Indigenous community leaders create positive change in their communities. The American Indian College Fund is committed to developing women leaders across Indian Country through its Indigenous Visionaries Program in Tribal communities where tribal colleges and universities are located.
Kayla Dix (Salish) Early Education Preschool - Third Grade Education Major, Salish Kootenai College I am 29 years old and live on the Flathead Indian Reservation with my three beautiful daughters Kayci, Fallyn, and Sayla. Currently I am in my senior year at Salish...
LouAnne Hoskinson (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe) Tribal College and University: Salish Kootenai College Major: Early Childhood Development American Indian College Fund Indigenous Visionary Fellows partnered with Salish Kootenai College (SKC) Early Learning...
Emily Lockling (Fond du Lac and Leech Lake) Tribal College and University: Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Major: Environmental Science Counting your chickens before they hatch, or in my case, buying your first set of luggage before a pandemic hit with...
LaVerne Whitebear (Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux) Tribal College and University: Sisseton Wahpeton College Degree Major: Behavioral Science I am a 46-year old wife and mother of seven children, some grown and some not, and a first-generation college student. I have...
The Indigenous Visionaries program has worked with three Tribal Colleges and Universities for three years (2017 – 2020), supporting the development of Native women leaders in the three programming areas of Early Childhood Education, Environmental Stewardship, and...
My love for the Salish language was fostered at a young age. Driving with my Sile (grandfather), he would point at things and teach me new Salish words, feeding my passion.
After my Sile passed on, my brother took on the role of teaching me the language.
As a mother of five children, my fourth-born son, was measurably behind reaching milestone after milestone. Knowing not all children develop at the same pace, it got harder to watch him struggle as he got older. The inefficacy in his education was apparent. I was disappointed by the anxiety school caused him with no resolution.
