Volume 16 Spring 2005 Issue No. 3
In This Issue
Indigenizing Education
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On Campus
AIHEC’s Efforts Pay Off With ‘05 Funding Increase
by Meg Goetz
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The 109th Congress convened Jan. 4, 2005, with increased GOP strength in both chambers, and 16 days later George W. Bush was once again inaugurated as President of the United States.
What does this mean for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and their prospects for getting adequate funding to operate their institutions? Most likely TCUs will continue to have to rely on their friends in Congress to contend with the maddening three-steps forward, two-steps back pattern of the last several years.
Fortunately, these Congressional friends succeeded in overturning the decreases
recommended by the Bush administration again in the fiscal year 2005 (FY05)
appropriations, despite the odds against them. Thanks to these members of
Congress, the colleges received a $10.5 million increase in December 2004
over what the administration had requested.
When submitting its budget to Congress in February 2004, the administration
recognized that two new tribal colleges were eligible for funding under the
Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act (the Tribal College
Act). Despite the increased need, the administration recommended cuts of $5.5
million from the previous year.
The prospects for the tribal colleges and universities seemed grim because of the administration’s proposed cuts combined with an uncertain national economic picture, the escalating war in Iraq, and the increased costs for Homeland Security programs.
Although final passage of the massive Omnibus Appropriations bill was delayed
until mid-December, the persistent advocacy efforts by the American Indian
Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) paid off in the end. The FY05 appropriation
is $5 million over the previous year.
Two of the tribal colleges’ most ardent champions, U.S. Senators Conrad
Burns (R-MT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), led the effort. They are the chair and
ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee.
Funding under the Tribal College Act is critical to the colleges’ very existence, and fortunately Congress recognizes this. While other institutions of higher education enjoy a foundation of state support, most TCUs are located on federal trust lands. Thus states have no obligation to fund them.
In most cases, the states do not even provide funding for the non-Indian students, despite the fact that approximately 20% of TCU students are non-Indian.
Congress first funded the Tribal College Act in fiscal year 1981, providing $2,831 per Indian student toward the day-to-day operations of the colleges under the act. In the 23 years since, the number of colleges eligible for funding has risen to 27, and enrollments in the colleges funded under the act have increased by 353%.
Congress has authorized $6,000 per Indian student. The funding per student this year is $4,447 for the colleges funded under the act, which is about 74% of the authorized level. If inflation is considered, the colleges would need close to the full $6,000 simply to have the same buying power they had in 1981 when they were first funded.
In addition to providing increases for colleges funded by the Tribal College Act, Congress agreed to reinstate funding for Crownpoint Institute of Technology (Crownpoint, NM) and United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck, ND) at an increased level of $1.75 million and $3.5 million respectively. The president’s FY05 budget once again had recommended eliminating the funds for both colleges. Funds for the Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM) will be slightly reduced.
Besides the Tribal College Act funds, tribal colleges and universities have programs funded through several other federal agencies. Remarkably, in this latest budget/appropriations cycle, these other funds were reduced for only two of the tribal-college specific programs. All other programs were either maintained or increased with the signing of the long-awaited FY05 Omnibus Appropriations bill.
Meg Goetz has been the director of Congressional relations for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium since 1998.
First Nations Colleges Offer SGU Master’s
 MASTER’S TO CANADA. Sinte Gleska University President Lionel Bordeaux adds his signature to the historic agreement while First Nations college officials watch: (left to right) Barney Day Chief of Red Crow Community College, Chief Strater Crowfoot of Siksika Nation, Amelia Clark of Old Sun Community College, Joyce Goodstriker of the Kainai Board of Education, and Dr. Vivian Ayoungman of Treaty 7 First Nations Education Consortium. Photo by Genevieve A. Fox. |
Two tribal colleges in Canada have formed a historic relationship with a tribal university in the United States. Red Crow Community College and Old Sun Community College, both in Alberta, are now offering a Master’s Degree in Education with an Emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education through Sinte Gleska University (SGU) in Mission, SD.
Officials from the three institutions signed the agreement in October in Phoenix, AZ, at the National Indian Education Association annual conference. “As far as we know, this is the first such international agreement involving a tribal college,” says Cheryl Medearis, chair of the Education Department at Sinte Gleska.
Conditional approval was given by the regional accrediting agency in the United States, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, according to Medearis. The agency will conduct a site visit after the spring 2005 semester.
