Volume 17 Winter 2006 Issue No. 3
In This Issue:
Heroes of Today
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ON CAMPUS
AIHEC Accepts Wyoming College, Elects Officers
The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) grew by another member when the board accepted Wind River Tribal College (WRTC, Ethete, WY) at its fall board meeting in October 2005 in Denver, CO. The board also elected officers for the coming year.
 CELEBRATION. Wind River Tribal College President Marlin Spoonhunter (right) joins with Eugene Ridgely III to sing at a community Thanksgiving feast. |
After reviewing the report of the team that visited the college, the AIHEC Board of Directors voted to admit the new college as an “applicant member.” To become a member of AIHEC, a college must be chartered by a federally recognized tribal government, governed by American Indians, and have a majority of students who are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe.
To become a full voting member of the consortium, an institution must be either accredited or a candidate for accreditation, as determined by the regional accreditation agency of jurisdiction.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, president of AIHEC and Northwest Indian College (Bellingham, WA), said, “We are pleased to welcome Wind River Tribal College into AIHEC and look forward to working with them to fulfill our common mission to bring high quality, culturally relevant higher education opportunities to Indian Country.”
Crazy Bull (Sicangu Lakota) was re-elected at the same meeting as president of AIHEC. The new vice president is Ferlin Clark (Diné), president of Diné College; the secretary is Cynthia Lindquist Mala (Spirit Lake Dakota), president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College; the treasurer is Dr. James Shanley (Assiniboine), president of Fort Peck Community College; and the new member-at-large is Tom Davis, president of Little Priest Tribal College.
Wind River Tribal College was chartered by the Northern Arapaho Business Council in September 1997 to serve citizens of the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding communities.
The president of the tribal college, Marlin Spoonhunter, is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. The college has articulation agreements with the University of Wyoming and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The latter agreement requires that Wind River’s faculty possess a minimum of a master’s degree.
Chartered in 1973 by six tribal colleges, AIHEC now has 36 members in 14 states plus one in Alberta, Canada. AIHEC member institutions serve students from over 250 federally recognized tribes as well as non-tribal members. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, VA.
For more information about the Wind River Tribal College, call (307) 335-8243. For information about AIHEC membership, contact Deborah His Horse Is Thunder at (701) 854-4297, or email dhishorseisthunder@aihec.org.
Cankdeska Cikana’s Accreditation Renewed
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC, Fort Totten, ND) now has full accreditation status. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), North Central Association of College and Schools, notified the college on Nov. 2, 2005.
Cankdeska Cikana (Little Hoop) Community College had been on accreditation probation since 2002 due to administrative and financial instability. During the past several years, the college has been extensively re-organized.
After a comprehensive visit in April 2005, the HLC Review Team recommended removing probation status. The HLC agreed with this decision. The next comprehensive visit will be in 2011-2012.
The process of self-assessment is constant and ongoing. The college must submit three progress reports: student assessment (due in 2008), administration/governance (due in 2008), and financial stability (due in 2009).
“We have skilled and qualified employees, an engaged board of regents, the full support of the Spirit Lake Tribal Council, and a focus on excellence for the success of our students,” stated CCCC President Cynthia Lindquist Mala (Spirit Lake Dakota). Recently, the Spirit Lake Tribal Council contributed $300,000 to its tribal college.
Cankdeska Cikana Community College is one of 36 tribal colleges and universities in the United States. (One is in Canada.) CCCC averages 200 students per semester and has awarded 270 associate degrees in its 30-year history.
For more information on the accreditation process or to access the self-study document for Cankdeska Cikana Community College, go to: www.littlehoop.edu.
Anishinaabe Teacher Transforms Students
Dan Jones has made the Anishinaabe language his life’s mission. That is why Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) Librarian Nancy Broughton suggested him as a contemporary hero. After being recruited from Canada, Jones has been teaching language and culture classes at the tribal college in Cloquet, MN, since August 1997.
Amongst his people, he is known as Gaagigebines, which means “Everlasting Thunderbird.” He also serves as a spiritual leader and pipe carrier. Jones knew only Anishinaabe until he was removed from his home in Ontario, Canada, at the age of five and sent to residential school. When the little boy spoke his language, the teachers hit his hands with a stick.
