Honoring Native women leaders who shaped the tribal college movement
Every year during Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8), notable women and their contributions are recognized and celebrated. Yet the women who shape our lives, communities, and world deserve recognition that extends far beyond a single month.
Across cultures, women bring life and nurture it in an eternal, cyclical exchange. This understanding is reflected in the name “Mother Earth” and has long been central to Native communities, who recognize the vital role women play in sustaining the present and protecting future generations.
Colonization and Western colonial ideals have sought to diminish women’s contributions and confine them to smaller or even invisible roles, creating lasting imbalances and inequities—especially in education. Today, only about one-third of college and university presidents in the U.S. are women, according to a 2023 report from the American Council on Education. Yet, out of the 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities nationwide, 18—or 53%—of acting presidents in fall of 2025 were women.
Since their inception in the 1970s, TCUs have set a powerful precedent for gender parity, grounded in the belief that the best schools for Native students are those created and led by Native people. Women are our first teachers, and this Women’s History Month, we are highlighting two of the many visionary women whose determination helped found their communities’ tribal colleges and advance the tribal college movement—creating pathways for thousands of Native people to pursue higher education within their own communities.
Dr. Janine Pease (Crow/Hidatsa)
Dr. Janine Pease (Crow/Hidatsa) founded Little Big Horn College (LBHC) in Crow Agency, Montana, in 1980 after recognizing that although more Native students were entering the Montana University System in the 1970s, very few were graduating. Having earned her own degrees from mainstream institutions, she understood the system was not designed for Native students and required them to leave behind their communities, cultures, and languages—losses that were neither sustainable nor acceptable. Determined to create a better path, Dr. Pease led the growth of LBHC from a small, struggling institution that held classes in a gymnasium to a fully accredited institution that champions the preservation of Crow language and culture.
Dr. Verna Fowler (Menominee)
Dr. Verna Fowler (Menominee) earned her Ph.D. in higher education in 1992, at a time when very few Native people—and even fewer Native women—held doctoral degrees. Chosen by the Menominee Nation as the founding president of the College of the Menominee Nation (CMN), Wisconsin’s first and only tribal college, she helped establish the institution in 1993. With experience teaching at every level of education, Dr. Fowler understood the transformative power of learning and went on to become one of the longest‑serving presidents in the tribal college movement. She guided CMN’s growth from an initial student body of 49 to an institution serving hundreds each year which offers nearly 25 academic programs.
Dr. Pease and Dr. Fowler were just two of the countless women who have helped TCUs into the sustaining, community-serving institutions they are today.
Women have always understood that their actions create ripples that extend far beyond themselves, through generations that are yet to come. Native women continue to lead with this vision, working toward stronger futures for their families and tribal communities—contributions that deserve recognition far beyond a single day or month.
In the fall of 2025, over 11,000 women were enrolled at TCUs, many of them mothers using education to transform both their lives and their childrens’.
As we reflect this Women’s History Month, it’s important to thank the women in our lives, including mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, cousins, and daughters who inspire us daily through their sacrifice, leadership, and care. This perpetual exchange of gratitude is how we hold onto the hope that when we come together as respected equals, we will continue to build something better for generations to come.