Sinte Gleska has provided its Bachelor of Science Degree in Education for several years to students at three other tribal colleges in the United States (Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota and Sitting Bull College and United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota).
SGU has an approval process for certifying local instructors on the other campuses who follow the SGU courses of study. Each college can adapt the courses, for example, using its own traditional child rearing processes.
Since 1996, a total of 29 Sitting Bull College students have earned Bachelor of Science Degrees in K-8 Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education, and some have also earned endorsements in early childhood education. Eight students from Leech Lake Tribal College earned bachelor degrees in elementary education from Sinte Gleska since 2001. The first group of students from United Tribes will be graduating in August 2005. The students get certified in South Dakota and then apply for certification in their own state.
“We will be working with NCA to be sure that we continue to meet their
criteria. We are not worried; we have a strong program,” Medearis says.
For more information about the Sinte Gleska partnership with Sitting Bull
College, see TCJ, Vol. 11, N.2.
For more information about the Sinte Gleska partnership with Sitting Bull College, see TCJ, Vol. 11, N.2.
Forest Chief Praises Menominee Foresters
U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth visited the College of Menominee Nation in November to continue planning the National Center for First Americans Forestlands, which will be located at the college in Keshena, WI. The Menominee Tribe is known nationwide for its success in sustainable forestry. Bosworth is the top executive of the Department of Agriculture agency responsible for managing the nation’s federally-owned forests.
CMN President Dr. Verna Fowler expects the center to open in three to four years; it will be the first of its kind in the United States. It will promote stewardship of national forests not only on the Menominee Reservation but also throughout the country.
“To me, the long-term hope of this partnership is that we can share knowledge with the Menominee, that we can learn from the many, many years of tribal knowledge that they have about managing forests,” Bosworth said, according to an article in the Shawano Leader.
“I hope that we can find ways to make those connections with other tribes that have forests that they manage and maybe find ways to help them and learn from their knowledge,” he said.
The forest center grew out of a shared desire by the Forest Service and the Menominee Nation to promote sustainable forestry on public and private forests, according to Dr. Holly YoungBear-Tibbetts, director of the Sustainable Development Institute at the college.
The center will conduct research, such as more ways to convert wood into value-added products that will improve the local economy. It will also provide extension services and develop a skilled workforce related to sustainable forestry.
It will focus on Native American forestlands. Nationwide, 44 American Indian tribes own more than 16 million acres of forestland.
NCA Team Recommends Accreditation for TOCC
The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association Evaluation Team completed its 3-day visit to Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) in Sells, AZ, last September. Following the visit, the evaluation team said it will recommend to the Higher Learning Commission that the college be granted initial accreditation. This means that the college has met the 24 General Institutional Requirements and the criteria required for accreditation.
TOCC President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee) said, “We celebrate a significant milestone in our journey to become a premier community college serving the higher education and training needs of the Tohono O’odham Nation. We have moved from candidacy to accreditation status in the minimum amount of time possible (2 years). The college’s board of trustees, faculty, staff, and students are to be commended for their diligent efforts.”
The evaluation team cited the Tohono O’odham Nation’s commitment and monetary support of its tribal college as well as the integration of Himdag into the college’s programs. Himdag is the O’odham way of life and includes their culture, history, values, and language.
Tohono O’odham Nation Chairwoman Vivian Juan-Saunders said, “On behalf of the Tohono O'odham Nation we congratulate the TOCC. The college serves a key role by providing top-notch educational services critical to the future of our people.”
The Tohono O’odham Nation chartered and established the college in 1998. Using Indian gaming dollars, the nation appropriated $21 million for the start-up and operational funding for the college, $6 million of which will be used for the first phase of constructing the permanent campus.
Accreditation represents public certification of an institution’s commitment to quality institutional and program improvement. It assures that all of the college’s degree programs and coursework will transfer to other colleges and universities. Since the college began offering classes in 2000, the courses have been accredited through an intergovernmental agreement with Pima Community College.
In December, the college received more good news. The fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriation bill included a provision adding Tohono O’odham Community College to the list of 1994 land grant institutions. This means that TOCC is now one of the 33 tribal colleges eligible for many USDA programs.
AIHEC Board of Directors Elects Officers for 2005
The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Board of Directors elected Cheryl Crazy Bull to be the new president of the organization at a board meeting in Mesa, AZ, on Oct. 27.
