Tribal College Journal

Restoring Inaawendewin to the Trust Relationship

By Matthew Fletcher

Relational accountability is at the heart of America’s duty of protection to tribal nations. Although the courts, Congress, and executive branch have vacillated wildly in attaining this objective, there are signs of hope for the future.
The Trust Responsibility Is a Promise Best Kept

By Deb Haaland

The United States has a moral, legal, and fiduciary obligation to meet its trust responsibility to tribes. Holding the federal government accountable requires advocacy, persistence, and innovative strategies.
A Matter of Trust: American Indian Education and the Federal Trust Responsibility

By Danelle Springer and Moriah O'Brien

The education of tribal citizens is a central component of the trust responsibility. Since its founding, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium has worked to secure passage of transformative legislation and key executive orders.

Navajo Technical University Receives Donation from SunShare

By Dale Morgan

In alignment with its mission to elevate the communities within its operational sphere, SunShare has pledged more than $7 million in contributions to Navajo Technical University, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and Habitat for Humanity.
SKC’s Native Youth Community Project Tours Colleges Coast to Coast

By Morgan Maccione and Janda Chassé

Students who attended the tours shared distinct yet connected experiences, meeting tribal mentors and discovering networks committed to furthering education for Native youth and welcoming tribal diversity.
College of the Muscogee Nation Hosts AI Website Development Workshop

During the workshop, participants were guided through planning their projects, communicating their ideas effectively to AI, generating their initial websites with IndigiCoder, and refining what the technology produced.
BFCC Advances Renewable Energy, Workforce Training, and Net-Zero Goals

By Paula Bremner

These investments demonstrate Blackfeet Community College’s commitment to reducing barriers for students while investing in workforce development, sustainable campus development, and the future of the Blackfeet Nation.
Diné College Students Study Navajo Textiles Through Museum Internship

By Chris Burnside

Diné College students gained hands-on experience this fall by assisting with curating an exhibit of historic Navajo textiles at the college’s museum.
NTU to Develop Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hub

Navajo Technical University is seeking to navigate the omnipresence of AI by seeking ways the technology can be deployed for the benefit of the Navajo Nation and Indian Country more broadly.
Iḷisaġvik College Signs Agreement for New Campus

By Frieda Nageak

Alaska’s only tribal college is partnering with the Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation to develop a new campus on a 15-acre site in Utqiaġvik.
TCU Esports League Holds Inaugural Championship

By Shelly Knight

AIHEC teamed up with the Electronic Gaming Federation and Project Quipu to host an in-person championship at United Tribes Technical College.
Aaniiih Nakoda College Launches New BS in Computer Information Systems

By Sarah Mosquera

The new degree program has been fully accredited and is designed to support students pursuing careers in IT.
Little Priest Tribal College Recognizes Treaty Day

By Alexandrea Walker

In recognition of the Ho-Chunk Tribe’s treaty brokered with the United States, students, staff, and community members gathered at Little Priest to learn about their history and traditional homelands.
Scott Gift Enables Blackfeet Community College to Forgive $1.1 Million in Student Debt

By Paula Bremner

By eliminating eligible outstanding student balances, BFCC is creating an opportunity for students who may have been prevented from registering or continuing their education because of past-due institutional balances.

News and events that impact you happen more often than we can print. Stay up to date with enews, blogs, and the latest job openings.

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IN THE CURRENT ISSUE

The Sovereign Act of Educating Ourselves

Ahniwake Rose, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, introduces the fall issue.
Utilizing Neuromarketing Testing to Guide Effective Vaccine Messaging at Tribal Colleges

This original study at United Tribes Technical College shows how neuromarketing testing can improve our understanding of vaccine hesitancy in tribal communities and help in creating a culturally sensitive vaccine campaign.
Stephen Wall on the Trust Responsibility

The legal scholar, author, and IAIA provost explains the origins of the trust responsibility and how it pertains to tribal colleges.
The 2026 AIHEC Poetry Slam

In case you missed it in Bismarck, watch the final three rounds of this year’s poetry slam. Play Video
Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborative Agriculture Extension Programs

The implementation of equitable, culturally informed, and community-centered strategies in agriculture extension programs can improve collaboration between tribal colleges and mainstream institutions.
From Abject Failures to New Horizons

The Cherokee experience during the 1830s showcased America’s epic failure to meet its trust responsibility. But it also offers a chance to learn from the past.

Utilizing Neuromarketing Testing to Guide Effective Vaccine Messaging at Tribal Colleges

This original study at United Tribes Technical College shows how neuromarketing testing can improve our understanding of vaccine hesitancy in tribal communities and help in creating a culturally sensitive vaccine campaign.
The Sovereign Act of Educating Ourselves

Ahniwake Rose, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, introduces the fall issue.
From Abject Failures to New Horizons

The Cherokee experience during the 1830s showcased America’s epic failure to meet its trust responsibility. But it also offers a chance to learn from the past.
Stephen Wall on the Trust Responsibility

The legal scholar, author, and IAIA provost explains the origins of the trust responsibility and how it pertains to tribal colleges.
The 2026 AIHEC Poetry Slam

In case you missed it in Bismarck, watch the final three rounds of this year’s poetry slam. Play Video
Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborative Agriculture Extension Programs

The implementation of equitable, culturally informed, and community-centered strategies in agriculture extension programs can improve collaboration between tribal colleges and mainstream institutions.

