Katie, a Minnesota Chippewa student at Bay Mills Community College in Michigan, and Keri, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe studying at Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, are both American Indian College Fund scholars who had the opportunity to network and learn more about educational and career opportunities through a partnership with the College Fund and the Wal-Mart Foundation.
The nation’s universities look to tribal colleges and other minority-serving institutions for guidance on diversity and providing an inclusive environment for student success. The American Indian College Fund’s Tarajean Yazzie Mintz, Senior Program Officer, offers insight into ways schools can pave the way for a harmonious transition to college life and academic success.
At the American Indian College Fund we know there are many charities and causes that are deserving of your support. As part of a campaign to encourage donors to give wisely, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA) evaluates national charities against comprehensive standards. The BBB WGA also runs an advertisement in USA Today listing approximately 1,300 nationally soliciting charities it features as part of its Wise Giving Alliance, in which the College Fund is included.
With the help of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation five years ago, the American Indian College Fund launched its Sacred Little Ones early childhood education program at four tribal colleges. The program aimed to improve Native children’s school readiness and create a platform for their academic success by third grade.
Involving families and community members in the development of culturally relevant education programs for their early-childhood aged children improves their skills and academic readiness, according to a five-year program conducted by the American Indian College Fund (the College Fund). The findings have relevance for children in underserved communities nationwide.
Denver-based American Indian College Fund will present a session on the community and socio-cultural return on investment that tribal colleges and universities bring to their communities at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting November 18 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.
One percent of American Indian students are in college today, and only 13% today have a college degree—half of the national average—making them the most underserved group in America. The American Indian College Fund is hosting events in Chicago and Minneapolis to show how you can help Native scholars can overcome the odds to get a college degree.
National scholarship providers are often unaware of the special challenges American Indian students face when entering college. Tiffany Gusbeth, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and a Program Manager for the Full Circle Scholarships program at the American Indian College Fund, spoke at the National Scholarships Providers Association annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina in October, providing an inside view about those challenges and tips and tools to help them succeed.
Living conditions on American Indian reservations and in Alaska Native villages are often compared to those in third world countries. Substandard housing, limited access to health care, struggling schools, high unemployment and heavy reliance on social welfare systems have created a dangerous environment for Native youth.
Community members interested in social justice for American Indians and race reconciliation can learn from Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. Crazy Bull will speak at the University of Colorado Denver’s Indigenous Peoples Day event October 12 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Tivoli Multi-Cultural Lounge at the University of Colorado Denver Campus in Denver.
