Bridget Skenadore, the American Indian College Fund’s Native Arts and Culture Project Coordinator, had the opportunity this week to participate in the Sisseton Wahpeton College’s Wokape’ Parfleche Workshop. Parfleche was used by tribes in the Plains as rawhide containers to store food and personal belongings.
Diné College is a shining of example of how tribal colleges provide a high-quality education while serving as the caretakers of their tribes’ cultures. The Ned A. Hatathli Cultural Center Museum at Diné College received the Museum Excellence Award from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) for expanding its museum and serving as an outstanding example of how Indigenous archives, libraries, museums, and individuals contribute to the vitality and culture sovereignty of Native Nations.
Katie, a Minnesota Chippewa student at Bay Mills Community College in Michigan, and Keri, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe studying at Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, are both American Indian College Fund scholars who had the opportunity to network and learn more about educational and career opportunities through a partnership with the College Fund and the Wal-Mart Foundation.
NTU granted seven baccalaureate degrees at its Fall 2015 Commencement, one in Industrial Engineering and six in Early Childhood Multicultural Education. Pictured from right to left includes graduates: Angelita Darwin, Ramara Begay, Diana Hosteen, Anita Jones-Pouncy, Valerita Nez, Vernita VanWinkle-Sorrell and Fayetta Clawson.
The nation’s universities look to tribal colleges and other minority-serving institutions for guidance on diversity and providing an inclusive environment for student success. The American Indian College Fund’s Tarajean Yazzie Mintz, Senior Program Officer, offers insight into ways schools can pave the way for a harmonious transition to college life and academic success.
At the American Indian College Fund we know there are many charities and causes that are deserving of your support. As part of a campaign to encourage donors to give wisely, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA) evaluates national charities against comprehensive standards. The BBB WGA also runs an advertisement in USA Today listing approximately 1,300 nationally soliciting charities it features as part of its Wise Giving Alliance, in which the College Fund is included.
With the help of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation five years ago, the American Indian College Fund launched its Sacred Little Ones early childhood education program at four tribal colleges. The program aimed to improve Native children’s school readiness and create a platform for their academic success by third grade.
