Volume 20 Winter 2008 Issue No. 2
In This Issue:
Native Green
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ON CAMPUS
Ilisagvik College Earns Accreditation Again
Ilisagvik College (Barrow, AK) received word on July 28, 2008, that its application for regional accreditation has been re-affirmed by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The letter followed an 18-month comprehensive review, both internal and external. The college was first accredited in 2003.
“Gaining accreditation has been a long journey for the Iñupiat on the North Slope. It was a goal identified by our leaders back in the 1970s as a way to attain Iñupiaq self-determination and local control,” says Beverly Patkotak Grinage (Iñupiaq Eskimo), president of Ilisagvik College.
“This means that our students can continue to have their credits transferred to other accredited colleges; they can obtain federal student aid grants; and the college can continue to receive and apply for our much-needed grants and donations,” adds Grinage.
“Achieving this status is something that all North Slope residents can be proud of together. Without the support of our leaders, past and present, we could not have achieved this important distinction,” she says.
The evaluation committee commended the college for using its self study to significantly improve programs and services, for diversifying its funding sources through long-term planning, and for including Iñupiat cultural values throughout all its aspects.
The committee made two recommendations: assess outcomes for student graduates and leavers, including transfer and job placement rates, and regularly assess both adjunct and fulltime faculty. The resulting data is to be reviewed and used for ongoing improvements.
A follow-up visit on the recommendations will occur within two years. If the outcome is satisfactory, an interim visit with take place within five years, followed by a full scale visit in ten years.
Ilisagvik College Board of Trustees Chairman Jack Smith, upon hearing of the re-affirmation of accreditation, said, “Reaffirmation of accreditation serves to provide an independent evaluation of Ilisagvik’s efforts towards meeting workforce development and postsecondary needs of the North Slope, while maintaining academic standards. Being an accredited college means we are doing the job. Since joining the board nearly 10 years ago, accreditation was one of my highest priorities.”
The milestone for Ilisagvik College came just as staff and faculty were preparing for the fall 2008 semester. The college has many new programs and course offerings and more classes in the villages. Tribal colleges and universities are accredited by the same agencies using the same criteria as other colleges and universities in the United States.
For information, call (907) 852-3333 or (800) 478-7337.
Congress Reauthorizes Higher Ed Act, Farm Bill
Just one day prior to adjourning for its annual summer recess, Congress reauthorized the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, with the passage of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. This legislation included reauthorization of two critical provisions: 1) the Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) Developing Institutions grant program under Title III of the Higher Education Act and 2) the Tribal College Act.
Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act took more than five years and 14 temporary extensions, but when it finally passed, it was by wide margins: The House vote was 380-49, and the Senate vote was 83-8.
The tribal colleges and their national organization, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), sought several amendments to the Title III program and the Tribal College Act, all of which were enacted, according to Meg Goetz, AIHEC’s vice president for operations and Congressional affairs.
The development grants under the TCU HEA Title III program will now be formula funded, with the base grant level being established at $500,000. The authority for the Secretary of Education to conduct an annual competition to award one-year construction grants is retained, with the minimum grant level being set at $1 million.
Some of the more significant changes to the Tribal College Act that were adopted include an increase to the authorization level for institutional operations from $6,000 per Indian student to $8,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The definition of “Indian student” for the purpose of this legislation is expanded to include the biological children of an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe.
Also, a new title was added to the act providing a new and separate authorization for Department of the Interior funding for AIHEC’s two tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions: United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck, ND) and Navajo Technical College (Crownpoint, NM).
Earlier this spring, Congress passed, and the President signed, legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill with important ramifications for TCU land grant institutions. Once again, all of the amendments sought by AIHEC on behalf of the TCUs were adopted.
Two significant changes were made. Ilisagvik College (Barrow, AK) was added to the list of tribal college land grant institutions 2) the non-federal matching required for a TCU was reduced to not more than five-percent under the Tribal College Essential Community Facilities grants program. (This program was established in 2001 as part of AIHEC’s TCU facilities and infrastructure improvement and construction initiative.)
