Volume 15 Winter 2003 Issue No. 2

On Campus

OLC to Pay New Faculty With Endowment Returns

Oglala Lakota College (OLC) has succeeded in raising the $1.5 million in donations necessary to secure $500,000 in matching funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The tribal college serving the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was required to reach its $1.5 million goal by July 31, 2003.

The NEH challenge grant assisted OLC in creating two faculty endowment funds: the William Horn Cloud Lakota Language Faculty Endowment and the Gerald One Feather Lakota Studies Faculty Endowment. OLC will use the annual investment returns to fund three faculty positions in the Lakota Studies Department. The college has hired three new Lakota Studies Department faculty members. Patrick Lee, former chief judge of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, will teach Federal Indian Law and the Tribal Laws, Treaties, and Government course. John Around Him, a respected spiritual leader and linguist, will teach Lakota Languages courses. Another respected community leader and linguist, Charles Shot With Arrow, will teach both Lakota Languages and Lakota Studies courses.

"We are very proud of OLC's accomplishment on the endowment funds," said OLC Board President Newton Cummings. "This is an example of self-determination since it was the initiative and hard work of the college that achieved this result."

OLC President Thomas Shortbull thanked the donors throughout South Dakota and the United States and especially Tom Brokaw (NBC anchorman), whose $25,000 donation to the Gerald One Feather Endowment resulted in a major increase in donations for that fund.

The two endowment funds are part of a larger effort to endow 15 faculty positions by 2004. For the additional 12 faculty positions, OLC must reach a total of $10 million by the end of 2004, which means raising $2.4 million through direct mail campaigns and grants from foundations and corporations. The campaign to endow faculty positions is Phase III of Rebuilding the Lakota Nation Through Education. Phases I and II resulted in a new library and 10 new instructional college centers.

For more information on OLC's faculty endowment campaign, call Marilyn Pourier, Development Director, at (605) 455-6045 or write Box 490, Kyle, SD 57752.

Harvard Presents Alumni Award to Helen Klassen

The Harvard Graduate School of Education has recognized Dr. Helen Klassen' s devotion to helping individuals from impoverished communities access opportunity through education. Harvard awarded the 2003 Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education at a ceremony in June in Cambridge, MA. An Ojibwa tribal member who grew up on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota, Klassen is the president of White Earth Tribal and Community College. The Bush Foundation had awarded her a leadership fellowship to attend Harvard where she earned her master's in 1993 and her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology in 1996.

From an early age, Klassen acquired firsthand lessons in of human psychology in clashes with authority. She and her friends walked out of their local high school after she confronted the high school principal about racism in the school instruction, she said. Then they taught themselves, passed the GED, and she convinced Moorhead State College to admit her at the age of 17. She completed her bachelor's at the age of 20.

Last spring, she survived a battle with the White Earth Tribal Council, which fired her. The tribal court overturned the decision, saying the college is a "separate, independently chartered educational organization" governed by its own board of trustees.

Klassen helped start the college in 1997 after turning down a position in the Harvard president's office. "It was not satisfying. I had a sense of loneliness and lacked joy in my life there," she said. White Earth Tribal and Community College opened its doors in Mahnomen, MN, in October 1997 and now has eight faculty members, a number of adjunct instructors, 60 full-time students, 60 part-time students, and 200 students in Adult Basic Education, according to an article in the Park Rapids Enterprise. It serves about 200 high school students.

Klassen is one of several tribal members from the reservation who graduated from Harvard, according to an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Her sister, Erma Vizenor, also received a doctorate from Harvard; Winona LaDuke, the Green Party vice presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000, received her bachelor's from Harvard; the late Jerry Buckanaga received his master's; Anita Fineday, tribal judge, received her master's; Willow Lawson, editor of Psychology Today, received her bachelor's; and Yvonne Novak received her master's. Several others from White Earth attended Harvard, according to the article. At least 12 people with Harvard connections have considered White Earth to be home. The writer found this especially surprising since less than three percent of the American Indian population has diplomas from any four-year college.

OUTSTANDING ALUMNUS. Dr. Helen Klassen defied the odds to earn her current status as an Harvard honoree. Photo by Jeff Hamley.