In addition to Crazy Bull, the board elected four other members of the executive committee: Dr. Richard Littlebear is the new vice president; Dr. Jeff Hamley is the new secretary; Dr. Jim Shanley is the new treasurer; and Dr. Joe McDonald is the new member at large.
Crazy Bull has been president of Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, WA, since October 2002. A Sicangu Lakota woman and former vice president of Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation, she has over 20 years experience in the tribal college movement.
Littlebear (Northern Cheyenne) has been president of Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, MT, since 1999 and has 8 years experience in the tribal college movement.
Hamley has been president of Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College in Mount Pleasant, MI, since 2001. A member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe, he has been active in the tribal college movement for 10 years.
Shanley (Assiniboine) first became involved in the tribal college movement in 1971 and has been the president of Fort Peck Community College in Poplar, MT, since 1984.
McDonald is the founding president of Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, MT, which was established in 1978. A member of the Salish/Kootenai Tribes, he is the outgoing president of AIHEC.
In the 31-year history of AIHEC, at least three other women have served as president, Dr. Janine Pease (Crow), former president of Little Big Horn College in Montana; Phyllis Howard (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), former president of Fort Berthold Community College in North Dakota; and Dr. Margarett Campbell (Assiniboine), former president of Fort Belknap College in Montana.
Chartered in 1973 by six tribal colleges, AIHEC now has 35 members. The board of directors is composed of the presidents of those 35 tribal colleges and universities. More than one-third (13) of those presidents are women. The organization’s headquarters is in Alexandria, VA.
Head Start Continues College Partnerships
Thirteen tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) received funding for their Head Start programs this year. Over $1.8 million was awarded under the Head Start partnership program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that provides services for children from birth to age five, pregnant women, and their families. Their programs are child-focused and promote school readiness of young children in low-income families.
Two of the colleges received funding for 5 years starting in September 2004: Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute ($150,000 per year) and Chief Dull Knife College ($150,000).
Eight colleges received funding for 5 years starting in 2003 and continuing in 2004: Blackfeet Community College ($150,000), Bay Mills Community College ($144,620), Oglala Lakota College ($150,000), Si Tanka College ($150,000), Fort Belknap College ($150,000), College of Menominee Nation ($147,335), Fort Peck Community College ($149,748), and Stone Child College ($150,000).
There have been five rounds of competition for Head Start grants since 1999, according to figures provided by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. Starting in 2001, the grants were for 5 years. The initial grants in 1999 and 2000 were for 4 years. After the first 4 years, 9 of those initial 13 colleges received 5-year grants to continue their programs; 4 did not.
NSF/AIHEC Partnership Provides Tech Services
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to help assure that American Indian students get the best education possible in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The STEM Technical Assistance Project serves not only tribal colleges and universities but also institutions with Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students. Since NSF is providing the funding, there is no cost to the institution.
AIHEC sends specialists who typically have expertise in STEM program development, information technology (IT), workforce development, and strategic planning. The colleges request the type of help that they specifically need. AIHEC matchs experts with individual schools to assist in planning and implementation.
In the past the project has concentrated on information technology infrastructure, such as computer networking, IT faculty, distance learning, and IT integration. Recently, the project has expanded and provides services such as facilitating campus-wide strategic planning sessions in support of STEM, helping to implement STEM research programs, and assisting with project management.
In addition, the project has helped with assessment, STEM facility design, course/program development, team building, and conflict resolution. The project relies upon expertise from both within and outside of the tribal college system.
Information technology can create jobs in rural areas by making it possible for entrepreneurs, tribal enterprises, and other small businesses to provide goods and services to more densely populated regions.
Therefore, the STEM Technical Assistance Project is also focusing on economic development to improve prospects for graduates of IT programs both on and off the reservation. AIHEC is working with Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), an organization whose members include hundreds of IT companies.
In the future, AIHEC plans to develop an online STEM resource center portal and an AIHEC STEM Institute, which will provide workshops and training.
For more information regarding AIHEC’s STEM Technical Assistance Project, contact Dan Burns at dburns@aihec.org or call (360) 319-2010 (Pacific Time).