DEPARTMENTS

Towards a Brighter Future

By Bradley Shreve

Tribal college leaders have always been innovative and tenacious. Such qualities were instrumental in the founding of the American Indian College Fund.
With Me Throughout, Even Now

By Marcus Kitchkommie

“While stopping to take a break from running around Grandma’s, I felt the need to look out to the wood line, just across the road out front. A few seconds went by and that is when it emerged from the forest…”
A Good Journey: Remembering John Gritts

By Dina Horwedel

Kind, affable, and welcoming, John Gritts, the much-beloved Tribal College and University ally, left an indelible mark on all who knew him.
Bury Me in the Prairie

By Jacob Henry Fasthorse-Cordova

“Let the rain dissolve my skin, let the beetles and worms break me down in every way, so I can finally give back to the prairie grass that whispered prayers into my night skies.”
Making the Desk Fit the Child

By Bradley Shreve

For generations, teacher education programs serving Native students have sought to “make the child fit the desk.” Today, tribally controlled colleges, rooted in Indigenous values, have changed that paradigm.
Amplifying Leadership Voices at the Institute of American Indian Arts

By Beverly Wright-Morris

In 2025, the current administration proposed to zero out the Institute of American Indian Arts’ funding. In response, IAIA’s Office of Institutional Communications crafted a message of hope that helped gain support and ultimately save the day.

“Lessons taught are not written on any whiteboard, and there are no notes to take. Just listen and learn from these professors we don’t call by name.”
TCJ STUDENT
In the Company of Scholars
By Markus Rain Altaha
TCJ STUDENT
My Roots
By Pte San Win Little Whiteman
“My roots comfort me, / when my heart is breaking, / and sing to me, / when I am most in need.”
TCJ STUDENT
The Hunter
By Dacotah Hasvold
“He knew he should feel relief or maybe even satisfaction as the animal fell. Instead, he felt uneasy. All morning he had been repressing the feeling that he was being watched, but now he was certain.”

TCJ STUDENT

This Is Not a Wave

By Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. and Shane Hawk

Native people are born storytellers and have honed their skill over millennia. The poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction selections in this year’s edition showcase the diverse talents and voices of tribal college student writers.
INQUISITIVE ACADEMIC

The Menominee Pageant and the Semiquincentennial

By Ryan Winn

As the United States celebrates its semiquincentennial, the Menominee Players Guild has partnered with the Smithsonian to showcase traditional cultural pageants in the renowned Woodland Bowl.
WRITER'S CORNER

The Average of the Internet

By Ryan Winn
Our columnist discusses how generative AI produces unremarkable text.
FROM THE ARCHIVES

White House Executive Order Recognizes Tribal Colleges

By Marjane Ambler

From Volume 8, No. 3 (Winter 1997) - TCJ’s longtime editor examined Bill Clinton’s watershed order that directed federal agencies to create new partnerships with TCUs.

MEDIA REVIEWS
- Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing
  By Jennifer Grenz
  University of Minnesota Press (2024)
  280 pages
  Review by Kate Flick
- The Boy Who Promised Me Horses
  By David Joseph Charpentier
  University of Nebraska Press (2024)
  302 pages
  Review by Luri Owen
- On Our Own Terms: Indigenous Histories of School Funding and Policy
  By Meredith L. McCoy
  University of Nebraska Press (2024)
  223 pages
  Review by Jon Reyhner
ON CAMPUS NEWS
- College Fund Awarded $1.3 Million for Environmental Stewardship Program
  
  TCUs will focus on systemic changes to ensure the success of their environmental stewardship programs, namely curriculum development or enhancement and planning for larger capacity-building projects.
- AIHEC Issues Call to Action on Farm Bill
  
  Ask your senators to support key no-cost priorities for tribal colleges and universities in 2026 Farm Bill before August 6.
- San Carlos Apache College Launches Apache Ember Literary Journal
  
  The first issue represents what will become an ongoing literary tradition that celebrates the power of words to amplify voices, share cultures, inspire dialogue, and strengthen connections across generations.
TCU NEWS ROUNDUP
- US Tribal Nations and Native Students File Amended Challenges to Federal Changes to Indian Education
  
  The Nations said the mass firings dramatically reduced the Bureau of Indian Education’s workforce in a manner that continues to harm Native students, including students at Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute.
- Tribal Education Hosts Back to School Event at Salish Kootenai College
  
  The Tribal Education Department partnered with several agencies to hand out school supplies, food and other resources ahead of the new school year.
- Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College Holds Third Annual End-of-Summer Carnival
  
  Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College offered games, food and sunshine to attendees of its third annual ‘end-of-summer’ carnival. The carnival is held on the college’s Wabanung Campus on Main Street.
- Tom Davis Publishes Memoir
  
  Published by All Things That Matter Press, Beginnings is a memoir that begins with Davis’ childhood in western Colorado and follows the unexpected path that brought him to Wisconsin, where he became involved in one of the most consequential periods in modern American Indian education and history.
- MacKenzie Scott Donates $1M to Blackfeet Community College for Student Debt Forgiveness
  
  The college said the new money will allow students to register and reenroll in classes because of past-due institutional balances.

MEDIA ROUNDUP

When Women Ruled the Pacific: Power and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Tahiti and Hawai’i
Native American Survival and Resilience
Unpapered: Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging
Voices in the Drum: Narratives from the Native American Past
The Selected Works of Ora Eddleman Reed: Author, Editor, and Activist for Cherokee Rights
Savages and Citizens: How Indigeneity Shapes the State
Making Relatives of Them: Native Kinship, Politics, and Gender in the Great Lakes Country, 1790–1850
Paternalism to Partnership: The Administration of Indian Affairs, 1786-2021
The Bone Picker: Native Stories, Alternate Histories

Explore

The Magazine

Tribal College Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Stay Informed

Balancing Life Without Internet

DEPARTMENTS

Niibin

Reclaiming Democracy by Centering Community