SGU Using Earth Data to Improve Land Management

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched a five-year, $5 million project to improve land management policies and practices for tribal reservations and other rural communities. The initial focus will be on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to Sinte Gleska University (SGU).

Project Director James Rattling Leaf of SGU said the project develops systems to help tribal managers with resource decisions. It will also generate educational tools to inspire and train Native and non-native scientists. By using geospatial technology, the project participants can help tribes with community development. They will transform earth system data into usable knowledge about the planet and specifically about the reservations' resources.

The project, "A Geospatial Extension of the NASA Information Power Grid," involves the tribal college (Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD), two federal agencies, and two private commercial partners. The federal partners are the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD, and NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. The other partners are Global Science and Technology, Inc., in Greenbelt, MD, and Earth Satellite Corporation, Inc., in Rockville, MD.

For more information contact: James Rattling Leaf, Land and Natural Resources Developer, Sinte Gleska University, P.O. Box 557,Mission, SD 57555-0107, phone (605) 856-4262, email jamesrl@sinte.edu or visit http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_y/nra/current/CAN-02-OES-01/winners.htm

Administration Applauds Bay Mills Charter School

U.S. Under Secretary of Education Eugene W. Hickok recently traveled to a charter school in Michigan to call national attention to the efforts of Bay Mills Community College (BMCC, Brimley, MI). The tribal college president, Mickey Parish, and Board of Regents Member L. John Lufkins shared the spotlight with the under secretary at the Keystone Academy, a charter school near Belleville set to open in fall 2003. "Charter schools go back to the original intent of schools, which is a love of teaching kids," Hickok said. "Charter schools are about freedom and empowering people."

Bay Mills Community College is the only entity in Michigan currently able to approve new charter schools anywhere in the state. Hickok, emphasizing that the college has the support of President George W. Bush's administration, added, "We're not backing off. We are pushing on every front. The college administration has shown that they are responsible decision-makers when it comes to issuing charters." He hopes to engage other tribal colleges across the country in chartering schools, since he said statistics show that charter schools improve tribal access to greater educational choice.

"Bay Mills Community College represents hope for thousands of children and parents who want to be able to choose charter schools," Hickok added during his appearance on July 15. As they became more immersed in the issue of charter schools, Bay Mills leaders realized that residents across the state were mired in similar situations, whether they were in urban cities or rural areas and regardless of their backgrounds. Consequently Bay Mills decided to confront the problems of poor-quality education on a broader basis.

The college issued its first two charter schools in 2001 in Bay City and Pontiac, MI. In 2002, the college received 53 applications for charters and selected eight schools, which were expected to open in fall 2003. Earlier this summer the college received 10 more applications for charters, which will go through an extensive review process before being approved by the National Heritage Academies, the entity created by Bay Mills to manage the charter schools.

For more information, contact Bay Mills Community College at (906) 248-3354 or Sherry Knight at (517) 764-5167.

CHARTER CHOICE. U.S. Under Secretary of Education Gene Hickok (second from left) gets a tour of Keystone Academy with (left to right) Peter Ruppert, president, National Heritage Academies; Mickey Parish, president, Bay Mills Community College; John Lufkins, tribal chair, Bay Mills Indian Community, Dan Quisenberry, president, Michigan Association of Public School Academies, and J.C. Huizenga, founder, National Heritage Academies. Photo by Joe Wilssens

Leech Lake Benefits From Mdewakanton Sioux Gift

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has given a $1 million grant to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, part of which the tribe has given to the Leech Lake Tribal College. The tribal council will use the gift to help fight poverty through education and services on the north-central Minnesota reservation. More than 6,200 people live on the Leech Lake Reservation, where the unemployment rate is roughly 30%. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, southwest of the Twin Cities, operates the highly successful Mystic Lake Casino.

Leech Lake Tribal College President Lenee Ross said the college received $250,000 from the Shakopee grant, which will be used for operating funds. A high priority for the money will be fixing leaky roofs, Ross said. The college now has high maintenance costs since it operates in five separate buildings: a church, high school, parsonage, and some offices leased from the tribe. "It's a constant battle to keep these running," he said.

