By Hannah Gonzales, Sr. Program Officer and Writer – TCU Programs
Commencement ceremonies at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) do not begin with Pomp and Circumstance; they start with the beat of drums and songs sung in Native languages as the procession unfolds. TCU graduations are simultaneously a scene of achievement, relief, pride, humility, and joy. Smiling and anxious students in beaded graduation caps, who worked so hard to get to where they are, stand tall. Faculty and staff in academic and traditional regalia, both proud and honored to have walked this journey with their students, still stand beside and behind them. So many families fill seats and stands or lean against walls to watch their loved ones walk the stage. Time and space are held for rituals of acknowledgement and honor from the community. And a sheet cake awaits at the back of the auditorium to enjoy at the end of the celebration.
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College Graduation 2026
I attended two TCU graduations this year. It is important for us at the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) to celebrate the students we work to support, even if we may not know them personally. My intent in attending was to, of course, honor all TCU graduates, but as I oversee the College Fund’s adult education programming, I specifically wanted to show up for our high school equivalency (HSE) graduates. Not all TCUs include HSE graduates in their annual or biannual commencement ceremonies. Sometimes graduates are not interested or available due to other family or work priorities, sometimes it is a celebration they prefer to keep private, and sometimes they have big feelings still attached to the stigma of not finishing a traditional high school education.
But TCUs know the realities of the education experiences that often cause community members to drop out of school, and the importance of making alternative HSE pathways accessible – both for community members’ personal education journeys and to strengthen college enrollment pathways. TCUs find ways to celebrate their HSE graduates in whatever way works best for their respective students – they might host HSE-specific graduations, provide celebratory family dinners, or award students with monetary or personal graduation gifts. Some TCUs find the best way to honor HSE graduates is to include them as part of their regular commencement celebrations. Two TCUs that follow this model with their adult education programs are Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (NHSC) and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University (LCOOU).
I attended NHSC’s graduation in New Town, North Dakota in mid-May. After the Little Shell Drum Group welcomed the color guard, staff and faculty, and graduates via the processional and flag songs, the ceremony started with prayers from community members in the Three Affiliated Tribes’ languages – Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. The keynote speaker, actress and comedian Jana Schmieding, was stranded because of the unexpected dust storms in North Dakota. She instead sent a video to share some words of inspiration with the graduates. Nine HSE graduates participated in the commencement. After the ceremony, all attendees were invited to line up and shake the graduates’ hands and congratulate them. I took the opportunity to briefly encourage the HSE graduates to “keep going” in their education.
A couple weeks later, I closed out the month in Hayward, Wisconsin at LCOOU’s graduation celebration. The drum and song processional and posting of the colors were also included in the opening of this ceremony. One of the first speakers called out the different Wisconsin Ojibwe band names, and the participants in the audience cheered as their respective band was called.
Later, the keynote speaker, Elizabeth Arbuckle, Ph.D. (Bad River), Chairwoman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, shared an example of her family’s legacy of determination with a quote from a relative, “Get your education, my girl. That’s one thing they can never take away from you.” In closing, she further shared some challenges she had faced that others might encounter including whether or not they might have a seat at any number of tables. She reminded graduates of something she was once told, an echo of US Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s words: “If they don’t save you a seat, bring your own chair.”
Even though she was speaking to all the graduates, I thought how fitting a motto for our HSE students and graduates who, with the help of TCU staff and faculty, advocate to be seen, valued, and invested in as community members. After the ceremony, I spoke with a few staff and faculty, and was able to meet two of the HSE graduates. One of the graduates, a young woman named Locadia, shared how she had recruited her older sister, Esperanza and her boyfriend, Rodrigo to enroll in the program. LCOOU’s Educational Pathways Program Director, Arin Davis, who manages their HSE program, emailed me a couple of weeks later to share that the young couple had completed their HSEs in early June.
These are the students we celebrate when we share the importance of TCU HSE programs: The ones who are role models for their family and community members, the ones who show up and inspire students and faculty alike, the ones who work hard and take up space. They deserve to be seen and celebrated. One HSE graduate means a whole family impacted and the start of a pathway to college, meaningful careers, and healthy lives. As we close out this graduation season, I know we can stand behind TCUs as they say to all prospective HSE students and their families: Now is the time and a TCU is the place to continue your education. We will save a seat for you.
