United Tribes Technical College Publishes Video Series on Teacher Education Program
American Indian College Fund Supports Effort to Increase Number of Native Teachers
February 18, 2025, Denver, Colo. – The United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) Teacher Education Program released a series of videos to support program recruitment covering a wide range of topics and perspectives from current and past students, tribal elders, and education administrators. The program is funded by the American Indian College Fund (College Fund), through the Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi Native Teacher Education pilot program.
Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi can be translated from Dakota to describe the purpose of the project as “teaching teachers.” Through the program, partner tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) received $200,000-$275,000 over a two-year grant term to share promising practices that would serve as the basis for exploring solutions to the Native teacher shortage. Methods for addressing this issue would model Native understanding and support students through the completion of their teacher education program and state licensing process.
The video series is only one resource created as part of UTTC’s multi-faceted Dragonfly Project, operating under Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi, focused on enhancing pathways into the teaching profession for Native students by offering online courses, inclusion of Indigenous pedagogy, and preparatory materials and trainings for required Praxis and certification exams.
A Day in the Life of a Student Teacher
An Interview with Mrs. Cleo Charging
The Teacher Education Graduate Journey
Interviewing Elders
A Day in the Life of an Elementary School Principal
About the American Indian College Fund — The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 35 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $20.5 million in scholarships and other direct student support for access to a higher education steeped in Native culture and values to American Indian students in 2023-24. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $349 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of programs at the nation’s 34 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. It earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Gold Seal of Transparency from Guidestar, and the “Best in America Seal of Excellence” from the Independent Charities of America. The College Fund was also named as one of the nation’s top 100 charities 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 College Fund.