Ross plans to eventually have the college in one new building. The college has launched a capital campaign and has received commitments for $2 million, which represents 90% of the funds necessary for Phase I. The first phase includes classroom and faculty office space. The entire project will cost $20 million. The donation from the Shakopee will help the college focus its energy on its capital campaign. "I am grateful to the Shakopee and to our Leech Lake Tribal Council for assisting us. The council has always been very supportive of our efforts. Education is a top priority for the tribe," Ross said.

NPS Makes Agreement With AIHEC Student Congress

by Ron Selden

As part of an ongoing effort to expand relationships with tribes and further diversify its workforce, the National Park Service (NPS) has signed an historic memorandum of understanding with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium's Student Congress.

Along with connecting students with jobs, the action means the agency has vowed to work more closely with the organization by sponsoring various leadership development events and public relations activities, among other measures, said Dana Grant, director of development at Salish Kootenai College (SKC, Pablo, MT). The document was signed during a May ceremony at SKC.

"We're very excited about it and are very glad that the Park Service wanted to do it," Grant said. "We're hoping it will lead to other possibilities for our students in the future. We also hope it will lead to the opening of other doors with other federal agencies."

Dan Harrison, the agency's chief of higher education and parks initiatives, said similar memorandums have been signed with various colleges and organizations across the country. But this is the first time such a concrete step has been taken with a tribal college group.

Harrison said that the move dovetails with other efforts to better communicate with minorities. It follows agency action to establish a satellite uplink that tribal colleges could hook into last year. The uplink is designed to spread information about employment opportunities within all Park Service programs. The agency hires hundreds of seasonal workers at its parks, monuments, and other facilities around the nation. Summer jobs usually fit well with students; and seasonal work, combined with the right education, can often lead to longtime careers.

PARTNERS FOR THE PARKS. Student Congress officers celebrate the signing of the MOU (left to right, back row): Julian Many Hides, Dan Harrison of the NPS, Juan Perez (Student Congress sponsor), and SKC President Joe McDonald; (front row): Grace Samuels, Ronnadette Tanner, and Karin Baca.

AIHEC Remembers Friends Sees Future Challenges

by Marjane Ambler

Tribal college and university presidents continued their celebration of the 30th anniversary of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and looked forward to the coming years at a meeting in Blaine, WA, in July.

"There are a lot of friends without whom we wouldn't be here today," David Gipp, first executive director of AIHEC, said. Gipp (Hunkpapa Lakota), now president of United Tribes Technical College, listed many men and women who were instrumental in providing national leadership for the tribal college movement and for getting the legislation through Congress in 1978 to provide core, institutional funding. "I give the Navajo Community College a lot of credit as the first model and for their willingness to share with the rest of Indian Country," he said. The Navajo Tribe chartered the first tribal college (now Diné College in Arizona) in 1968 and set a precedent by getting federal funding in 1968.

In the early 1970s, panelists said, the Indian-controlled colleges faced opposition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which testified that they were not needed, and from tribal people who feared that the colleges would threaten tribal sovereignty. In most cases, the tribal colleges suffered more from neglect than opposition. However, national emergence of Red Power at the Wounded Knee occupation in South Dakota and the fishing wars in the Northwest made their efforts more difficult.

Gipp cited several events that turned the tide, including a debate between Lionel Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota) and the late Patricia Locke at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in 1977, which led to an endorsement by the powerful organization. In 1975, Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) called the Black Caucus together to listen to Indian colleges. They met in the U.S. Capitol Building. "Stanley Red Bird of Sinte Gleska College gave an eloquent speech in the Lakota language that was so moving to Shirley that she asked the other members of the caucus to pledge full support for the Indian colleges," Gipp said.

He pointed out the contributions of Janine Pease (Crow/Hidatsa), founder of Little Big Horn College and former president of AIHEC, who wrote the legislative history in her dissertation. An excerpt was recently published in the Journal of American Indian Education.