New Mexico Higher Ed Collaborates with TCUs
The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) met with four tribal colleges for a Tribal College Summit in June 2008. The group discussed how to better partner with the state of New Mexico’s education initiatives to serve American Indian students more successfully.
The four tribal colleges that participated were the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, NM), the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI, Albuquerque, NM), Navajo Technical College (NTC, Crownpoint, NM), and Diné College (DC, Tsaile, AZ and Shiprock, NM). Also attending were representatives of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department and the Indian Education Advisory Council.
New Mexico is the only state where “underrepresented minorities” are the majority. NMHED Secretary Reed Dasenbrock, Ph.D., says that New Mexico’s record at equity in educational attainment is the best in the nation.
Both Hispanic and Native American students enter higher education in the state at rates very close to their proportion in the population, and they obtain associate’s degrees and technical certificates at the same (or close to) proportional rate, according to Dasenbrock. Native Americans, however, do not go on to four-year colleges and universities at the rate they should, nor are they earning bachelor’s degrees at a rate proportional to their share of the population. Consequently, the state is concerned.
Dasenbrock says it is important to build bridges between the state’s higher educational institutions and the four tribal colleges. Some forms of state financial aid are available to New Mexicans attending tribal colleges. Collaborative work is needed to expand the students’ awareness of these programs and information on how they can transfer to bachelor’s degree programs.
The state of New Mexico and the tribal colleges are already sharing data about student achievement, but data systems need to be more compatible and user friendly. “All New Mexico students need to know that college is a possibility for them. NMHED is committed to an outreach effort to all students to increase their awareness of the options available to them,” Dasenbrock says.
Students can’t learn without facilities for them to learn. Tribal colleges are challenged to find the capital monies to build their campuses. In response, the New Mexico Legislature has in the past funded capital projects at all of the tribal colleges through General Obligation bonds, Severance Tax Bonds, and General Fund dollars.
The November General Obligation Bond package, for instance, includes $500,000 for IAIA to help construct its science, technology, art, and cultural center. But the TCUs have never been part of the formal process used by educational institutions in the state to propose projects to NMHED.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said the state must recognize tribal sovereignty and the independence of their decision making while at the same time engaging in government-to-government dialogue. Tribal institutions are government agencies that can and should receive state support, just as municipalities and counties, according to the official administration policy. Consequently, this year the tribal colleges are eligible to be included in the NMHED capital outlay process and recommendations, formalizing what has become practice.
During the summit, all the parties committed themselves to working out a new memorandum of understanding delineating mutual commitments and understandings. The organizer of the summit was NMHED Educational Equity and Access Director Matthew J. Martinez. He is a former member of the tribal council of Ohkay Owingeh. He has taught at the University of New Mexico and IAIA, and he just received his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in American Studies.
In August, Secretary Dasenbrock and Martinez, along with NMHED Director of Financial Aid Tashina Banks-Moore and Director of Communications Laura J. Mulry visited both Diné College in Shiprock and Navajo Technical College to further collaboration.
For more information, visit www.hed.state.nm.us
 POWWOW PLANTS. Little Priest Tribal College takes its ethnobotany lessons to the community at the annual veterans’ powwow. Photo by Natalie Davis |
HoChunk Native Plants Prove Popular at Powwow
For two years (2007 and 2008), Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC, Winnebago, NE) has used the HoChunk Annual Veterans Powwow to educate people about ethnobotany. Natalie Davis says, “The youngsters especially enjoy tasting the spearmint tea, while the adults express a lot of interest in the practical uses of the various displayed plants.”
The HoChunk ethnobotany study is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES). Davis is the USDA-CSREES coordinator, and she has been employed at LPTC for eight years.
The college project staff together with researchers from Kansas State University offered both print material and samples of plants and their uses. Passers-by tried sips of a variety of teas made from local plants including: sage, purple coneflower, bee balm, and catnip. Others received seedlings at giveaways.
