Although November is Native American Heritage Month, for the American Indian College Fund, our tribal colleges, and our students, we celebrate Native heritage every day of the year. This is because our students and communities know what it means to be without Native culture, heritage, and language–because it was once U.S. government policy to assimilate American Indians, and eradicate these priceless facets of heritage. As a result, generations of American Indians were denied their birthright.
Month: November 2011 Blogs
Coca-Cola Foundation Grants $250,000 to Continue Support for First Generation Scholars
The Coca-Cola Foundation is continuing its support of first-generation Native American scholars through a generous donation of $250,000 to the American Indian College Fund. The Coca-Cola Foundation First Generation Tribal Scholarship Program will continue to increase access to higher education and leadership development opportunities for tribal college students that are the first in their families to attend college. At least one scholar at each of the accredited tribal colleges is selected to be a Coca-Cola scholar.
College Fund Helping the Native Community for the Holidays
The American Indian College Fund has caught the holiday spirit. The Fund is holding its eleventh annual Holiday Dinner to honor American Indian elders in the Denver on Tuesday, December 13 at the Church of All Saints, 2559 S. Federal Boulevard. Doors open at 4:30 and the dinner commences at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to American Indians age 55 and older.
Meet Ilisagvik College, the newest tribal college
With the formation of a home-rule government called the North Slope Borough in 1972, the Iñupiat people took their first steps towards regaining control of their lives and destinies, and founded Ilisagvik College to serve the residents of the North Slope Borough, America’s largest and most northern municipality in Alaska. Located in Barrow, Alaska, population 4,000, the college serves more than 89,000 square miles of the outlying Arctic tundra region that is unconnected by road or rail and ice-locked nine months of the year.
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota Grants $50,000 for Native Student Scholarship
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) of Minnesota has donated $50,000 to the American Indian College Fund for Native student scholarships as a contribution for the Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) Endowment Matching Challenge Grant. The Johnson Foundation will match contributions up to $750,000 over the next three years, creating an endowment of $1.5 million.
The First Tribal College—Diné College
First class of baccalaureate graduates of Dine College, which marked its 30th Anniversary in 1998 as the oldest tribal college. Graduation day May 15, 1998. photo John Running. The first tribal college was Diné College, located in Tsaile, Arizona, was founded by the Navajo Nation as Navajo Community College in 1968 to educate its young people who are residents of the 26,000 square-mile Navajo Nation which is spread over Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, while steeping them in their language, culture, and traditions.
What’s In A Name? Fund Re-Names Scholarship Programs
To better reflect our scholarships and serve our students, you may notice a difference in our scholarship names. We will be migrating the new names onto our web site and in all of our communications materials.
American Indian College Fund Receives $30,000 in Scholarship Support from Johnson & Johnson
The American Indian College Fund (the Fund) received a $30,000 grant from Johnson & Johnson to continue the Johnson & Johnson Tribal College Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to American Indian students pursuing degrees at tribal colleges and universities.
Natives Bring Chocolate to World, Chocolate Company Helps Natives With Scholarships
Native cultures in what is now Mexico are credited for introducing chocolate to the world. The Mayan culture used chocolate as currency and the Aztec culture used the cacao bean as payment for tribute because it was so highly revered. The Aztecs also created xocoatl, a spicy hot chocolate drink that mixed cacoa beans, corn flour, water and chilies which was popular with the upper classes.
November is Native American Heritage Month!
Please join the American Indian College Fund and the Native students and 34 tribal colleges and universities we support in celebrating Native American Heritage Month. You can get to know more about a tribal culture, history, language, and how the tribal colleges help to preserve them on our web site, Facebook and Twitter. Visit our YouTube channel, where we feature student and alumni interviews, celebrate our graduates, and provide an overview of the Fund’s work with the video Hope on the Rez.