Jones believes the pain and humiliation contributed to his teenage rebellion. He tried to drown the loss of self identity with alcohol and drugs. However, he is not one to dwell on past inequities. Instead, he enjoys the irony: Now he is being paid to teach the language. Jones, 46, has been in recovery for 25 years. “The recovery involved a journey toward the drum, the pipe, feathers, tobacco, and other sacred items,” he says.
Broughton says Jones is one of the finest educators she has ever known. In addition to his regular language classes, he teaches a weekly language immersion group open to everyone. Around campus, he’s always smiling and always has a “Boozhoo” (hello) for everyone. His twin brother, Dennis Jones, teaches Anishinaabe at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
Culture and language are inextricably linked, he says. You can’t teach about one without teaching the other. “When you learn about language, you learn about yourself. When you learn about yourself, you feel pride about who you are. When you feel good about yourself, you do good things,” he says.
He knows of many students who have been transformed. After arriving on campus feeling lost and confused about their Native heritage, they learn the language and can finally speak with their grandparents. “They feel pride in learning something that is part of them,” he says.
AIHEC Launches New Portal for Science
The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) is moving its science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) support services into the digital age. The consortium has launched a new, open access web portal, the STEM Resource Center.
The center relies upon Microsoft SharePoint Portal Services software received through a recent Microsoft grant that included software donations to AIHEC and the tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). The STEM Resource Center provides STEM-related news, announcements, documents, and links to important education, grant, and research resources.
The STEM Resource Center is currently supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA. A variety of new collaborative tools will support the primary goal of the resource center, which is to help create and sustain one virtual community of faculty members and students from all AIHEC member institutions, including TCU organizational, institutional, and agency partners.
There are both general topic and domain-specific sites within the portal. AIHEC is now seeking TCU faculty members to moderate these sites (e.g. environmental sciences, alternative energy, ethno-biology, and health). In this way each site will be kept current and focused on the needs of TCU STEM personnel.
The portal’s community-building tools support various types of online interaction, such as discussion forums. AIHEC hopes that by using these tools, TCU faculty will trade teaching and learning strategies, share experiences with specific projects and initiatives, and develop collaborative research and education projects.
The portal will also link to important resources such as the NASA Education Portal, National Science Digital Library, and professional organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
AIHEC plans to continually add new portal functions and services to support STEM-related activities, especially in response to recommendations from TCU faculty. For example, in the near future, the STEM Resource Center will provide an online training environment as part of the AIHEC STEM Institute, which will provide TCU faculty access to professional development opportunities in a cost-effective manner. The STEM Resource Center is located at http://stemrc.aihec.org/default.aspx.
For more information on the AIHEC STEM Portal, contact either Dan Burns (dburns@aihec.org) or Al Kuslikis (akuslikis@aihec.org).
Crownpoint Awarded College Accreditation
Crownpoint Institute of Technology (CIT, Crownpoint, NM) was awarded initial accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in October 2005. The institution has held candidacy for accreditation status since 2004.
The decision followed an April 25-27, 2005, visit by a team from the HLC. Beginning in 1986, CIT previously was accredited as a vocational school by the NCA Commission on Assessment and School Improvement.
James Tutt , long-term CIT President, said the faculty, staff, and board are very pleased with the decision. “Most of the faculty and staff worked very hard over the past two years, not just to improve the quality of education and management of the college but to write a book-length evaluative report on the college’s strengths and concerns. The visiting team’s comments show that we can identify our own strengths and vulnerabilities.”
CIT Vice President Elmer Guy said, “The Navajo Tribal Council and President Joe Shirley deserve special thanks for approving the Diné Higher Education Fund Act, which provides our college with a stable funding source far into the future,” he said. “The visiting team’s recommendation is a reflection of effort from the entire Navajo Nation.”
