Month: February 2008 Blogs

February 29 is leap year. I’d like to recognize the signifiant leaps forward that the Indian community has made on its behalf in the past 40 years upon the founding of the first tribal college, which for the first time put American Indians in charge of their own education.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a public apology to the Aboriginal people of that nation last week. He told the Parliament there, “The Parliament is today here assembled to deal with this unfinished business of the nation, to remove a great stain from the nation’s soul, and in a true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia.”

It may seem like the tried and true thing to write about as we approach Valentine’s Day, but the advice is as true today as it is any other time of the year: when it comes to the future, we must follow our hearts.

The New York Giants’ win in Sunday’s Super Bowl was a lesson to people in any vocation of what it means to persevere. Obstacles may seen insurmountable to us as we journey through our day-to-day lives. And for some of our students who face issues every day, these obstacles may seem bigger than those that non-American Indians face.

It was 27 below zero degrees Fahrenheit in Barrow, Alaska, and there were five hours of sun yesterday. But don’t let the winter weather fool you into thinking that nothing much is going on in Barrow!