PELLA — Staying connected to both her Winnebago and Dutch roots, Central College track and field senior Winona Van Berkum (Pella) has gotten the best of both worlds the last four years.

The NCAA is celebrating Native American Heritage Month this November. There were 2,364 Native American student-athletes in action for the 2024-25 academic year. Van Berkum is one of the 124 who participated in women's outdoor track and field.

A member of the Winnebago tribe, which is part of the Ho-Chunk nation, Van Berkum traces her connection to the tribe through her paternal grandmother who was born on raised on the reservation. Growing up in Pella, Van Berkum has made almost yearly pilgrimages to the tribe's homecoming.
           
"I've gone to the pow wows my whole life," she said. "My dad wasn't allowed to participate when he was a kid because of the rules set by our ancestors. So, for me it was a huge deal to get to dance and experience the culture."

As she has gotten older, Van Berkum has taken part in dancing competitions with the Winnebago, travelling to pow wows across the Midwest.

"I've been dancing since I was a kid but I started competing in high school," Van Berkum said. "The competitions are taken very seriously. We compete in full regalia and there's money prizes for winning."

However, the dancing is not just about competition, but it has significant cultural importance.

"Jingle dress dancing is known as a healing dance based off an Ojibwe legend," Van Berkum said. "I've always loved dancing but to watch it and know the significance holds so much more weight.

"Even in today's world, if we have an elder collapse at the pow wow or any other emergency, the jingle dress dancers are always the first to get into the arena as a form of prayer. Traditions held at pow wows are so important to what we do as a tribe, knowing that if it's not picked up by the youngest generation, those teachings will die with us."

She's proud of her connection to the Winnebago tribe and looks forward to reconnecting with that portion of her family on each trip.

"Just because you don't see it actively doesn't mean it's not around you," Van Berkum said. "The fact I'm heavily involved in going on the pow wow trail and love to dance. It's not something you would look at me and say, 'she's native'" That's a totally different world. It's important for other people to know that the culture is around you, regardless of whether you see it or not."

Initially just a high jumper, Van Berkum added triple jumping and javelin throwing to her resume for the women's track & field program. She matched her career best in the high jump during the 2025 outdoor season at the Kip Janvrin Open, clearing 4 feet, 9 inches.

"I love being a part of a team that's bigger than yourself," Van Berkum said. "When you first come to campus, your teammates are the first people you connect with, and you spend the next four years with them."

In addition to track and field, Van Berkum has also served as a men's wrestling team manager for four years. She's also spent time with Central's chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

"Choosing Central allowed me to be involved in as much as I was in high school," Van Berkum said. "If I went to a state school I would have just had to pick one thing, but I'm able to be heavily involved in a lot of different activities here."

Academically, the Pella native was drawn to Central's campus for its kinesiology program.

"I really like the practical application we get in the kinesiology classes," Van Berkum said. "The labs, for example, are small so it gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with other students and professors. I feel I can use those experiences moving on to graduate school and the professional world."
           
Central hosts the Dutch Holiday Preview on Friday, December 12 in the H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.