Dr. Jim Shanley (Assiniboine) discussed several major accomplishments of AIHEC in the successive years and the challenges ahead. Shanley is president of Fort Peck Community College and of AIHEC. His list of AIHEC accomplishments included the creation of American Indian College Fund, the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium, Tribal College Journal, and the Alliance for Equity, which gives the tribal colleges more of an equal voice with Black and Hispanic institutions despite smaller numbers.

Dr. Joe McDonald (Salish-Kootenai), president of Salish Kootenai College, said the birth of the tribal college movement made it possible for Indians to be students without giving up who they were. "For the first time in 115 years, our people had something to say about how our children were educated."

Ron His Horse is Thunder (Hunkpapa Lakota), president of Sitting Bull College, said, "We were second-chance institutions for students who failed in state-supported colleges. Now we have more students straight out of high school, showing a major shift in the community's perception of our institutions' validity."

Cheryl Crazy Bull (Sicangu Lakota), president of Northwest Indian College, said she appreciated the leadership opportunities that tribal colleges provided to women. "We have proportionately more women presidents than any other institutions," she said.

Dr. William Harjo Lone Fight (Natchez Muscogee), president of Sisseton Wahpeton College, said, "We need to think of transmission of culture as the only truly unique service we provide in the next 30 years. This is where we began, and this is where we should return."

Dr. Verna Fowler, (Menominee), the president of the College of Menominee Nation, said her institution became strong because some of the veteran presidents were willing to share ideas and resources with her. Sky Houser, president of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (Hayward, WI), pointed out that most of AIHEC's work was initially done by presidents volunteering time. "But now we have attracted a brilliant and creative staff that would honor any organization."

Finally having their own buildings has made a remarkable impression on potential funders, Shanley said. "In the early years when they visited colleges in storefronts, they assumed we wouldn't last. Now we have solidity we didn't have before."

Referring to the national trend toward "privatization of higher education," Shanley anticipates a movement to shift more of the financial burden from the federal government to those least able to pay, the tribal college students and tribes. He said, "If we are going to maintain the tribal college movement, we will have to maintain unity. If we lose unity, they can take us out one by one."

Students Help Identify Mosquitoes with Virus

by Jennifer McKee, Billings Gazette

From a watery, brown drop of concentrated mosquito genes, Montana state scientists identified the first batch of mosquitoes known for sure to carry the sometimes-deadly West Nile virus in Montana. The mosquitoes were found by student interns at Fort Belknap College (Harlem, MT) working with the state under a federal grant.

What they found are no ordinary bugs. The vast majority of Montana's mosquitoes are of the genus Aedes sp. (pronounced "eighties.") The mosquitoes found to be infected this week were the less common Culex sp. variety, the kind of mosquito most closely linked to West Nile transmission.

This discovery is a victory, said Susie Zanto, technical manager for the state's public health lab. It shows that the web of mosquito traps and trappers making up Montana's public health surveillance system is working. "This is the fruition of everything we've worked for," Zanto said.

On the front lines, Montana's mosquito surveillance system is tedious and swat-filled -- just ask Tessa Clairmont, 19, or her colleagues, Kristie Crazy, 24, and Lacy Horn, also in her early 20s. All three Fort Belknap College interns catch mosquitoes all day. From the state, they receive "dry ice" catchers -- conniving little mosquito traps that prey on mosquitoes' greatest weakness: their universal attraction to carbon dioxide, the stuff people and all other mammals exhale when we breathe out. In a green canister above a cone-shaped net, Clairmont, Crazy, and Horn place chunks of dry ice. When it sublimates, it gives off carbon dioxide gas. The bugs go in for the kill and get sucked into the net by a weak fan.

The students, working under Liz McClain, a professor at the college and coordinator of the school's aquatic studies, hang the traps in campgrounds and picnic spots and collect hundreds of mosquitoes each night. Another student has the task of manually sorting the mosquitoes by genus.

McLain, who worked for years on malaria and plague research in Africa, said Montana has a ways to go to fully ramp up public health surveillance. Don't wait for a crisis, McLain said, having lived through malarial outbreaks before. "You can't tell anything in an outbreak," she said.