The annual activity is rewarding for everyone involved, according to Davis. She observed many people not only discussing the displayed plant items but also taking the flyers that describe and identify the plants by their HoChunk names and explain their traditional uses.
The LPTC ethnobotany project has significantly added to the college herbarium. Participants also built a greenhouse on campus. The project staff is assisting the Winnebago Tribe with developing its own herbarium.
For more information, contact Harry “Al” Martyn, science department chair at LPTC at (402)878-3343.
Littlebear Takes Message To Thailand Conference
Chief Dull Knife College President Dr. Richard Littlebear was invited to Thailand in July 2008 to speak at the International Conference on Language Development, Language Revitalization, and Multilingual Education in Ethnolinguistic Communities. He served on a panel and gave a workshop.
At the panel on Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage, he focused on the many uses of Cheyenne legends, myths, and folkloric stories -- curriculum, social control mechanisms, and pure entertainment. He also addressed the topic of Indigenous poetry/literature from the point of view of an Indigenous person who enjoys using his language to express profound thoughts using simple vocabulary.
“I discussed the fact that our languages are not second class languages just because we have not developed a body of contemporary written literature for all the people, especially children, to hear and use,” Littlebear says. He pointed out that Northern Cheyenne and other indigenous peoples need to write their own poetry and literature in their own languages so that the languages reach beyond the classroom and beyond the simple recitation of legends and myths and folkloric stories.
“Depending exclusively on these legends, myths, and stories stamps us as artifacts that perpetually belong in the past. We need to develop literature that speaks to our contemporary societal contexts and that defines us as ourselves, instead of having mass media define who we are,” he told the gathering in Bangkok.
Littlebear pointed out that languages are “instruments vital to the transmission of our cultures to succeeding generations. They project our healthy individual and cultural identities to the world around us.”
All the speakers at the conference are involved in mother-tongue-based multilingual education and other language-based development programs around the world. The other people on his panel were from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Pakistan.
More than 300 language specialists from 33 countries on six continents attended. The purposes of the conference were to raise awareness about the benefits of mother-tongue-based multilingual programs, to share information from people actively involved in such programs, and to expand networks.
The seven joint sponsors of the event were SIL International, the Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development at Mahidol University, UNESCO-Bangkok, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), UNICEF, Care International, and Save the Children (United Kingdom). This is the second annual conference. The first was in Bangkok in 2003.
CMN students Take Part In Model United Nations
 CMN STUDENTS REPFRESENTING MICRONESIA AT THE UN. From right: Guy Reiter, Meleah Peters, Deanna Bisley (advisor), Lisa Mushall, Devona Lidbury, and Shane Dixon, Sr. Photo by Deanna Bisley |
Five students from the College of Menominee Nation (CMN, Keshena, WI) were selected as delegates to the National Model United Nations in New York City in April. Meleah Peters, Shane Dixon Sr., Lisa Mushall, Guy Reiter and Devona Lidbury represented the Federated States of Micronesia (formerly Polynesia), a group of 607 small islands located in the Pacific Ocean near Guam.
The delegates debated international issues and participated in United Nations procedures. Together with 2,000 other college students from five continents representing 60 countries, they worked in committees and caucuses 10-12 hours per day developing resolutions.
Some of the topics addressed in this Model UN session included literacy, alternate sources of energy, global warming, combating the spread of illicit drugs, the link between diamonds and armed conflict in Africa, and the politics and economics of the external debt crisis.
CMN was awarded a National Collegiate Conference Association Diversity Scholarship Building Initiative, which defrayed some of the expenses for the trip to New York. The students raised funds to pay for the balance of their food and travel expenses. Upon their return, the delegates planned to give presentations on their experiences.
For more information contact Deanna Bisley, advisor, at (715) 799-5600, ext. 3026.
Muscogee Creek Artist Teaches Shell Carving
Compiled from information provided by Rex Daugherty and Amber Simpson.