 THUNDERBIRD. Stacey Speedis (Yakama Nation) speaks
about her gratitude for being one of the seven United Tribes Technical
College (UTTC) art students involved in creating this sculpture. Measuring
15-feet high, it depicts four giant Thunderbirds, with heads and talons
thrust forward, emerging from a thundercloud. Thunderbirds represent
the sacred power that produces thunder and lightning. The Bismarck Parks
and Recreation District commissioned the work for the city’s riverfront
trail near the Missouri River. Pictured are (left to right): UTTC President
David M. Gipp, Art/Art Marketing Director Wayne Pruse, students Gilbert
Kills Pretty Enemy III (Standing Rock), Joaquin Andrews (Fort Peck),
Brianne McHugh (Three Affiliated), Todd Trottier (Turtle Mountain),
Jamie L. Ducheneaux (Standing Rock), Dustin Black (Spirit Lake), and
sculpture contractor Paul Scherr of Bismarck. The UTTC students will
be involved in creating one new project each year for the riverfront
trail. Photo by Dennis Neumann. |
College Fund Creates Faculty Ph.D. Fellowships
As any doctoral student can attest, the pursuit of a Ph.D. is a test of endurance in itself. And yet for Venida Chenault, it is just one of her many responsibilities. In addition to being a full-time doctoral student at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, Chenault (Prairie Band Potawatomi and Kickapoo) has been a faculty member of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS, for 13 years.
Similarly, Iris HeavyRunner (Blackfeet) has been immersed in the tribal college movement since 1978, most recently as an instructor and a consultant focusing upon retention and cultural resilience. She has presented information about cultural resilience all over the country and most recently in New Zealand. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in social work at the University of Minnesota.
For both of these women, juggling the demands of being both a teacher and a student has been daunting. Fortunately, a new program has been created to assist them in their pursuits. Chenault and HeavyRunner are the inaugural recipients of the American Indian College Fund - Mellon Tribal College Faculty Fellowship. Selected by an independent advisory panel of Native scholars, each received $32,250 to complete work on her doctoral dissertation.
Chenault’s dissertation is entitled, “The Case for Gender Repatriation: Violence and Abuse against Indigenous Women.” HeavyRunner’s dissertation is “Tribal College Student Retention.”
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (New York City) made the fellowship program
possible through a $450,000 grant to the college fund in late 2003. The fellowship
program is aimed at increasing the number of faculty at the nation’s
tribal colleges and universities who have a doctoral degree.
This highly-competitive, 3-year program offers a $30,000 fellowship and $2,250
travel stipend to the selected fellows so they can devote a year to complete
the final stages of their degree programs unfettered by financial considerations.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has provided $950,000 in support to the college fund over the past decade, making it one of the fund's largest supporters.
Campbell Elected To Montana Legislature
A vice president from Fort Peck Community College, Dr. Margarett Campbell, was elected to the Montana State Legislature last November. Currently the vice president for community services at Fort Peck, Campbell (Assiniboine) was one of the founders of Fort Belknap College and served as the president there from 1986 to 1996. She was the president of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium from 1993 to 1996.
Campbell has a doctorate degree in education. Her campaign relied in part upon her agricultural background (growing up on a cattle ranch) and upon her opposition to cyanide leach mining, a technique that degraded water on the Fort Belknap Reservation. She also relied upon her bipartisan experience in the early 1990s chairing the U.S. Department of Agriculture committee that developed legislation for the tribal colleges and universities 1994 land grant law.
Campbell joins seven other American Indian state legislators, at least two of whom are also associated with tribal colleges. Rep. Carol Juneau is a former president of Blackfeet Community College. Rep. Norma Bixby has served on the board for the Chief Dull Knife College and for the college’s foundation. Montana reportedly has more Indians in the legislature than any other state.
Some other tribal college personnel are involved in state legislatures in
other states. In South Dakota, Paul Valandra, an employee
of Sinte Gleska University, was re-elected to the South Dakota
House. In North Dakota, Dennis Bercier at Turtle
Mountain Community College is serving his second term as a state
senator. He plans to run again in 2005.
In a tribal election in Montana, Northern Cheyenne tribal
members elected Eugene Little Coyote to be the new tribal
president. Little Coyote is a graduate of Chief Dull Knife College
and a former recipient of an American Indian College Fund
scholarship. At the age of 32, he is one of the youngest presidents ever elected
on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. His grandfather was 31 when he was elected
president, according to the Billings Gazette.
