From curricula to campuses, tribal colleges and universities, which serve communities on or near Indian reservations, are rooted in Indigenous cultural beliefs. Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, with Emily White Hat, Director, Strategy and National Outreach of the College Fund
When the news hit about the higher education admissions scandal dubbed Varsity Blues, in which wealthy parents perpetrated fraud to get their children into prestigious colleges and universities, we at the American Indian College Fund were not only disappointed, frankly, we were angry.
Early Childhood theorists have influenced educators’ practice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for many years. Through the Gimaadaadizimin (We All Start A Journey) Project, supported by the American Indian College Fund’s For the Wisdom of the Children: Strengthening the Teacher of Color Pipeline, the Early Childhood Education Department at Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) have strengthened and expanded our future teachers’ knowledge in STEM.
In 2019 the Sinte Gleska University Adult Basic Education (ABE) Department began offering community-based learning opportunities. The program introduces and enhances knowledge and skills relevant to GED students, their families, and community members.
We find the actions of the parents in the “Varsity Blues” scandal not only unfair to every hard-working student in our country seeking a quality education, but especially to Native students who come from communities where poverty and unemployment rates are double that of the general population. As a result of these challenges, only 14% of Native people 25 and older have a college degree–less than half the rate of other groups.
Living on an Indian reservation the size of a state and shuttling between three tribal college campuses and six satellite offices can be a monumental undertaking—especially when access to transportation is limited.
You may have tasted Native squash, but have you ever enjoyed staghorn sumac or the tart/sweet delicious taste of chokecherries prepared by a professional chef at your favorite restaurant?
Oglala Lakota College has launched its Dollar General American Indian and Alaska Native Literacy and Adult Education Program. The following individuals will be serving OLC students under the program.
Invisibility is, in essence, the modern form of racism used against Native Americans. Check out our report on how higher education institutions can create equitable and healthy learning environments for American Indian and Alaska Native students.
The backbone of a community-based program is taking into account the community’s needs. This happens by listening to people in the community who you hope to serve with your programming.