 LEARNING FROM THEIR MVHAYV. Dan Townsend (second from left) works with students Thomasine Fife (Muscogee Creek) and Brenda Aston (Muscogee Creek). Photo by Rex Daugherty |
Dan Townsend (Muscogee Creek), an internationally known artist, brought the art of Native American shell carving to the College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN, Okmulgee, OK) over the summer. For one month, he shared insights into ancient designs and taught skills for creating such designs to Native American artisans, educators, tribal officials, and students from the area.
The works of the Tallahassee, FL, resident are part of art collections in countries all around the world.
A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation in Florida, Townsend grew up in the Everglades. An artistic grandmother inspired him as a child to carve tikis and totems out of palm trunks. As he grew older, he started scribing Native American designs on shells or “folapvs” (foe-la-pahs), for tribal elders. He says, “Shell carving turned out to be a full-time job, and now I live and breathe it every day. It’s all consuming.”
CMN brought in Townsend to help preserve the culture of the tribe by training others. Students used a wide variety of small motorized tools and magnifiers to carve designs based on the symbolism, iconography, and cosmology of the Muscogee Swift Creek people. Tools for the 2,000-year-old art form have evolved from animal teeth to drill bits. The designs are developed by the Muscogee people with a vision for seeing beauty and magic in nature.
“I recently visited some tribal members who were creating Native American art using ancient tools and methods,” says Townsend. “What struck me was the communal rhythm they had as they worked. This experience gave me a window into the past, and I saw how a people’s culture can be as powerful a factor as a new technology.”
Most of Townsend’s students in the summer class were of Muscogee Creek descent, and many are Native American artists in their own right. They referred to Townsend as “Mvhayv” (may-hi-yah) or teacher/mentor.
Sandy Fife Wilson (Muscogee Creek), area art teacher and fashion designer, says, “My students do pottery, print making and leatherwork, but shells are a new material I’ve never worked with. All cultures have different symbols for life and spirituality. Early cultures without a written language had to have these symbols to pass down stories and messages. I’m looking forward to sharing this art form with my students.”
Another student, Mike Berryhill (Muscogee Creek), a bow maker and potter, feels Townsend’s shell carving class is important, because it passes on an ancient tribal craft and custom to the next generation.
For more information, call (918)758-1480, e-mail abunner@muscogeenation-nsn.gov or visit www.mvsktc.org. The College of the Muscogee Nation offers associate degrees in Gaming, Tribal Services, Native American Studies, and Police Science.
Northwestern Presidents Assist Indian Students
In spring 2008, Northwest Indian College (NWIC) President Cheryl Crazy Bull (Sicangu Lakota) joined with the presidents of the University of Idaho, Washington State University, Lewis-Clark State College, and North Idaho College to sign a memorandum of understanding to increase recruitment and retention of American Indian students.
The schools will provide focused Native American studies and will collaborate on other programs. The Indians of the Columbia Plateau live in the area between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, in parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
The schools already work separately with Northwest tribes, but this agreement steps up previous agreements to strengthen American Indian instruction, including the possibility of allowing students to take classes at each of the different schools to satisfy requirements.
The agreement creates a standing Native American Collaborations Committee, with a member from each school. Northwest Indian College already reaches students at branch sites in Lapwai and Kamiah, ID, by offering classes via video conference from the school’s main site in Bellingham, WA.
SBC Adds 4 BS Degrees, Plans Excellence Center
 SITTING BULL COLLEGE RECEIVES GIFT FROM COLLEGE FUND. From left: Laurel Vermillion, SBC president and Rick Williams, AICF President. Photo by Ron Walters |
Sitting Bull College (SBC, Fort Yates, ND) continues to expand its facilities and academic programs. SBC has received approval from the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to offer four new bachelor of science programs.
SBC has also received a $700,000 grant from the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) to establish a 7th Generation Academic Excellence Center to enhance the intellectual capital of its students and other future leaders on the Standing Rock Reservation.