Anishinaabe Culture Permeates Leech Lake
Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC, Cass Lake, MN) infuses the classroom experience and the daily operation of the college with Anishinaabe philosophy and culture.
Students are encouraged to express their ideas, ask questions, listen respectfully to fellow students and instructors; Ojibwe language and materials (books, films, treaty documents, maps, arts, crafts, song, dance, and oral histories) are used; and local elders and other speakers come to share their life stories, cultural skills, and wisdom.
The cultural mission has proven challenging for many instructors who grapple
with how to introduce Anishinaabe culture into classes such as carpentry,
construction electricity, business writing, first aid/CPR, criminal justice,
or chemistry. College administrators responded by conducting “cultural
infusion” workshops, and faculty have responded favorably.
A team-teaching approach in the spring of 2004 yielded very positive results
when a biology instructor at LLTC invited an Anishinaabe elder to assist in
teaching an ethnobiology class. A capacity number of students enrolled, attrition
was low, and enthusiasm for class projects was pervasive.
As part of their instruction, students spent time in a maple sugarbush camp on the reservation, learned traditional trapping methods, and mastered Ojibwe words for numerous indigenous plants and animals.
Faculty members were concerned about the impact of classroom immersion in Anishinaabe culture on non-Native students. But instead of losing non-Native students, this population at LLTC almost doubled, and these students are actively recruiting others to attend the college.
“Leech Lake Reservation is beset by social and economic difficulties; overcoming adversity is a way of life. LLTC provides a center of hope, an opportunity to learn the culture and history of one of North America’s largest indigenous nations: the indomitable Anishinnabeg,” says Ginny Carney, LLTC’s associate vice president of academics.
First Year Experience To Help Students Succeed
 CAMUS COMING. Visiting instructor Daniel Wildcat helped students, staff, and faculty plant bulbs for a traditional food, camus, in several sunny campus locations. |
Students at Northwest Indian College’s (NWIC, Bellingham, WA) Lummi campus and extended campuses are benefiting from a new cohort-style learning program, the “First Year Experience” (FYE), aimed at supporting the transition into college.
As colleges across the United States recognize that the first year is often the most difficult for incoming freshmen, many are adjusting their programs to offer more support. NWIC is one of the first tribal colleges to adopt this cohort-style learning program.
Community-building and place-based learning are at the heart of the First Year Experience. “Many NWIC students seek out the school because of these approaches that place the student first and keep the classes small, rarely exceeding 10 students per class,” says Emma Spenner Norman of NWIC’s science faculty.
Courses are designed to help new students succeed. An environment is created that respects, honors, and acknowledges Native perspectives and values. Activities, special seminars, and hands-on learning projects allow students to get to know their peers and the NWIC and Lummi communities.
Courses are thematic each quarter and relevant to the season. The fall program focuses on relationship to place: the Pacific Northwest, the land and traditions of its indigenous people. Courses include biology and natural history of Puget Sound. Study skills and college success strategies are integrated into the core studies.
Winter, a time for reflection, focuses on the foundations of Native history prior to European contact and on interpersonal communications. In addition to courses in these areas, students are enrolled in math and English courses appropriate to their level.
Spring, a time for renewal, is the last quarter of the FYE, and students
are encouraged to enroll in courses of particular interest to them as well
as to continue with Native American history, post-European contact.
In addition, students connect to the community (on and off campus) through
internships, service-learning projects, and by contacts with special guests.
In the fall quarter FYE brought in two celebrated Native Americans to share their experience and expertise: Daniel Wildcat (Yuchi Muskogee tribe), professor at Haskell Indian Nations University, who is an expert in traditional ecological knowledge, and Samuel Tso, a Navajo Codetalker from World War II, who has ties to Lummi.
“The FYE is in its infancy,” says Norman, “but what we have learned so far is that education can (and should) be fun, reflective, and relevant.
Lannan Institutes Invite Tribal College Faculty
The D’Arcy McNickle Center at the Newberry Library in Chicago will host four Lannan Summer Institutes for Teachers in Tribal Colleges over the next 2 years. Next summer, Helen Roy (Wikwemikong Odawa) will direct the institute, “Teaching American Indian Languages and Language Instruction,” June 6-17, 2005. Amanda Cobb (Chickasaw) will direct the institute, “Teaching American Indian Education,” Aug. 1-12, 2005.