The college’s next comprehensive evaluation will be in 2010. In the meantime, there will be a focus visit to evaluate progress in two areas -- planning and fiscal management. Planning at an academic institution involves every aspect of academic and supporting programs. The focus on planning is consistent with the institution’s own strategic planning efforts, according to Dr. Rosemary Ann Blanchard, dean of instruction.
The visiting team noted a number of strengths, including the institution’s strong adherence to its mission statement and its commitment to the Diné Philosophy of Education. The team also commended the college’s community engagement. The HLC found that CIT needs more consistency in its internal and external documents.
Accreditation has two fundamental purposes: quality assurance and institutional and program improvement.
Uriah Two Two Honored As Hero by N. Cheyenne
Look in the dictionary under the word “noble,” and you will find Sgt. Uriah Two Two. At least that is what Kathleen Beartusk tells people about her youngest son. Two Two is now in Iraq for a second tour with the 101st Airborne.
 ‘NOBLE’ CHEYENNE. At Uriah Two Two’s victory dance, the ceremonial smudges on his face, combined with his Army uniform, captivated photographer Gwendolen Cates (author of the photo book, Indian Country). |
This troubles his mother. “I am definitely not looking forward to another year of anxiety, worry, sleeplessness, and fear of watching the news.” However, she says, “I know deep down in my heart that he is doing exactly what he's wanted to do since he was 5 years old. Uriah is the epitome of what a soldier should be.”
Two Two received a hero’s welcome at the Billings Logan International Airport when he returned home after his first tour in Iraq in March 2004. He earned a Purple Heart for wounds he received when a roadside bomb went off. More than 150 people gathered.
In a traditional Northern Cheyenne ceremony at the airport, Two Two was blessed and cleansed by smoke from burning sweetgrass fanned by eagle feathers. A war bonnet was placed on Two Two, and he was wrapped in a red, white, and blue star quilt. Women's high-pitched ululating pierced the air.
No one touched Two Two until the ceremony was conducted to remove the aftereffects of war, according to a report in the Billings Gazette.
Two Two and his wife have three small children with another on the way in May. His mother, Kathleen Beartusk, has worked at Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC, Lame Deer, MT) for 25 years. A graduate of CDKC, she has raised five children as a single mom. The children are sixth generation descendants of Chief Dull Knife.
Students Raise Money For Hurricane Victims
Tribal college students were among the other American Indians who reacted with compassion, cash, and commitment to the needs of hurricane victims last fall.
 HELP FOR HURRICANE VICTIMS. Two-year-old Kimimila and her mother, Cristy Bull Bear, a student in Office Technology, give their hurricane donation to Tracie Packineau of the UTTC Student Senate. Photo by Dennis Neumann |
With a fundraising concert at the mall and lots of one-on-one pitching, the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC, Bismarck, ND) Student Senate brought in over $1,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina, double their goal. The tribal college matched the effort for a total of $2,060, which was presented Oct. 28, 2005, in a giant-sized check to the American Red Cross.
The students in the Mastering Life Skills classes at Sisseton Wahpeton College (SWC, Sisseton, SD) held fund raisers to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Through a rummage sale, a bake sale, a craft sale, and two raffles, they raised a total of $1,050.
That money was sent to the seven names submitted by local family members so each family received a check for $150. All of the people who received relief funds were family members of local tribal members, according to Michelle Greseth of SWC.
Staff, faculty, and students donated items for the rummage sale and food items for the bake sale. Several local businesses donated items for the raffles.
There were several reports of tribal college students, who serve as volunteer firefighters and rescue workers, traveling to the Gulf Coast to help. The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) uses its website (www.aihec.org) to help match providers of information technology with hurricane victims who need it.
Many other tribes and tribal organizations also contributed. The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), with the support of the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians of California, donated $50,000. The check was presented to the American Red Cross Sept. 9, 2005, in Bismarck at the 36th Annual United Tribes International Powwow.
NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr., said that tribes and Indian individuals provided hundreds of thousands of dollars, supplies, and volunteer labor. Indian people also opened their doors to welcome hurricane evacuees on their reservations, he said.
NSF Enhances Science Teaching at Leech Lake
The National Science Foundation has awarded Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC, Cass Lake, MN) a 5-year grant for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The grant will total $500,000 each year for a maximum of five years.