Dr. Koreen Ressler, vice president of academics at SBC, says, “The new programs include Bachelor of Science Degrees in Special Education, Early Childhood Education, Secondary Science Education, and General Studies.” In May 2008, SBC was presented the results of a Higher Learning Commission’s focus visit, completed in January 2008. The purpose of the visit was to review SBC’s request to add the four new bachelor degrees.
Currently the college offers Bachelor Degrees in Elementary Education, Business Administration, and Environmental Science. SBC is currently in its fourth year of a 10-year accreditation, with these new programs scheduled to begin in fall 2008.
Visiting members for the focus visit included team chairperson Dr. Bernard Marley, provost at Oakland City University in Oakland City, IN, and Dr. David Calhoon, chair of elementary/secondary education at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. Marley provided positive feedback in the team’s findings based on their three-day visit with community members, the SBC Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and students.
The American Indian College Fund grant for the academic excellence center will be given to SBC over four years. The first installment was received in November 2007. “The (new) center will assist Sitting Bull College students in becoming more effective communicators both orally and in writing,” Ressler says. “This is important to the education of our students because effective communication is one of the seven overall student outcomes used to measure student success.”
The grant is from the College Fund’s Woksape Oyate (Lakota for “Wisdom of the People”) program, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Richard B. Williams, president and CEO of the College Fund, says, “This program allows college administrators to tailor programs that will address individual needs for each of their respective institutions, while strengthening the tribal college system as a whole.”
Dr Crispin Maslog, director of the 7th Generation Excellence Center, can be contacted at (701) 854-8040 or by email at crism@sbci.edu
CCCC Teaches Through Tilling, Model Towers
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC, Fort Totten, ND) reaches out to its community through a host of projects. During the late spring, students in CCCC’s Natural Resource Science program tilled over 100 gardens for Spirit Lake residents, the majority of who were elderly. The students also grow flowers, vegetables, and traditional plants in the college’s greenhouse and gardens. In the fall, they hold a farmer’s market for the community.
CCCC Cultural Advisory Board Member Steven Hoksina (Spirit Lake Dakota) was honored at his 92nd birthday with cakes and good wishes. A celebration banquet was also held for 30 high school graduates who were involved during the school year in CCCC’s Talent Search TRIO program. The students received sweatshirts and framed photos.
The Epscor High School summer camp held in June at CCCC is designed to promote increased Native student participation in the disciplines of mathematics, science, and technology. Students from four high schools (Four Winds, Warwick, Devils Lake, and Minnewaukan) were involved in a two-week camp where they studied robotics, their carbon footprint, the scientific method, and model rockets and towers.
The participants conducted research and presented their findings through PowerPoint presentations. Each participant was paid a daily stipend of $25, and upon successful completion and attendance, each received an additional $100. Two math instructors assisted: John Lohnes of Four Winds High School and Chris Dahlen of CCCC.
IAIA Building New Media, Museum, Science Centers
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, NM) received $7.65 million in grant funding from the Department of Education to expand campus facilities. The award from the Department of Education’s Title III program provides funding to “improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.”
A $1.65 million grant will support the construction of IAIA’s Foundry and Sculpture Center; the facility will house the three-dimensional art program of IAIA’s Studio Arts degree. Students will study woodworking, welding, forging, casting, ceramics, and large-scale metal, stone and glass sculpture in the new building. It will alleviate current space limitations and improve overall safety conditions, as well.
IAIA’s new Science and Technology Building will be supported by a $3 million per year, two-year grant. This building will house three major areas: 1) a New Media Arts Center with advanced digital technologies and a multi-media presentation theater (to enhance the instruction capabilities of the new media arts degree program), 2) a Museum Conservation Center to house IAIA’s National Collection of Contemporary Native American Art, along with conservation teaching laboratories to provide students with hands-on training in collections care and conservation, and 3) a Science Center that will contain laboratories and flexible instructional spaces to better deliver the science portion of the general education requirements of IAIA’s degree programs.