McLain has even broader hopes. She and her students are not just trapping mosquitoes. For their own research and to build a record for Blaine County, they are looking for mosquito larva -- which can be more easily killed than adult, flying mosquitoes -- by applying a natural pesticide to standing pools of water. "It's labor-intensive, and it's expensive," she said, "but not as expensive as trying to kill the adults."

Reprinted with permission from the Billings Gazette.

MOSQUITO ATTACK. Vivian Schaffer, right, of the Montana Department of Health discusses how this machine tests mosquitoes. From Fort Belknap College are (left to right) Lacy Horn, Dawn Young, Dr. Liz McClain, Catherine Weigand, and Tessa Clairmont. Photo by George Lane, Helena Independent Record

Leadership Fellows Are Learning from Mentors

An innovative new program brought some of the nation's most promising educational leaders to Washington, DC, for a week last summer to enhance their capability. The W.K. Kellogg Leadership Fellows Program builds mentoring relationships for a cohort of fellows from Minority Serving Institutions.

The Alliance for Equity in Higher Education then announced the 2003-2004 fellows for the three organizations: the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO). Each of the three has its own distinct leadership program, which includes joint and individual workshops, seminars, and discussion groups during the academic year. In addition, the program matches each fellow with a mentor president who serves as a guide and resource.

Tribal college participants were enthusiastic about the first educational session of the year. "This energized me because by meeting all these folks with similar experiences, I was able to see what I do know and what I don't know. I could see all those dots connecting," said Ida Braveheart of Leech Lake Tribal College. Braveheart, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, said, "At work, I am more focused now on what I need to know more about. It validated my commitment to education and to tribal colleges."

Valerie Montoya (San Juan Pueblo), special programs administrator at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, said she was impressed by the presentations. "Five tribal college presidents shared in a personal way qualities necessary to be a successful president, including the ability to develop a vision, high level of integrity, and the tremendous commitment required. They discussed their personal battles to provide education with limited resources and the critical role that tribal colleges play in strengthening tribal communities." She enjoyed building bridges with colleagues from other Minority Serving Institutions, most of whom live in urban areas.

The other tribal college fellows are: Phil Baird (Sicangu Lakota), a dean from United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND; Wannetta Bennett (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), the sponsored programs officer at Turtle Mountain Community College; Patricia Brzezinski (Menominee descendant), vice president of academic affairs at College of Menominee Nation; Venida Chenault (Potowatomi), professor of American Indian studies/social science and acting director of distance education at Haskell Indian Nations University; Devona Lone Wolf (Oglala Lakota), human services instructor at Oglala Lakota College; Maggie Necefer (Diné), academic dean of Arizona campuses and community centers at Diné College; and Charlene Teters (Spokane), professor of studio arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

LAUDED LEADERS.The Kellogg Leadership Fellows are (left to right) Phil Baird, Wannetta Bennett, Maggie Necefer, Charlene Teters, Venida Chenault, Patricia Brzezinski, Valerie Montoya, Ida Braveheart, and Devona Lone Wolf.

Fond du Lac Now Offers 4-Year Teaching Degree

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDL, Cloquet, MN) has become the only two-year college in the state that can offer a four-year degree. In May the Minnesota Legislature approved the college providing the bachelor's degree in elementary/middle school education.

The college, tribe, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth laid the groundwork by successfully developing Gekinoo'imaagejig (The Ones who Teach). Through this collaborative teaching program, Fond du Lac demonstrated its ability to recruit, retain, and graduate American Indian students. "The tribe is committed to providing a culturally responsive curriculum that aims to increase the number of American Indians graduating with teaching degrees," said Amy Bergstrom, director of the teacher education program. At the same time, the program offers culturally-grounded curriculum for non-Indians to better prepare them for the diverse classrooms they will be entering.

She credited the support of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees, the Fond du Lac Tribal College Board of Directors, and the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe Indians tribal council. The first class of 16 students received their degrees from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in May; 14 of the graduates were American Indian.

Gekinoo'imaagejig has also developed an Ojibwe language teaching minor. The Minnesota Board of Teaching officially approved the language minor in January 2003. "This is a further indication that future teacher training will continue to be grounded in an Anishinaabeg epistemology while meeting all state and national teaching standards," Bergstrom said.

