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Tomorrow night in Denver the American Indian College Fund honors the local elders with a buffalo feed for the holidays. Many people have wondered why American Indians honor their elders.

There has been a lot of talk in the news about sustainability in energy, in business, and more as we have seen difficult times, and as we are faced with rebuilding our nation. It raises the question about sustainability in charitable giving.

As we head into the holiday season, I would like to issue a challenge: the best gift of all is to pay it forward. If someone helped you to get an education or encouraged you while you were a student, why not take the time to do the same for someone else?

As we celebrate everything that we have to be thankful for, I want to thank each and every one of you for your enduring support over the years. If not for our students, our tribal colleges, our teachers and tribal college presidents, and our supporters, American Indian education would not be where it is today.

November is National Indian Heritage Month, and city, state, and private events are being held across the nation to mark the occasion. As we celebrate our heritage, let’s also celebrate our endurance as a people. We have achieved so much, and that is largely due to education that celebrates and reinforces our culture.

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day. Our Native peoples have a long history of fighting for our country. Per capita more American Indians enter the armed forces than any other group.

With the historic victory of President-elect Barack Obama, we learned an important lesson last night. Regardless of your political affiliation, the important lesson is that we as a people can do anything we put our minds to. America is the land of opportunity.

We’ve been busy at the Fund, readying for the Flame of Hope Gala a week from today in New York City, taking in corporate and individual donations that are coming in the door, and preparing for the launch of our new Public Service Announcement campaign designed by our advertising supporter, Wieden+Kennedy.

American Indian families have the lowest incomes in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. American Indian students often must choose between attending college or putting food on the table. In tight economic times, students rely even more heavily on scholarship support.

We hope you will join us at the Fund to celebrate 40 years of tribal colleges at the 13th annual 2008 American Indian College Fund Flame of Hope Gala. This event will take place at Gotham Hall in New York City on Wednesday, October 29 at 6 p.m. The event will raise funds for student scholarships and honor a longtime supporter.