Alpha Pi Omega

Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc. (ΑΠΩ) is the oldest historically Indigenous national sorority in the United States. It is the largest Indigenous Greek letter organization, with 26 chartered chapters across nine states and the District of Columbia.

History

Alpha Pi Omega Sorority was founded on Sept. 1, 1994, at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill by four Native women. The founders, now known to as the Four Winds, are Shannon Brayboy (Lumbee), Jamie Goins (Lumbee), Amy Locklear (Lumbee and Coharie), and Christie Strickland (Lumbee). Before forming the group, they sought and received the approval of elder women from the various tribes of North Carolina.

The sorority's founding principles are traditionalism, spirituality, education, and contemporary issues. The sorority was incorporated with the State of North Carolina in 1995 and expanded to additional campuses.

With more than 130 tribes, bands and Indigenous communities represented among its members, the sorority has more than 1,000 sisters nationwide. Nationally, the sorority is governed by a thirteen-member board known as the Grand Keepers of the Circle. Grand Keepers are elected to two-year terms and meet bi-monthly.

Symbols

The sorority's colors are fire red, new grass green, and maize yellow. Its mascot is the Queen Bee, while its jewel is the amethyst. Its tree is the cedar and its flower is the dogwood. The Alpha Pi Omega motto is "My Sister As Myself".

Activities

Alpha Pi Omega preserves Native American traditions by celebrating and practicing cultural and spiritual heritage, such as hosting stickball games. At the same time, it supports a network for college students and professionals in modern society. The sorority's annual national convention is called the Grand Gathering.

Its permanent national philanthropy is the National Indian Education Association, as of 2010. Individual chapters also participate in local fundraising events such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes or Remember the 10 Run. The Washington State University chapter held sexual assault awareness classes and LGBTQ+ ally training, while the Oregon State University chapter held a fundraiser for the Humane Society.

Membership

Interested women may join at the undergraduate or post-undergraduate level. Collegiate women must have completed at least one full-time academic term, have a 2.5 GPA or higher, and have no previous affiliation with any social sorority. Women interested in joining a professional chapter must have completed a bachelor's degree or higher and have no previous affiliation with any social sorority.

Chapters

Chapters are chartered at the sorority's annual Grand Gathering.

Undergraduate chapters

APO starts potential chapters as expansion sites. After a year, the expansion chapter becomes a provisional chapter. Following is a list of Alpha Pi Omega collegiate chapters. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are shown in italic.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status
Alpha	September 1, 1994	University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Active
Beta	November 27, 1997	University of North Carolina at Pembroke	Pembroke, North Carolina	Active
Gamma	May 29, 2004	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Stillwater, Oklahoma	Active
Delta	May 28, 2005	University of New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Inactive
Epsilon	May 27, 2006	Dartmouth College	Hanover, New Hampshire	Inactive
Zeta	May 27, 2006	University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Inactive
Eta	June 2, 2007	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active
Theta	June 2, 2007	Northeastern State University	Tahlequah, Oklahoma	Active
Iota	June 8, 2008	Arizona State University	Temple, Oklahoma	Active
Kappa	July 14, 2013	Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	Inactive
Lambda	July 12, 2014	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Active
Mu	July 9, 2016 - 201x ?	Haskell Indian Nations University	Lawrence, Kansas	Inactive
Nu	July 11, 2020	Duke University	Durham, North Carolina	Active
Xi	July 11, 2020	Washington State University	Pullman, Washington	Inactive
		University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	Honey Process
		Boston Citywide (Harvard University, Northeastern University, Wellesley College)	Boston, Massachusetts	Honey Process
		Western Carolina University	Cullowhee, North Carolina	Honey Process
		University of Kansas	Lawrence, Kansas	Honey Process
		University of North Dakota	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Honey Process
		University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, North Carolina	Honey Process

Graduate chapters

Graduate chapters are for women who have received their undergraduate degrees. Following is a list of graduate chapters. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are shown in italic.

Name	Charter date	Location	Status
Alpha Pi	September 1, 1994	The Triangle, North Carolina	Active
Beta Pi	November 27, 1996	Robeson County, North Carolina	Active
Gamma Pi	May 29, 2004	Columbus County, North Carolina	Inactive
Delta Pi	May 28, 2005	Payne County, Oklahoma	Active
Epsilon Pi	July 13, 2013	Bernalillo County, New Mexico	Active
Zeta Pi	July 13, 2013	Washington, D.C.	Inactive
Eta Pi	July 12, 2014 – 20xx ?	Pima County, Arizona	Inactive
Theta Pi	July 11, 2015	Oklahoma County, Oklahoma	Active
Iota Pi	July 14, 2018	Cherokee County, Oklahoma	Active
Kappa Pi	July 10, 2021	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	Active
Lambda Pi	July 15, 2023	Twin Cities (Minneapolis–Saint Paul)	Active
Mu Pi	July 12, 2025	Maricopa County, Arizona (Maricopa County, Arizona)	Active
		Dane County, Wisconsin	Honey Process