For further information contact Amy Bergstrom, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, (218) 879-0739, abergstr@d.umn.edu.

White Earth Exploring Natural Farming Methods

White Earth Tribal and Community College (Mahnomen, MN) is developing alternative natural farming methods. The college received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Tribal College Equity Program. Natural farming has been a long-standing interest of Steve Dahlberg, who heads the project, and he said this study also supports the goal of the college and the Nibi Center to increase reservation self-sufficiency and to preserve the quality of the resource base.

Dahlberg said, "People need to know about the alternatives to conglomerate-controlled farms, and many of the farmers in this area may find viable, sustainable agricultural alternatives by accessing the information acquired through the grant." Some of the alternative agricultural models are rooted in indigenous practices from around the world, including Anishinaabe traditions.

"Conventional agriculture doesn't work on the types of land that cover most of White Earth. Why clear trees and fill wetlands to plant corn and soybeans when there are other products growing in the forests and wetlands that are much more valuable?" Dahlberg asked. White Earth Reservation resources that might be better utilized include maple syrup, wild rice, leeches, wild game, black walnuts, ginseng, medicinal plants, hazelnuts, fruits, specialty lumber, and scenery. "Every acre put into any of these other options will create real economic development, greater freedom, and a healthier environment," he added.

The research grant included several thousand dollars for the tribal college's library to acquire materials on alternative, natural farming methods. In addition, the grant financed camping gear including sleeping mats, bags, tents, lanterns, a camp kitchen, digital cameras, calculators, a van, and GPS equipment to enable students to conduct field research.

For more details contact Steve Dahlberg at sdahlberg@wetcc.org or call (218) 935-0417.

Gift Will Help Complete Sisseton Voc-ed Building

Sisseton Wahpeton College (SWC) President Dr. William Harjo Lone Fight received a check for $10,000 from Dean Marske of the architectural firm Herges, Kirchgasler, Geisler & Associates at the college's May graduation ceremony. "This gift is the largest donation the college has ever received from a single donor and will be applied to the Vocational Education building being built on the SWC campus this summer," said Lone Fight.

Lakota artist Victor Runnels with Herges, Kirchgasler, Geisler designed the new building, which uses a unique sculptural architecture design that resembles four Dakota people playing a drum. The new facility will have enough interior space for the college's vocational education students to construct single-family homes inside during the winter months.

Lone Fight, who worked with Marske to finalize plans for the building, added, "We are very grateful that Herges, Kirchgasler, Geisler & Associates appreciates what Sisseton Wahpeton College means to the area. I have been overwhelmed by the incredible generosity and sense of vision Mr. Marske and his partners have demonstrated."

Sisseton Wahpeton College also received a grant from the Department of Education for construction and is hoping to raise an additional $300,000 for finishing costs, furnishings, and landscaping.

For information contact Pam Wynia, Director of Development, Sisseton Wahpeton College, PO Box 689, Agency Village, SD 57262, phone (605) 698-3966, or email pwynia@swc.tc.

DRUMMING UP EDUCATION. The new building resembles four Dakota people playing a drum.

College Librarians Gain Skills at MSU Institute

Early in June 2003, tribal college librarians attended the annual, week-long Professional Development Institute in Bozeman, MT. They had the opportunity to make important contacts, learn, grow, and network with each other. The event focused on preserving and digitizing photograph collections, organizing oral history projects, health research, the National Museum of the American Indian Mall Resource Center, Tribal College Virtual Library, and cultural awareness about Canadian indigenous people's issues. A total of 35 participants came from 31 tribal institutions.

The institute started in 1993 through the efforts of certain librarians, especially Kathy Kaya of Montana State University (MSU). Kaya and Mary Anne Hansen of MSU coordinated this year's training, which was especially helpful to new librarians, according to Betty J. Mason (Muscogee), the librarian at D-Q University.