IAIA has secured an additional $500,000 for the Science and Technology building from the state of New Mexico through Severance Tax Bonds. The General Obligation Bond “D,” which has the potential to provide an additional $500,000, will be on the November ballot. Other funding required to complete the construction of both buildings is being sought as well.
Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee), IAIA president, says, “The full build-out of our campus is a priority in IAIA’s strategic plan, and the construction of these buildings will undoubtedly enhance our ability to recruit the best student scholars and provide them the finest education possible in Native arts and culture.”
For more information on any of these programs, call the president’s office at (505) 424-2302. For more information about IAIA, visit www.iaia.edu.
People in the News
 DAVID YARLOTT, JR., LBHC PRESIDENT, RECEIVED MAJOR KUDOS IN OCTOBER 2008. Yarlott (on right) is a recipient of the 2008 National TRIO Achiever Award and the newly elected chair of the AIHEC Board. Photo courtesy of Jodi Koehn-Pike |
David Yarlott (Crow/Korean), Ed.D., president of Little Big Horn College (LBHC, Crow Agency, MT), is one of seven 2008 National TRIO Achievers. He was given the award during the 27th Annual TRIO conference in Washington, DC, in September 2008. Yarlott, who earned an associate degree from the tribal college, has been president at LBHC since 2002. In 2006, Leah Carpenter (White Earth Band of Ojibwe), president of Leech Lake Tribal College (Cass Lake, MN) was a recipient. Criteria for selection includes: being a former TRIO project participant, being a person of high stature in his/her profession, and making significant civic or community contributions. TRIO is part of a congressionally established series of programs that help low-income Americans enter college, graduate, and move on to participate more fully in America's economic and social life. These programs are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and are referred to as the TRIO Programs (initially just three programs). While student financial aid programs help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs help students overcome class, social, and cultural barriers to higher education.
Jamie Merisotis, founding president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy and now president of the Lumina Foundation was honored at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Board’s summer retreat. (Lumina provided funding for the initial AIHEC AIMS initiative.) The AIHEC board thanked him for his longstanding advocacy and support for the tribal college movement and his leadership in establishing the Kellogg Minority Serving Institutions Leadership Initiative and the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education.
Dr. Lanny Real Bird (Crow), business instructor at Little Big Horn College (LBHC, Crow Agency, MT), has developed new Crow and Hidatsa language and culture instructional material in DVDs, CDs, and in print, such as flash cards. His next effort is to work on materials in the Mandan language. As the producer, director, and writer of his teaching materials, Real Bird and several associates present teaching and reinforcement methods for language learning. The methods promote three teaching approaches: first, an “immersion” approach, then “repetitive” practice, and “interactive” learning using the Plains Sign Language. Real Bird has also produced a video for orientating new instructors to American Indian students. In the video, he introduces resiliency strategies and leadership perspectives from two Crow elders, Dr. Barney Old Coyote and Dr. Janine Pease, about leaving the reservation and thriving in the mainstream. For more information, call Dr. Lanny Real Bird at (406) 638-3129, or email him at lanny@lbhc.cc.mt.us
United Tribes Technical College President David M. Gipp (Hunkpapa Lakota) addressed the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO, in August. His was one in a series of talks by so-called “real people” who have been asked to offer ideas on the theme of “Renewing America’s Promise.” Gipp focused on American Indians in his talk and also spoke about the role of tribal higher education in the process of rebuilding tribal nations. “I consider it an honor to be selected,” says Gipp. “It’s uncommon to have access to this kind of audience for expressing a tribal viewpoint. It says something about change in America.”
SIPI Program Promotes Advanced Tech Programs
Based on information compiled by E. McGahey
The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI, Albuquerque, NM) hosted its second annual Research Opportunity Program for Excellence (ROPE) program in two sessions from June through August 2008. ROPE orients students to the advanced technical education programs offered at SIPI: Engineering, Electronics Technology, Natural Resources, and Geospatial Information Technologies. Students attended introductory classes and workshops from each of these departments.