Leech Lake Tribal College plans to become a conduit for more Native American students in the reservation communities to actively pursue higher degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Michael Wassegijig Price is the program director at the tribal college. He previously served as LLTC Science Department Chair from 1998-2001.
The faculty will introduce and integrate aspects of the Anishinaabe culture into the science curriculum to make science and math more culturally relevant to students. An ethnobotany course will be developed within the first year for both on-campus and online delivery.
The college plans to increase the technological skills of the entire reservation through Community Learning Resource Centers. A total of nine sites will have computers, internet access, and distance education capability. An outreach specialist will be hired.
LLTC will hire a library media specialist to develop STEM resources, enhance access and utilization of library resources, and manage the library.
“We are excited about the opportunity to develop our institution in the direction of science, technology, engineering, and math. Our students deserve it,” says Leah Carpenter, president of the college.
Prior to being hired by the tribal college, Price received a prestigious award from the National Geographic Society and Microsoft for an essay he wrote about indigenous science. He was named an “emerging explorer” and sent on an expedition to Argentina in August 2005 with high-altitude archaeologist Dr. Constanza Ceruti. Ceruti’s work includes the study of Incan mummies and ceremonial sites in the Andes.
College Fund Honors Vets, Raises $300,000
The American Indian College Fund raised over $300,000 at its 10th annual Flame of Hope Gala last November in New York City. Over 300 supporters attended the event, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Attendees were entertained by Kris Kristofferson, Richie Havens, R. Carlos Nakai, and the Brooklyn-based Redhawk Dance Troupe.
 REMEMBERING LORI. Carla Piestewa talks with her mother’s best friend, Jessica Lynch, at the American Indian College Fund gala. Lori Piestewa is believed to be the first American Indian woman killed in action. Photo by Jemal Countess/WireImage.com |
The college fund paid tribute to the nation’s veterans and honored Jessica Lynch, the family of Lori Piestewa, and the Navajo Code Talkers. Other honorees included Gail Bruce, Anne Sward Hansen, and USA Funds.
Heartfelt speeches from past scholarship recipients reminded the attendees of the importance of the college fund. The Flame of Hope Gala, the American Indian College Fund's showcase event, has been held in New York City every year since 1996.
Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for Native American students. The fund distributes over $4 million in scholarships and program support to tribal colleges annually.
LBHC Accreditation Reaffirmed for 10 Years
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU ) reaffirmed the accreditation for Little Big Horn College (LBHC, Crow Agency, MT) in July 2005.
LBHC hosted six NWCCU Evaluation Committee Team members and a liaison April 6-8, 2005. The campus visit was a culmination of an Institutional Self-Study process that took approximately two years. All aspects of the college were studied: academics, finances, governance, student services, facilities, policies, personnel qualifications, and other college services.
LBHC President Dr. David Yarlott, Jr., said, “We are happy to know that the evaluation team identified most of the same areas of strengths and challenges we identified through the self-study process and that there were no surprises.”
The commission commended the trustees, administration, faculty, and staff for their deep commitment in the face of budgetary and demographic challenges. The commission mentioned the faculty’s professional qualifications and the college’s mission to improve the educational attainment of Crow people.
The accreditation is for 10 years. Within that time period, a progress report and an interim visit will be required to mark progress in the challenge areas. Those areas are evaluation and planning, student assessment, student advising, and management software system.
LBHC was chartered by the Crow Tribe in 1980 and accredited in 1990. (The NWCCU put the college on probation for a brief time in 2001 after the college president was fired, but the accreditation was reinstated in 2002.) LBHC is a land grant institution with over 350 enrolled students.
Tribal Leaders Serve Colleges and Tribes
Ron His Horse Is Thunder, former president of Sitting Bull College (SBC, Fort Yates, ND), has been elected chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He resigned his presidency to take over his duties for the tribe in October 2005.