Little Priest Tribal College Librarian Gretchen Healy remembers the early years of the institutes. "Long before the tribal college campuses were connected to the Internet, institute organizers provided all of us with e-mail addresses and taught us how to use e-mail and the Internet, kept us abreast of the rapid changes in technology, and organized a listserv so we could keep in touch with each other. They brought in leaders in our field to teach us the finer points of tribal college library management, policies, archives, library automation, new library construction, and the selection of Native American materials. They provided a forum for us to discuss and organize around issues of intellectual freedom, tribal politics, budgets, and visibility."

For this year's institute, travel and attendance for many was paid for by Department of Education Title III professional development funds or subsidized by grants from the National Agriculture Library, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and contributions from EBSCO subscription services.

The archives of all the past institutes as well as links to real and virtual librarians and their library resources can be found at the TCLI website www.lib.Montana.edu/~kkaya/TCLib.html#announce.

College Makes Diabetes Research Seem Relevant

by Chip Clark

Diné College's summer research enhancement program, now in its fourth year, sends students into their home communities for six weeks of diabetes-related data collection. The students begin the summer with three weeks of intensive study at the tribal college's campus in Tsaile, AZ. Classes, which occur morning, noon, and night, focus on all aspects of diabetes prevention: diet, physical activity, available treatments, and interventions currently being used in Native communities, according to program director Mark Bauer. The students also learn how to collect and analyze data in a very "hands-on" approach.

The students work in small groups to create a composite community scenario. Using existing information and programs, each team designs a diabetes prevention intervention for their own hypothetical community. They cite literature references to defend their proposal and specify how they would measure success. Each proposed intervention combines culture, philosophy, and medical knowledge, tailored specifically to the characteristics of the model community.

Following the Tsaile classes, students travel to tribal communities to assist with diabetes programs and gather data for six weeks. They return to campus at the end of the summer. Together, the students and faculty then analyze the data and prepare reports and recommendations.

Eighteen students participated this year, representing eight tribes and five tribal colleges. In addition to integrating medical science, social science, and Native culture, this program makes research come alive. Students learn that the data they collect and analyze has critical importance to their communities and can be put to very practical use. The research skills they acquire can be used in other classes, graduate programs, and jobs.

Paul Lee Lansing, Jr., a Diné student who participated in this summer's program, said, "I became much more computer literate -- now I'm doing statistical analysis and using databases." Another benefit of this program was more personal for student Stevie Rose Tohdacheeny Lee when she returned home to Shiprock, NM, for her six-week placement: "My grandmother is diabetic, and there's been an improvement since I've been here with my family teaching them what I've learned." She laughed, adding, "I've been giving my grandmother personal advice -- usually it's the other way around." Lansing said he practiced what he learned the first three weeks about eating healthy, working out, and testing glucose levels. He has lost 34 pounds.

For more information, contact Chip Clark by email: chipster@fone.net.

Defense Grant Enhances Dental Assisting Degree

The Salish Kootenai College Dental Assisting Technology Program is upgrading and adding new equipment, thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Department of Defense. Prior to the grant, the student clinic at the college in Montana had four dental chairs and two x-ray units, according to Donna Kotyk, director of the Salish Kootenai College (SKC) program. The grant provides two new dental chairs and a digital radiography system (computerized x-rays). "All the students will have an opportunity to be trained in this state-of-the-art system," Kotzk said.

SKC's dental assisting tech program is the only one of its kind at a tribal college and is accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation. Students who qualify may be accepted by Kicking Horse Job Corps and receive full tuition and financial assistance covering books, uniforms, clothing, and incidentals. At the clinic, students assist dentists with patients two afternoons per week. The clinic is available the rest of the time for classes and for practice.

Located in Pablo, MT, SKC also offers most prerequisites for both dental and dental hygiene school. The SKC program has an agreement with the newest dental school in the country, the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health in Mesa, AZ, which works with families of students to encourage more American Indian/Alaska Natives to enter dental school. The dean and assistant dean at the Arizona school, Dr. Jack Dillenberg and Dr. George Blue Spruce, Jr., visited the SKC campus to lay the foundation for working together. Blue Spruce was the first of the 85 American Indian dentists in the country.

For more information about the program, call the college at (406) 275-4908.

