been told not to buy fresh fruit for students due to the cost. This entire semester, NSS has not been given access to their budget and, so partners and parents of students would donate food to help feed students at NSS. This type of barrier was only imposed on NSS; no other university office has this issue. This is not a DEI issue. The university has always been against what Native Student Services is, despite the resounding love students hold for the staff and services of NSS. The changes happening now result from years of the university’s work and leadership’s disapproval of NSS’s commitment to students.
2. How has NSS supported Indigenous students at UAA over the years — culturally, academically, and emotionally?
NSS does a lot of cultural programming that is made for and receptive to the wants of Native students. Unlike other programs at UAA, NSS does not focus on educating non-Native people and is grounded in Values. NSS is a community space, bringing in Elders, Corporations, and providing a place for students to find support. The staff at NSS always place priority on students’ mental and spiritual well-being, knowing that academics will follow. They don’t pressure students into uncomfortable positions, understanding that success and wellness look different for everyone. Native Student Services is one of the few spaces on campus where Native students can find people like them, a family. I have literally met cousins at NSS. For students who grew up in their village or really connected to their culture, NSS is a place for them to stay connected to language and culture. For students like me, who grew up disconnected, it’s a place to begin reconnecting and build relationships with other students and to the broader community.
3. What are some measurable impacts NSS has had on student retention, graduation rates, or community engagement?
At UAA, there are 1100-1300 Native students in any given semester who all receive routine outreach from NSS. Every single Native student who applies to UAA receives direct outreach and support from NSS, although that has now been disrupted with the removal of the NSS staff. From when I started college to this most recent semester, I have watched Valerie and Nasgauk build the NET program for incoming students from a group of around four (my year) to upwards of forty students. The NET program acts as a support for new and incoming Native students by holding a week-long orientation before the start of the semester and having a class throughout the students’ first semester. This class is grounded in Indigenous Values and invites Elders, Native scholars, NET graduates (those who have completed the course), and community members to speak and interact with students. For actual data, in the Fall of 2024, the nearly 40 Native students who participated in the NET orientation week and NET class had an 89% persistence rate to the spring 2025 semester, while the overall average for Native students is 69%. Overall, the Fall to Fall retention rate for first-time freshmen Native students has been higher, with an average of 69% of NET students continuing onto their second year, as compared to the 41% of Native students overall. The NSS staff builds relationships beyond first-year advising, continuing the relationships with the students who attend NSS beyond graduation. If a Native student has an emergency that disrupts their semester, NSS is one of the few offices that takes the time to explore all options for students to find the best path forward, including helping students who need or want to leave instead of pressuring them to stay. If a student needs to leave, NSS ensures they know that NSS staff will always be there for them to contact. The reliability and consistency make a huge difference.
4. What would the loss of NSS mean for current and future Native students navigating university life at UAA?
NSS is not just a space on campus; it’s a community of people, which is why we are less concerned about the name change and more concerned about how UAA is dismantling the community that staff and students have built. For me, NSS is one of the few places on campus where I truly feel at home. Although I am Alaska Native, I was raised in the lower 48 and moved away from everyone and everything I had grown up knowing to attend college in Alaska. Valerie and Nasgauk worked with me before I had even been accepted into college and supported me once I arrived. Being so far from everyone I grew up with, Native Student Services is a place I know I can go to share good news and have others celebrate with me, find support for difficult times, and just fully be myself. The community at NSS is the only reason I am graduating from UAA this May, and with all the changes, I’m doubting whether I want to return for graduate school. I know many other students who feel similarly and have backup plans to leave UAA if the university does go through with dissolving NSS and firing the current staff.
5. Has the university provided any alternative solutions or pathways to preserve some of the services NSS offers?
The University of Alaska Anchorage has not been clearly communicating about anything that is happening. UAA is pushing that this is just an “organization shift” and “renaming,” not that they are getting rid of NSS. There’s been no transparency from the beginning to the point where many news articles just think we (as students) are upset about a name change. UAA leadership also did not consult with NSS staff, who were mostly blindsided by being forcibly removed from the space, nor did they talk to any students who utilize or go to NSS. The university claims that it will continue the services NSS provides, but they don’t actually care. After removing both NSS advisors, one on the withdrawal deadline and the other during registration week, UAA’s plan has been to cycle through other advisors to have them answer registration questions. This is not a real solution as no one else on campus has the combined 15+ years of knowledge and experience in academic and cultural support that Nasgauk and Valerie have. As of April 8, UAA is having strangers staff the space to play at saving NSS and continuing its support of students, but the people being placed in NSS do not have the knowledge, skills, or relationships with students to fill the gap that is now missing. UAA is trying to placate students, more than likely hoping to finalize the dismantling of NSS over the summer when most students leave and cannot advocate for themselves in person.
6. What can students, alumni, and community members do to advocate for NSS and ensure Native voices remain supported on campus?
UAA wants to exclude the people most affected by their decisions in the decision making process.
Sign and share the petition (www.change.org/Save-NSS-UAA)! We need as many people as possible to show their support of NSS and its staff. People can also contact their Tribe, Corporations, and others who donate or give money to UAA and let them know what is happening. Emailing the people in charge at UAA, especially if you are a student or alum, is also helpful. A lot of the decisions are being made without talking to Native students (or staff). You can email the UA President Pat Pitney (ua.president@alaska.edu), Chancellor Shawn Parnell (uaa_chancellor@alaska.edu), Vice Chancellor Deanne Woodard [the direct supervisor who was over NSS] (lwoodard3@alaska.edu), the UA Board of Regents (ua-bor@alaska.edu), and your legislatures!
Current students are coming up on finals season, so we will need extra help and support. Follow @save_nss on Instagram to stay updated on what is going on.
