American Indian College Fund Seeks Submissions for New Elder Story Series

Project to highlight Indigenous voices through memories shared by TCU students, faculty/staff, and leadership and tribal nations elders.

Four members of the Ramon family.

March 29, 2023, Denver, Colo.—The American Indian College Fund is announcing the open call for submissions for “Honoring Those Who Hold Us: An Elder Story Series,” a new storytelling series to focus on the ways in which grandparents and elders have supported countless education journeys throughout Indian Country. Elders, grandparents, and knowledge-carriers are often sources of support for Native students, but the ways in which they are referred to in Indigenous communities vary greatly. This series invites tribal college and university students, faculty/staff, leaders, and elders to submit stories about mentoring relationships with elders in their tribal nations.

The stories can be told in a variety of forms, including poetry, blogging, video submissions, dance, artwork, and more. Storytellers should include their name, tribal affiliation, and contact information when submitting their stories. Students should also include their TCU and major. College Fund staff are available to assist applicants without access to technology needed to tell their story in a desired format. Participants must submit their story via the submission button on the series’ page. Submission opens March 29, 2023.

Examples of stories and more information about the submission process can be found at https://collegefund.org/elder-story-series/.

About the American Indian College Fund—The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 33 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $14.45 million in scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian students in 2021-22. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $284 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

Journalists: The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.