SIPI Researches Methods To Remove Contaminants

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) is researching wind and other solar energy applications on its campus in Albuquerque, NM. In the greenhouse there, students are also helping with bioremediation research, which shows promise in eradicating soil and water contaminants using indigenous plants.

A SIPI graduate in natural resources, Angie Barber Sells, is working on her master's degree at New Mexico State University where she is continuing her bioremediation research. Sells hopes that hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals, including low-level nuclear waste, found on tribal lands may someday be mitigated using indigenous plants.

Acting Assistant Indian Affairs Secretary Aurene Martin visited SIPI on Earth Day 2003 where she learned about research projects there. SIPI is a 1994 tribal college land grant institution, making it eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for such programs.

Educators Offer First Nations U Mixed Review

Saskatchewan Indian Federated College unveiled spectacular new facilities last summer and renamed itself "First Nations University" (FNU). The decision was hailed in Indian Country Today as "North America's first all-aboriginal university." However, other Canadian indigenous educators said the significance should not be over stated.

In Canada, tribes are referred to as "First Nations." First Nations University's new facilities at Regina surpass those of the dozens of other First Nations-controlled colleges across Canada and may have cost more than all of the others combined. Like tribal colleges in the United States, the Canadian colleges began in abandoned federal facilities over the past 30 years. Unlike U.S. tribal colleges, most tribal colleges in Canada still lack their own new buildings. First Nations University, however, opened a new, "$25 million, four-story, 150,000 square foot architectural marvel," according to Indian Country Today. One of the major financial contributors to the university was the federal government.

In the United States, some tribal college officials are exploring establishing a national Indian university to serve all tribes. Others fear that such an institution would take funds away from the chronically under-funded colleges that serve specific Indian tribes.

"We are happy for them and glad they have new status," said Marie Smallface Marule, president of the First Nations Adult and Higher Education Consortium, a group of western Canada tribal colleges. However, the disparity in resources clearly rankles officials of other colleges in Canada.

At a meeting between Canadian and U.S. tribal colleges last July, Marule and Vivian A. Youngman made it clear that the Saskatchewan-based College's decision to declare itself a First Nations University was unilateral. Saskatchewan Indian Federated College officials have not participated in the national consortium of tribally-controlled colleges in Canada. Governed by a board of First Nations within the province, First Nations University is not accountable to First Nations elsewhere in Canada, despite its new name, according to Youngman. First Nations University did not gain independent degree-granting status. It is still a part of the University of Regina.

Ilisagvik College Given Initial Accreditation

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities has officially notified Ilisagvik College in Barrow, AK, that it was granted initial accreditation at the associate level at the commission's June 2003 meeting. Established by the North Slope Borough in the 1980s, Ilisagvik is a public, non-profit college serving the residents of the borough, a 94,000 square mile area of northern Alaska consisting of eight incorporated communities with a total population of about 7,500, most of whom are Iñupiat Eskimo. The college offers both a local program in Barrow and extended learning opportunities to the borough's villages.

Accreditation is critical because it means the institution and its students become eligible for a wide variety of financial aid programs. Students from accredited institutions may also transfer credits to other institutions. The college president, Edna Ahgeak MacLean (Iñupiat), said the college is studying the pros and cons of applying for tribal college status.

Whirling Thunder Center Wins Award from Harvard

The Winnebago Tribe's Whirling Thunder Wellness Program has received a national award from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. The Winnebago Tribal Health Department in Nebraska has created an exemplary program that addresses both diabetes and substance abuse. Because the tribe administers it, it provides culturally appropriate prevention programs and encourages healthy lifestyles consistent with traditional practices. The local college, Little Priest Tribal College, provides training and certification for the Whirling Thunder staff through a partnership agreement.

A recent study by the University of Nebraska suggests that the Winnebago Tribe is winning its battle against diabetes by reducing risk factors such as obesity. Children participating in physical activity interventions sponsored by the tribal wellness program gained significantly less weight than those who did not participate. Harvard applauded the Winnebago's idea to address both diabetes and substance abuse, using "multidimensional interventions to solve multidimensional problems."

The Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations program was launched in 1998 with the support of the Ford Foundation to recognize outstanding examples of tribal governance.