Well Said: The Four Winds of sisterhood

Well Said

When Amy Locklear Hertel enrolled at Carolina in 1993, she wanted to join the Greek community, but as a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, she couldn’t find an organization that fit her needs culturally. "We needed something uniquely matriarchal that represented our nature of our tribes," said Hertel, who now serves as the chief of staff to Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz. She and three other students decided to create their own sorority to express themselves and to help retain native women at Carolina. Alpha Pi Omega was established in 1994 as the first historically American Indian sorority in the country. In 1995, the organization inducted its first pledge class, the 15 Warrior Women. Since the induction of that first class, chapters have been established at North Carolina State University, UNC-Pembroke, Oklahoma State University, Dartmouth College and others. On this week’s episode, Hertel and other founding members — called The Four Winds — tell us what it means to them to have a lasting legacy of leadership and sisterhood.