The workshops were in engineering, renewable energy, microcontrollers, and also a seminar in field programmable gate array (FPGA). The engineering workshop introduced general mathematical, engineering, and physical science. The students learned about the skills and theoretical foundations they would need to solve practical engineering problems.
The renewable energy workshop explored alternative energy by using solar, wind, biomass (organic matter of plants), hydrogen, geothermal, ocean, and hydropower. In the micro-controllers workshop, the students were introduced to software used to program the “brain” in robotics. The FPGA seminar introduced the combination of software and hardware for connecting circuit board components.
The students also had paid internships in which they worked on project teams alongside the instructors. The teams were involved with education outreach, robot design, Mars yard project, and information documentation. Of seven interviewed interns, five indicated they plan to study engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM) after completing their schooling at SIPI; two others plan to continue their studies at other universities, one in engineering and the other in geology.
The schools that partnered with SIPI on the ROPE program include: the pre-engineering Pathway Academy at Bernalillo High School, the Indigenous Math and Science Institute of Salish Kootenai College, the UNM Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the New Mexico Highlands University’s Department of Computer, Mathematical Sciences, and Engineering.
For more information about ROPE, contact Dr. Nader Vadiee, coordinator/faculty, SIPI Department of Advanced Technical Education, at (505) 792-4618 or by email nvadiee@sipi.bia.edu
 INSTUCTORS, STUDENTS ROPED IN. The second annual Research Opportunity Program for Excellence (ROPE) program included (from left): Ray Delgarito, Gib Russette, Romando Largo, Zach Netzer, Dean Pershall, Alicia Montoya, Abe Gurule, Tierny Yazzie, Desiree Cordova, Harold Madsen, Dylan Maho, Josh Murphy, Behshad Dastgerdi, Dr. Matt Pleil, Bijan Pejman, Yvonne Benton, Dr. Nader Vadiee, Mike McGahey, Dr. Olga Lavrova, Mike Majedi, Damian Moore, James Dunn, and Raphael Perea. Photo by Orlando Skidmore. |
Librarians Share Ideas At 15th Annual Institute
 ALA CONFEREES HELP CELEBRATE NEW LIBRARY AT LITTLE BIG HORN. Photo courtesy of Mary Anne Hansen |
Dr. Loriene Roy (Ojibwe), the first American Indian president of the American Library Association, gave a presentation at the 15th annual Tribal College Librarians Institute (TCLI) in June 2008. Roy is a professor of library and information science at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined 35 tribal college library staff from all over the United States and Canada for a week of continuing education and cultural programming. The participants were able to celebrate Roy’s year as ALA president.
Hosted by Montana State University (MSU) Libraries and coordinated by librarians Mary Anne Hansen and James Thull, TCLI is a valuable knowledge-building and networking experience for librarians serving tribal college communities. Most tribal college libraries also serve as the public library for the tribal community, so tribal college library staff members serve in multiple roles, from supporting the academic information needs of the college to facilitating community programming, such as after-school, summer reading, and cultural programs for their communities.
This year’s TCLI theme was Indigenous Languages, in keeping with the United Nations’ declaration and recognition of the important value of Indigenous languages worldwide. Session topics included: the Fort Belknap White Clay Immersion School, with the director, Lynette Chandler; disaster recovery by two librarians who have overseen cleanup in the aftermath of library floods: Joan Hantz from Chief Dull Knife College and Victoria Heiduschke from MSU; and a session on Indigenous languages by MSU President Geoffrey Gamble, who studied a California-area Native language with the last surviving speakers. The conference participants also took a day-long trip to Little Big Horn College to help celebrate the college’s brand new library.
Many participants return annually for this intimate gathering of peers who serve the library needs of their tribal communities. The tribal college librarians come together not only for the cultural, knowledge, and skills programming but also for the invaluable networking and group problem solving of issues unique to tribal college libraries.
