On Wednesday Sept. 24, American Indian programs hosted a food and social gathering for New Mexico State University students, the first of a three-part event series called “Home on a Plate.”
Dylan Carlisle, 2025-2026 Ms. Native American, said she enjoyed hosting her first event.
“Of course, doing the prepping and getting to know everybody is [a] really fun opportunity. Also, I want to learn how to, you know, upskill my networking skills. So, I really enjoyed it.” Carlisle said.
Carlisle explained in her first year at New Mexico State University she missed home, empathizing with other students who may feel the same.
“I wanted to bring everybody together and create that sense of community, to share a meal with each other.” stated Carlisle, “You know, I know one thing I like that I missed was the food, and ‘the way to get people’s hearts is through their tummy’ – is what my mom told me.”
In the three-part food series, American Indian programs and Ms. Native American are giving away a free modern Navajo cookbook by Alina Yazzie. Participants must attend all three of the “Home on a Plate” events to obtain it.
“From tradition we always say when you welcome somebody, you cook [for] them too…If it’s students who keep on attending and keep attendance up and it’s fun, we all agreed we can buy a bunch of books for everybody and they can enjoy it,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle invited participants to share food, stories, and experiences with American Indian programs.
“It’s really cool, seeing somebody coming from my tribe in general create something so awesome, like that. So why not share it with everybody else?” Carlise said.
Students also reflected on how these gatherings support their sense of belonging.
Amely Estrada, a student at NMSU who attended the event, explained why it can be difficult to get involved.
“It’s a little hard to get involved, just because, once in you’re in college, you’re like, I have so many different things to do, but I do want to get more involved, not just with the Native American Programs here, but also with Chicano program because I just came from an event they had today, and I just thought it was really interesting. And I wish more people were there, but, you know, it’s hard to advertise, and they do, I don’t think it goes to the right people,” Estrada said.
Alexis Contreras, another student and event attendee, dove further into how events like this help build community.
“Honestly, I’m just really happy that there’s indigenous representation at the university; especially when it’s a culture that was taken away [from] those people. It’s really nice that we have events where people can reconnect, or people who aren’t familiar with the culture can get to know it better, and for me that’s on my reconnecting journey it’s nice to options and those opportunities,” Contreras said.
Estrada highlighted how cultural events create opportunities for indigenous students and others to reconnect with and learn about cultural heritage; building on community and shared experiences.
“…There’s so many diversity clubs, when they come together it always feels like family, like women [in] Native American programs or the Chicano programs,” Estrada stated. “It’s always people I have similar backgrounds with or some [of] their stories, especially because we share the same history.”
Carlisle said she would like to see the “Home on a Plate” food series stick.
“…I would like to continue as spring semester comes until the end of my reign, because I just had a good turn out and I think that we could keep carrying it out.” Carlisle said.
American Indian programs will be hosting an event offering self-defense classes for women. American Indian programs hope to use it to raise awareness for missing of missing women’s and peoples.
The last two events in the ‘Home on a plate food series will take meet in American Indian programs on Wednesday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday Nov. 12.