Roy and Cobb, professors at Michigan State University and the University of New Mexico, respectively, are recognized as some of the top specialists in their fields. The summer institutes are open to faculty, staff, and research fellows affiliated with tribal colleges.
The 12 participants selected for each of the 2005 summer institutes will receive $1,500 for housing and per diem and will be reimbursed up to $1,000 for travel expenses to and from The Newberry Library. The participants will also develop curriculum materials and conduct their own research using the Newberry Library collections.
Last summer, the topic of the institute was “Teaching American Indian Sovereignty.” The institute provided an opportunity for teachers to discuss sovereignty; explore fruitful methods for teaching the concept; develop curriculum materials, bibliographies, and syllabi; and conduct their own research. Sovereignty scholar David E. Wilkins (Lumbee) directed the institute.
For more information, visit the Lannan Institute website at www.newberry.org/mcnickle/summerinstitute.html.
Montana Tribal Colleges Reform College Algebra
 HANDS ON. Chief Dull Knife College students use algebra to figure out the height of one of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's historic sites, Young Mule/Head Chief Hill. |
College algebra has been a focus of reform efforts at colleges nationwide. Four Montana colleges have initiated their own reform thanks to a National Science Foundation grant and the guidance of a mathematics professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Don Small.
Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Stone Child College in Box Elder, and Fort Peck Community College in Poplar are benefiting from the experience of Small, who has been active in college algebra reform in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities for over 5 years.
Instructors focus upon hands-on learning and serve more as facilitators instead of their conventional role as lecturers. They incorporate modeling, group learning, elementary data analysis, and student projects into the course. Technology in the classroom includes the extensive use of graphing calculators and computer-run programs.
At Chief Dull Knife College, for example, instructor Russ Lundgren has his students compute the height of a hill behind the campus that has historical significance to the Northern Cheyenne people. The students use transits, tripods, and measuring tape.
The algebra reform work has been shared through poster presentations at the National Joint Mathematics Meetings, the 2004 American Indian Higher Education Consortium conference in Billings, and at conferences of the American Association of 2-Year Colleges.
CCCC Program Promotes Student Health Careers
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC, Fort Totten, ND), a 2-year tribal college that serves the Spirit Lake Dakota Reservation, is encouraging students to pursue health careers.
It operates the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program combines academic curriculum and job-shadowing experience. Its goal is to support and encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue education and careers in health-related disciplines.
HCOP provides various enrichment courses and projects for students in 7th - 12th grades and for first and second-year college students at CCCC. Selection is based on student grade point and interest in health careers. Students receive a monetary stipend for their attendance and participation. During the summer of 2004, participants included 15 CCCC students and 36 students from area high schools.
Health care is of special interest to CCCC President Cynthia Lindquist Mala (Dakota), who was the director of the division of Indian Health Studies at the University of North Dakota before she became college president. In 1994, she was a founder of the National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center, a non-profit organization.
Librarians from TCUs Formalize Association
by Holly Ristau
Librarians meeting in Bozeman, MT, for their annual institute last June decided to form an association, the Tribal College and University Library Association. The tribal college librarians had been associating with one another through annual meetings and training institutes for many years, and they also communicate regularly through an email list serve.
In its first formal actions, the association adopted a mission statement and passed a resolution seeking financial support for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Virtual Library. The virtual library provides guided access to resources on the World Wide Web as well as access to various expensive databases, but the grant funding for it has expired (see TCJ, Vol. 15, N.4).
Hosted by Kathy Kaya and Mary Anne Hanson of the University of Montana, Bozeman, the librarians’ annual professional development institute provided training on accessing digital resources, copyright issues, using electronic census information, and getting reliable statistics from the internet. The librarians also learned more about map collections, internships at the Library of Congress, information literacy, and recognizing learning styles.
Since some colleges are designing new libraries, the participants traded ideas about effective designs. Last year's participants included 40 librarians from 34 tribal colleges across the United States and Canada.
Holly Ristau is the archivist and librarian at White Earth Tribal and Community College. For more information about the association, contact her at WETCCLibrary@excite.com.
College Facilities Will Expand with HUD Funds
Five tribal colleges have received grants from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) to improve their facilities. Stone Child College (Box Elder, MT) received $600,000 to construct a new health and physical education facility. This facility will allow the college to add six new health and physical education courses.
