College Fund to Present Social, Cultural Impact of Tribal Colleges at Anthropological Meeting

November 17, 2015

Denver-based American Indian College Fund will present a session on the community and socio-cultural return on investment that tribal colleges and universities bring to their communities at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting November 18 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

Panelists include Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund and six American Indian education experts at tribal colleges and universities including Cynthia A. Lindquist, President of Cankdeska Cikana Community College, North Dakota; David Yarlott, Jr., President of Little Big Horn College, Montana; James Sanovia, faculty member at Oglala Lakota College, South Dakota; Nathaniel St. Pierre, President of Stone Child College, Montana; Sherry Allison, President of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, New Mexico; and Sherry Red Owl Neiss, Academic Dean at Sinte Gleska University, South Dakota.

There are 37 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the United States, the majority of which are located on or near Indian reservations. Often TCUs provide the sole higher education services to these remote, rural communities. The panel will share information on the mission and history of the tribal college movement and explore the many contributions TCUs have made in areas such as cultural preservation and restoration, creating curricula for adult American Indian learners, sustainability programming, indigenous leadership, and community outreach and development.