On Monday of my second week at the park I began the longest project of my internship. Every year for over the past 20 years, Mesa Verde has held consultation meetings with the 24 affiliated tribes. My mentor, who has been in her position as a curator for a little more than a year, noticed that the notebooks containing the records of these consultation meetings with the tribes were becoming very fragile.
In April 2011, the American Indian College Fund announced a $5 million grant award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund four early childhood education projects located at tribal colleges and universities and serving Native children. Under the program, initial grant awards of $800,000 per college over a period of four years will be awarded to four tribal colleges whose submitted proposals best supported the goals and objectives of the program to improve young Native students’ skill acquisition; prepare them for grades K-12 and post-secondary education; improve the quality of early childhood teachers in Native communities through partnership opportunities with post-secondary teacher training programs at the tribal colleges; bridge early childhood and K-3 education; integrate Native language and culture into early childhood curriculum; and empower Native families and communities as change agents in education for their children.
Sysco Corporation, a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products, donated $15,000 to the American Indian College Fund to support the Sysco Corporation Tribal College Scholarship Program. This program will provide 10 scholarships to American Indian students studying casino/gaming, hospitality, culinary arts, tribal administration, tribal management, tribal government, and/or business-related degree programs at the nation’s 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities.
I am in Tsaile, Arizona, where I am living on the Diné College campus. Living on the reservation is drastically different from living in a city like Los Angeles. Normally there are animals wandering around and roaming where they please. This is what I wake up to, and I enjoy it because I definitely don’t get to see a horse cross my path in LA.
Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, Ed.D. (Navajo) has been named Program Officer for the Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones” early childhood education initiative at the Denver-based American Indian College Fund. In her new role, Dr. Yazzie-Mintz is responsible for administering the $5,000,000 program funded by The W.K. Kellogg Foundation to establish and strengthen early childhood development centers and teacher education programs at tribal colleges and universities
For more than 10 years, the Target Corporation has been helping Native American students pursue a college education at tribal colleges and universities. This year, Target has renewed its commitment with a grant of $20,000 to the American Indian College Fund to continue the Target Tribal College Scholarship Program for the 2011-12 academic year.
Casey Lozar, an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, was promoted to the position of Vice President of Resource Development for the Denver, Colorado-based American Indian College Fund (the Fund). In his new role, Lozar is responsible for resource development for all fundraising departments at the Fund.
Wynette interning at the Diné Policy Institute at Diné College, a tribal institute located in Tsaile, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Ya’a’teeh! My name is Wynette. I am a psychology and sociology major at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. I am interning at the Diné Policy Institute at Diné College, a tribal institute located in Tsaile, Arizona on the Navajo Nation.
The Siragusa Foundation of Chicago, Illinois has announced it is renewing a grant of $15,000 to the American Indian College Fund to benefit American Indian student scholarships. The grant will support qualified American Indian students by providing financial resources to encourage them to complete a college degree. With an education, students can build a better life for themselves, their families, and make valuable contributions to their communities and nation.
This is the fourth part in a series of blog entries by our scholar Deanna, who is writing about her internship experience at Mesa Verde National Park. Next week will will meet Wynette from Occidental College in L.A., who is working at the Diné Policy Institute this summer at Diné College.
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