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (Fort Totten, ND) received
$600,000 to construct a 4,500-square-foot building. It will house an administrative
office area and allow the college to regain two classrooms that are now being
used as office space. The new addition will allow the college to move the
main electrical facility from its current location in the boiler room, which
is a hot, moist area that poses a significant safety hazard.
Si Tanka University (based in Eagle Butte, SD) received a $587,960 grant to: 1) construct and equip a Library Learning Center to serve as the information hub for the college and the Cheyenne River Sioux community and 2) replace dilapidated windows and add air conditioning in two dormitories to allow for use during the summer.
College of Menominee Nation (Keshena, WI) received $594,340 for additional classroom space for academic preparation, training activities, and economic development activities. The construction will consist of a three-story, 7,368-square foot addition to the science wing, which will provide four additional classrooms and space for the college faculty. Additional classroom space is one of the college’s highest priorities.
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (Hayward, WI) received $600,000 to expand the college library. The need for a new library facility was identified by the community and by the accrediting agency. The college library is a public library serving the greater Lac Courte Oreilles community. Currently older books have to be placed into storage.
For more information about the HUD Tribal College and University Program (TCUP), search for tcup at www.oup.org.
Faculty Members Attend Harvard’s TCU Institute
Three faculty members from tribal colleges and universities were selected to attend the Harvard University management development program, which was held June 20-July 2, 2004. The Tribal College Leadership Development Project is a collaborative venture of the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE) and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).
Those who attended were Barbara Leiseth, Rural System Initiative director at Sisseton Wahpeton College (Sisseton, SD); Chad Waukechon, interim director of education, outreach, and extension for the College of Menominee Nation (Keshena, WI); and Renee Swan-Waite, director of student support services at Northwest Indian College (Bellingham, WA).
Minority Math Grants To Improve Prospects
Four tribal colleges received 3-year grants from the U.S. Department of Education in September 2004 to support long-range improvements in their math and science programs. The Minority Science and Engineering Improvement program is designed to cause long-range improvements in science and engineering education at predominantly minority institutions and to increase the number of qualified minorities, especially women, in science and engineering careers.
The program includes institutional, cooperative, design, and special project grants. This year, nearly 40 grants worth $4.5 million will be awarded. The tribal colleges received $1.1 million of that. The colleges are: Fort Belknap College in Harlem, MT, $203,380; Fort Peck Community College in Poplar, MT, $404,590; Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, SD, $245,289; and Sisseton Wahpeton College in Agency Village, SD, $292,295.
Haskell to Open New Childcare Facility
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Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU, Lawrence, KS) will open a new, much-needed early childcare center by mid-year 2005. The Little Nations Academic Center (LNAC) will fill the need for affordable childcare for Haskell students and will eventually extend childcare services to children of Haskell employees.
Under the guidance of Regina “Ustee” Grass, newly appointed director, LNAC plans to comply with the Indian Health Service (IHS) model for American Indian Head Start guidelines as well as state and local regulations.
The LNAC project has been fully funded from its inception by grants and donations. HINU received funds from the American Indian College Fund for construction; general funding from Rotary International; funding from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for playground equipment and learning materials; and grant funding from Success by Six for director’s salary and classroom furnishings like cribs, shelves, and books.
The facility’s four classrooms will house 49 children ranging in age from 3 weeks to 5 years. Also a 7,000-square-foot area was fenced in September, surpassing IHS regulations for adequate playground space requirements.
While grant funding insured start-up costs, the LNAC has embarked on a major fundraising campaign to subsidize other staff and operation costs not covered by current grants.
One funding drive, Sponsor a Little One, allows a person or group to sponsor an infant, toddler, and/or pre-school child, thus providing basic needs for that child while at the center.
Another campaign, Match the Year, calls on Haskell alumni to contribute the dollar amount equal to the year of their graduation. For example, a 1973 graduate would contribute $19.73 to the LNAC.
For more information on the Little Nations Academic Center or the funding drives, call (785) 749-8441.
IAIA Exhibit Features Emerging Indian Artist
 SHIFTING between Realities.” Peterson Yazzie showed this 40x40 acrylic painting as part of his solo exhibit. |
A solo exhibit at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, NM) in November showcased the work of Peterson Yazzie (Navajo), a 25-year-old, 4th year art major who was raised in Greasewood Springs, AZ, on the Navajo Reservation. Paintings were priced between $125 and $5,000. Yazzie was the only student to have a solo exhibit during the 2004-05 academic year.
