One experience I will never forget was the laying of the wreath ceremony at the Arlington Cemetery. As we strolled toward the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I felt sorrow and privilege all intertwined: sorrow for the men and women who lost their lives fighting for this great country and the privilege of being fortunate enough to have been present for this occasion.
Being in the same room as the nominees for President of the United States, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Many of us have traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit Congress and federal agencies and never get to see the President. Many of us attend rallies for one of the candidates but rarely get to see the two nominees in the same room.
On Monday October 1st, my husband Alex Prue and I enjoyed a beautiful drive from the He Sapa (Black Hills) down through the Maka Sice (Badlands) across vast prairies and valleys of fall gold cottonwoods and red sumac into the homelands of the Oglala. We visited Oglala Lakota College’s (OLC) main campus at Kyle.
Bruce DeBoskey, a Colorado-based philanthropic adviser for the DeBoskey Group, noted in a recent article in The Denver Post that although the trend in philanthropy has been to make it become more strategic and effective. The Fund has rigorously employed systems to help our donors to transparently see how we invest their dollars in our communities, and how those dollars help our students, tribal colleges, and our Native communities.
Every year the American Indian College Fund’s Flame of Hope Gala affords our supporters a chance to meet our students and hear how you help make a difference in their lives. We’d like to introduce you to this year’s student speaker, Dwight Carlson (Navajo), an environmental science major, two-time U.S. Forest Service student intern, firefighter, All-American cross country runner, and bull rider. Dwight is an amazing young man whose potential might not have been met without the chance to earn a college education.
For more than 10 years, the Target Corporation has been helping Native American students pursue a college education at tribal colleges and universities. 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 2012-13 academic year.
The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Foundation awarded $60,000 to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) for the Achieving the Dream Scholarship Program. The program assists Native students who are single parents and/or in the first year of an associate’s degree program, attending Diné College, Navajo Technical College, Sisseton Wahpeton College, Sinte Gleska University, or Oglala Lakota College. Preference is given to past Achieving the Dream Scholars. Each scholar receives a $4,000 scholarship split between fall and spring semesters.
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), one of the four grantees of the Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones” grant initiative funded by the American Indian College Fund and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, held the first Early Childhood Teacher Education Kick-Off on September 5, 2012.
An estimated crowd of 6,000 jammed into and around the darkened dance arena to see fire-lit knives spun-about and tossed into the night sky by members of the powwow’s featured cultural group. The Tafiti Samoan Fire Knife Dancers wowed the audience with their flaming machetes. The group was led by cultural ambassador Kap Te’O Tafti, of the Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, Hawaii.
American Indian College Fund President and CEO Cheryl Crazy Bull writes a blog titled The Native Ways. Check out her reflections about her first week at the American Indian College Fund, the role of tribal colleges, Indians in urban settings, and much more!
Double your Impact
TODAY!
Hi Friends and Allies!
Due to a postal service delay, we’ve extended our original 5/3 match offer deadline to 5/31!
You can still help us DOUBLE our funding for fall scholarships and support even more Native Scholars.
SAVE THE DATE
May 19 - May 21, 2024
Virtual Conference
All are welcome!
