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Native American language used as code was made famous by the Navajos in WWII. Ironically, these men voluntarily served this country and used their language to help win the war six years before the Native American Citizenship Act. It is also ironic that at the same time the Choctaw language was being used to benefit the war effort, Native languages were being banned in government schools.

Last week we spent close to three days in brainstorming sessions with a direct mail team to strategize for new direct mail concepts to educate the public about our organization, our mission, and our students. As part of that session, we had the opportunity to hear the results of an extensive phone survey that we commissioned on behalf of the Fund to learn more about our constituents’ perceptions of us.

I just returned from the AIHEC student conference in Bismarck, North Dakota, where I had the opportunity to meet with many of our students from all across Indian country. It is a busy, noisy, and fun time, as old friends meet again, new friendships are formed, and students compete in one-act play competitions, Knowledge Bowl, and traditional hand games.

Today at the Fund we had a real treat. John Emhoolah Jr. (Kiowa), one of the founding members of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), paid a visit to the Fund to discuss the roots of the tribal college movement.

To honor the father of Rick Williams

February 29 is leap year. I’d like to recognize the signifiant leaps forward that the Indian community has made on its behalf in the past 40 years upon the founding of the first tribal college, which for the first time put American Indians in charge of their own education.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a public apology to the Aboriginal people of that nation last week. He told the Parliament there, “The Parliament is today here assembled to deal with this unfinished business of the nation, to remove a great stain from the nation’s soul, and in a true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia.”

It may seem like the tried and true thing to write about as we approach Valentine’s Day, but the advice is as true today as it is any other time of the year: when it comes to the future, we must follow our hearts.

The New York Giants’ win in Sunday’s Super Bowl was a lesson to people in any vocation of what it means to persevere. Obstacles may seen insurmountable to us as we journey through our day-to-day lives. And for some of our students who face issues every day, these obstacles may seem bigger than those that non-American Indians face.

It was 27 below zero degrees Fahrenheit in Barrow, Alaska, and there were five hours of sun yesterday. But don’t let the winter weather fool you into thinking that nothing much is going on in Barrow!