Our Blogs

Remembering Minnie Two Shoes

On April 9, the journalism world lost a fine journalist, activist, and teacher. Minnie Two Shoes (Assiniboine from the Ft. Peck reservation in Montana) passed on. She was a founder of the Native American Journalist Association, tireless teacher, journalist, and activist. Godspeed, Minnie.

Wilma Mankiller Passes On

Our sympathies and best wishes go out to the friends and family of Wilma Mankiller, who passed on from cancer this week. Mankiller was an author, lecturer and former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served 12 years in elected office at the Cherokee Nation, the first two as Deputy Principal Chief followed by 10 years as Principal Chief.

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Pledges $100,000 to American Indian College Fund

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has announced it is granting $100,000, or $50,000 in 2010 and another $50,000 in 2011, to the American Indian College Fund. The purpose of the grant is to provide two fellowships to tribal college faculty pursuing their doctoral degrees in the natural science, mathematics, and engineering fields. As part of the program, the foundation will also fund a retreat, direct recruiting, and fellow outreach to ensure the participants’ success.

President Obama Donates $125,000 of Nobel Prize Money to American Indian College Fund

President Obama announced today that he will donate $125,000 of his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize monies to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund). In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said of the Fund and nine other charity organizations that received donations from the president, “These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need. I’m proud to support their work.”

Native STEM Students Thinking Indian

This week I have been made proud by a tribal college student and graduate in the STEM fields that are Thinking Indian. Marie, a second-year student at Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota in liberal studies with a STEM emphasis, was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as one of its 105 best and brightest interns and fellows for the NASA Student Ambassador Program.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Renews $450,000 Grant to American Indian College Fund

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has announced a grant for $450,000 to continue the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship Program at the American Indian College Fund (the Fund). The program was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and launched by the Fund in 2004 to increase the number of faculty at the nation’s 33 tribal colleges and universities possessing a terminal degree.