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Celebrating Leaders of the Tribal College Movement

Celebrating Leaders of the Tribal College Movement

In 2016, I was invited to submit a chapter on the presidency of tribal colleges for a book on leadership at minority-serving institutions. I started the chapter with these words, Itancan, Bacheei-tche, Ogimaa: tribal words for those in leadership at tribal colleges because their leadership is rooted in their cultural knowledge and practices. This essay is derived from that chapter, “Tribal College and University Leaders: Warriors in Spirit and in Action

Navajo Rug Weaving: Learnings from the Loom

Navajo Rug Weaving: Learnings from the Loom

Bridget Skenadore, Project Officer of Native Arts and Culture at the American Indian College Fund, had the opportunity to participate in the Heard Museum’s Navajo rug weaving workshop in November 2017. In her job capacity she has had the opportunity to learn about Traditional Native Art forms from the upper-Midwest and with this opportunity from the Heard Museum she was able to learn about a Traditional Native Art form from her culture.

American Indian College Fund Early Childhood Initiatives  Spur International Self-Determination Movement as Detailed in New Report

American Indian College Fund Early Childhood Initiatives Spur International Self-Determination Movement as Detailed in New Report

Preparing children for college starts at birth. But the American Indian College Fund realized that a one-size-fits-all approach to education does not work for Native children. Six years ago, the College Fund set out to strengthen systems of care and learning for Native children by expanding opportunities for their families to consider college as a pathway to thriving communities, starting from birth to career, by incorporating the local culture into education.

Traditional Native Arts Sister Site Visit: Sitting Bull College’s Skirt-Making Workshop

Traditional Native Arts Sister Site Visit: Sitting Bull College’s Skirt-Making Workshop

This weekend, Denise McKay, a Tribal Elder from Fort Yates, North Dakota, brought me to a point in my life that inspired me to look differently at life and my surroundings. Listening to her stories, how she spoke about her mother with love, how she cradled everything that was taught to her, and how she spreads her knowledge to anyone who wants to learn put such a joy in my heart and my soul, I felt as if I would burst when I told my family.

Traditional Native Arts Sister Site Visit: Learning From One Another

Traditional Native Arts Sister Site Visit: Learning From One Another

The American Indian College Fund is proud to offer a cross-collaboration learning opportunity through the Restoration and Preservation of Traditional Native Arts and Knowledge Grant. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) program administrators of the Traditional Native Arts grant will have the opportunity to learn, observe and exchange ideas from each other through the “Sister Site Visit” program.

College Fund Recognized for Outstanding Service to Public Education

College Fund Recognized for Outstanding Service to Public Education

By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require post-secondary education. But only 13.8 percent of American Indians have a college degree – less than half the national average. Fighting this dynamic is the American Indian College Fund, providing direct, focused solutions that enable American Indian youth to succeed in college and beyond.