Recently we were asked about the factors that make for a top college for Native Americans students. It is a great question and it really depends on individual student needs and goals; however, that does not make for a great blog. So I will answer this with a top ten list of things that Native American students should consider when choosing a college.
Tribal college students and Native Scholars Waycen and Brook are at the Democratic National Convention with our partner AT&T in Philadelphia. Among the tribal nations and delegates represented at the Democratic National Convention this week are some of our tribal college students and alumni.
Malcolm Macleod, President of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, writes in the blog Giving Matters that the foundation stands with the American Indian College Fund to make scholarships a tool for social justice in achieving equity for Native peoples, mainly for education.
Spring is in full bloom here at the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) Early Leaning Center, and the College Fund’s Restorative Teachings Early Childhood Education (ECE) Initiative is beginning to take shape. We are fortunate to live in a part of the country where the seasonal changes are so dramatic and each transition brings such a feeling of change to our surroundings.
I was inspired to see Hilary Pennington’s article, “Rethinking scholarships as social justice” in the Ford Foundation’s Equals Change blog. Her article examines the approach in action through the implementation of the Ford Foundation’s International Fellowships Program, which spans 22 countries and a decade to support emerging leaders who face discrimination because of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, or physical ability. Her essay opens the door to discussing and examining further why scholarships are particularly important to indigenous people as tools of social justice and opportunity.
We salute all of our graduates who are embarking on new chapters in their lives with a college degree. Len Necefer, a College Fund alumnus, is just one of many recent graduates. The new Dr. Necefer successfully defended his dissertation, is an expert on energy policy, and now has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy.
Friends and Relatives, my Lakota name is Wacinyanpi Win, which means “they depend on her.” I am a Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. I greet you with a handshake and a good heart.
Bridget Skenadore, the American Indian College Fund’s Native Arts and Culture Project Coordinator, had the opportunity this week to participate in the Sisseton Wahpeton College’s Wokape’ Parfleche Workshop. Parfleche was used by tribes in the Plains as rawhide containers to store food and personal belongings.
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.
Nonprofit professionals nationwide can learn how to grow their careers as well as the best technology practices in the field from Joshua Bekerman, Information and Technology Services Manager for the American Indian College Fund. Bekerman has been invited to speak at the Blackbaud Conference for the Philanthropic Community in Austin, Texas October 26-28 for the third consecutive year.