His powerful, color-saturated paintings have won several awards and have been featured at nationally prominent Native American art fairs such as the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial, Navajo Market, Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Eight Northern Pueblos Show, as well as at the Wheelwright Museum Trading Post.
Yazzie says, “In the past year I’ve broadened my perceptions about art and painting. I kept my foundation while evolving into a looser, more process-oriented style. My work is becoming more about composition and principles and isn’t as focused on my culture as it once was.”
The solo art show was one of several student art shows at IAIA during the past year. Student Winter Exhibition included nearly 100 works of sculpture, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, and traditionally-crafted objects by 50 full and part-time students.
The exhibition, “IT WAS SAID… Voices from Our Past, Expressions for our Future,” was curated by three students in IAIA’s program in Museum Studies. Lee Anne Wilson, Museum Studies faculty member, worked with students Janice Stump, Richard Benally, and Meta Tohee to develop the show’s theme and plan and install the exhibition.
Oglala Lakota College Forms 1st Faculty Senate
In August 2004 a Faculty Senate Steering Committee held an election at Piya Wiconi to organize the first Wankatuye Wounspe Yewicasipi for the academic year 2004-05 at Oglala Lakota College (Kyle, SD).
The faculty senate was organized partly because the accreditation evaluation team cited the lack of faculty representation as a weakness of the college. Subsequently, the faculty formed a steering committee to organize elections. There were 49 candidates for the seven positions of the Wankatuye Wounspe Yewicasiipi, and 85% of the faculty on campus voted.
Those elected for the academic year are: Paul Robertson, itancan (president); Craig Howe, itancan iyokihe (vice president); Lorie Broberg, wowapi kaga (secretary); and Mike Miller, Joan Nelson, Paul Cedarface, and John Around Him, wa’akiyapi (representatives).
The group then began the task of writing their bylaws and determining how the senate would fit into the governance system of the college.
Salish Kootenai Students Launch On-Line Newspaper
Journalism students at Salish Kootenai College (SKC, Pablo, MT) have a new venue for their stories and concerns, an on-line newspaper, the Camp Crier.
As one of only a few tribal colleges offering a journalism class and student newspaper, SKC’s diverse student body (over 1,100 students from at least 50 tribes) will provide a variety of outlooks and fill a niche between local and tribal forms of media.
Students can “get their feet wet” in journalism and generate interest in a field where the Native American perspective is often overlooked. They hope to cover stories in depth and explore issues of interest to them and the community. Besides covering news, the paper will showcase art by SKC students and reservation high school students.
David Spear, who co-teaches the journalism class, says, “There is a lot of strong storytelling work surrounding the community,” and the Camp Crier is “a perfect venue to place the writing and photography.
Dennis McAuliffe, a journalism instructor at the University of Montana, visited Pablo last year and planted the seed for SKC to begin its own paper. McAuliffe directs the on-line publication reznet that prints articles by Native American students from across the country.
Sam Williams and Leslie Camel, who work and teach at SKC, designed the Camp Crier website, which can be accessed at www.skc.edu/campcrier or through the SKC internet home page.
Sacred Salmon Film Wins National Acclaim for SKC
A film produced by the television station at Salish Kootenai College (SKC, Pablo, MT) has received national acclaim in four major competitions. The 27-minute film, Sacred Salmon: A Gift to Sustain Life, focuses on the health of the Columbia River salmon and the Yakama Nation.
The film was directed by Frank Tyro, Ph.D., and produced by Bill Lambert, PhD, Oregon Health Science University; Lori Lambert, Ph.D., SKC; and Chris Walsh, BSN, Yakama environmental health nurse. It won the prestigious Videographer Award; was a finalist in the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, MT; tied for first place for the best professional short film in the Wildlife Cultural Film Festival, and won the Aurora Platinum Award for Best of Show, Cultural Documentary.
The companion book, Heart of the Salmon: Spirit of the People,
was written by Tyro’s wife, Lori Lambert. Tyro recently received his
Ph.D. in distance education from the Union Institute and University.
His work focused on the Native American students taking on-line courses from
SKC, examining the positive and negative aspects for Native American students.
Tyro is the director of the SKC Media Center and the college’s
PBS station, KSKC-TV. He has been with the college for over
20 years.