For more information on TCLI, visit www.lib.montana.edu/tcli, or contact the coordinators Mary Anne Hansen and James Thull at their email: mhansen@montana.edu or jjthull@montana.edu
Cargill Donates $100,000 For Student Transitions
Cargill announced that it has granted $100,000 to the American Indian College Fund (College Fund). The gift will benefit 25 student scholarships and a professional development initiative called “Backpacks to Briefcase,” which ensures the successful transition of students to their professional lives.
Scholarship recipients are chosen based on their financial need, education enrollment status, and community involvement. Students were selected in August 2008 for the 2008-09 academic year.
The College Fund supports qualified American Indian scholars by providing financial support to encourage them to remain in college and complete a college degree. The fund believes that an education enables American Indian students to make a better life for themselves and their families, while providing valuable contributions to their communities and nation.
“As a company, Cargill is committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion, and we’re dedicated to supporting education in our communities,” says Margaret Studer, vice president of global diversity and inclusion at Cargill. “We are pleased to contribute to the American Indian College Fund in order to help these students succeed in the classroom, and beyond.”
Richard B. Williams, president and CEO of the fund, said, “Cargill, through its generosity, is making a profound difference in American Indian students’ lives. For most of our students, winning a scholarship is the only hope of realizing the dream of education. Cargill’s grant will ensure that American Indian students can pursue their dreams, changing their lives, their families’ lives, and their communities,” Williams said.
For more information on Cargill, visit www.cargill.com. For more information about the American Indian College Fund or to make a donation, visit www.collegefund.org.
Program Assists Graduate Students with Writing
Ferlin Clark (Diné), president of Diné College (Tsaile, AZ), was one of six scholars to participate in the 2008 Student to Academic Professoriate for American Indians (SAPAI) Writing Retreat.
SAPAI is a project funded by the National Science Foundation to increase the rates of degree completion for American Indian graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). It also aims to increase the representation of American Indian and Alaska Native scholars in STEM faculties at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs).
The project involves three steps: 1) a six-week writing retreat to enhance degree completion, 2) a faculty preparation training, and 3) a one-year apprenticeship for SAPAI scholars at a TCU. The 2008 retreat was in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest located 30 miles northeast of Missoula, Montana.
SAPAI is currently looking for both graduate student and TCU participants. American Indian and Alaskan Native graduate students who have completed all degree requirements with the exception of their thesis or dissertation, Alfred P. Sloan American Indian Graduate Program (AIGP) Students, and STEM graduate students are welcomed into the program.
The writing retreat assisted six graduate scholars who were working on their thesis or dissertation. “I recognized this summer, more than ever, the importance of giving ourselves permission to be Indigenous thinkers and writers. After working with remarkable Indigenous scholars this summer, I feel inspired to begin my dissertation project about Diné rhetoric(s),” said Aretha Matt who served as the writing assistant for the retreat and who is also a graduate student at the University of Arizona (UA). Ferlin Clark is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UA and is working on his dissertation, which chronicles the challenges, experiences, and achievements of Diné College.
For more information on the SAPAI project, visit http://stepup.dbs.umt.edu/
 UTTC STUDENTS CREATE THE KEEPER. The Keeper, a metal sculpture depicting an eagle, is the fifth piece of public art created in the last five years in a cooperative project with the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District. The sculpture was crafted over the summer by students, from left: Charles Anderson, New Hope, MN; Tina Curley (Fort Peck Tribe), Wolf Point, MT, designer of the sculpture; Stacey Grant (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska), Lincoln, NE; Brenna Ashburn (Standing Rock Tribe), Harwood, ND; E. J. Red Bear (Cheyenne River Tribe), Eagle Butte, SD; and, in foreground, Kristina Kalenze (Spirit Lake Tribe), Bismarck, ND. Not pictured: Freedom McLaughlin (Standing Rock Tribe), Bismarck, ND, and Dustin Thompson (Standing Rock Tribe), Bismarck, ND. United Tribes News photo. |