Although unusual, the move between tribal college leadership and tribal leadership is not unique. He is believed to be the second tribal college president to become a tribal chair in the 38-year history of the tribal college movement. Thomas Atcitty served as president of Navajo Community College (now Diné College) from 1972 until 1977. From 1995 through 1998, Atcitty served alternately as vice president and president of the Navajo Nation.
In the 1999 school year, John Blackhawk served simultaneously as chair of the Winnebago Tribe and interim president of Little Priest Community College. Several other tribal college presidents have served on their tribal councils.
Another tribal college president, Della Warrior, served as chairperson and chief executive officer of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe prior to becoming president of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, NM) in 1998.
Warrior retired as IAIA president Jan. 1, 2006. The college is conducting a national search. She will continue to work for the college as a consultant. During her eight years as president, she raised millions of dollars, rescuing the institute from a financial abyss. She led IAIA to full accreditation for its 2-year and 4-year academic programs. The new campus has a national reputation for its “green,” environmentally friendly design (see TCJ, Vol. 17, N.2).
During his nine years as president of the college, His Horse Is Thunder and his staff started several entrepreneurial programs, including Sitting Bull College Construction Company and a computer installation and service company. The college received accreditation for a 4-year business degree and led the successful effort to get National Scenic Byway designation for a highway through the reservation.
As chairman, His Horse Is Thunder intends to continue his focus upon economic development as well as language and culture. The tribe and the college are working together to establish an entrepreneurial center.
Laurel Vermillion (Hunkpapa Lakota), Ph.D., is the acting president at Sitting Bull College. Previously the vice president of operations, she has worked at the college since 1995.
AIHEC Sends Delegates To World Conference
by Deborah His Horse is Thunder
 INDIGENOUS IDEAS. Educators from around the world who gathered included Ida Downwind from Leech Lake Tribal College in the middle and Ron His Horse is Thunder on the right. |
Indigenous people from 18 different countries around the world gathered in Hamilton, New Zealand, Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 2005, to participate in the 7 thWorld Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE).
Approximately 5,000 delegates attended. Through the support of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) was able to sponsor several of the keynote speakers, including LaDonna Harris (president of Americans for Indian Opportunity) and Manley Begay (of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy).
AIHEC also sponsored several delegates including Oglala Lakota College President Tom Shortbull, Tribal Chairman and former Sitting Bull College President Ron His Horse is Thunder, and Fort Peck Community College President Dr. James Shanley.
The Maori hosts conducted an official welcome ceremony to begin the conference at the Turangawaewae Marae, home of their queen, Dame Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu. Each day focused on a theme: Leadership, Research and Development, New Horizons of Knowledge, and The Way Forward. A language symposium was embedded in the conference activities one day with a special elders’ symposium on another day.
The conference showcased the different indigenous cultures around the world, which demonstrated our many commonalities as well as our differences. The conference culminated in a “Cultural Extravaganza” featuring songs and dances from the many cultures.
WIPCE is held every three years. The next conference will be hosted by the Australian aborigines in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008-09.
Deborah His Horse is Thunder is the director of membership services at AIHEC.
Diabetes Educators Honor Alvin Windy Boy
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC, Baraga, MI) hosted the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools (DETS) Curriculum Development Project National Steering Committee meeting in September 2005.
 DIABETES WARRIOR. Alvin Windy Boy, Sr., was honored by his colleagues as an outspoken advocate of diabetes prevention. Applauding his award are (left to right) Jennifer Curry, William Dahl, and Lars Helgeson. Photo by Doug Coulson |
Dr. Michael DeGagné, director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada, spoke about the Aboriginal Healing programs in Canada. The mission of the foundation is to support aboriginal people in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes. It focuses upon the legacy of physical abuse and sexual abuse in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.
The steering committee honored Alvin Windy Boy, Sr., for his work in promoting diabetes prevention and health careers. Despite his many duties as chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, Windy Boy served for many years as co-chair of the national Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee.
He was instrumental in convincing the National Institutes of Health to launch the DETS program. Currently, he serves on the project’s external advisory committee.
For more information about the DETS program contact Lynn Aho by email laho@kbocc.org or Marilyn Hetzel by email mhetzel@haskell.edu. For information about the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, see www.ahf.ca/.