Graduation Time

Jun 3, 2008 | Archives, Blog

This time of year is a time of celebration. Families across Indian Country are gathering to celebrate the accomplishments of their loved ones in graduation ceremonies at tribal colleges. Learning has become a lifelong vocation for many people in Indian Country, a way to give back to the community and other generations. People like Jacob Holiday, a Navajo man from Kayenta, earned a master’s degree through the Center for Dine Education, which is a partnership between Dine College and Arizona State University. He will continue his work in education, and hopes to serve as a role model for Navajo youth.

Jacob isn’t alone. Students across the country are earning associates degrees, bachelors degrees, masters degrees, doctorate degrees, and certificates. These accomplishments are the result of hard work and personal and family sacrifice. So please join me in congratulating Jacob and all of our American Indian graduates this spring. Well done! We know you will do great work.

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Earth Day is Every Day

Earth Day is Every Day

Today, April 22, is the 54th Earth Day since its first celebration, which birthed the modern environmental movement in 1970. It is a day to raise awareness of the damage done to the planet and the need for more sustainable practices in every aspect of life and industry. For Indigenous peoples, the responsibility to care for the earth and the environments that shaped our cultures is one we have carried for millennia. That commitment to the places that are a part of us persists today in the studies and careers many Native people pursue.