One thousand firefighters are in the back yard of the American Indian College Fund headquarters, battling Colorado’s third largest forest fire in history, dubbed the High Park Fire. And there’s a good chance that several firefighters are American Indians, thanks to Salish Kootenai College’s firefighting program in Pablo, Montana.
Many non-traditional students reenter college many years after a first unsuccessful try at higher education. They may have been unsuccessful due to poor study skills; poor preparation for college due to ineffective high schools; lack of discipline; lack of financial or family support; or a combination of several factors.
You don’t have to wait until you are attending a tribal college to learn a Native language. There are now applications for mobile phones for learning Lakota and Navajo from tinkR; Labs.
Navajo Toddler was released last year, and teaches children the words for animals, colors, and phrases. This year the company is preparing to launch the Lakota app with the same features.
MetLife Foundation granted $15,000 this month to continue the MetLife Foundation Tribal College Scholarship Program. Now in its 12th year, this program provides scholarships to Native students attending tribal colleges and universities.
Many Native students are entering health care fields to stem the tide of diabetes that is engulfing Indian Country. However, you don’t have to give in to the thought that diabetes is inevitable just because you are Native. Sure, it’s important for Indian Country to have trained health care workers to treat those who already have been diagnosed with diabetes, but the war on diabetes is best fought with prevention.
Over the weekend the American Indian College Fund held two events at the AIHEC Student Conference. On Saturday night the 33 American Indian College Fund Students of the Year (SOY) were recognized. Also honored was Dr. Verna Fowler (President of College of Menominee Nation) as the TCU President of the Year.
The American Indian College Fund (the Fund) was awarded $50,000 from the Allstate Foundation to provide nine scholarships at $5,000 each for American Indians studying business at a tribal college. Over the last decade, the Allstate Foundation has supported a number of initiatives at the Fund, including scholarships; cultural exchange and leadership development programs
Did you know that 16 of our 33 accredited tribal college presidents are women? These warriors are on the front lines in Indian Country, helping to provide hope, guidance, and inspiration to our young people in their fight against poverty and they honor us every day with their sacred work.
A Menominee high school student in Wisconsin was punished for speaking her Native language there. She was teaching other students how to say specific words, such as “hello,”, “thank you,” and “good bye” in her Native tongue. Her teacher said it was inappropriate because she could not understand what she was saying and therefore could not monitor her speech.
Education was a tool used by the U.S. government to try to assimilate American Indians. This Week in Indian Country’s piece, “Schools for Scandal,” illustrates the history behind U.S. policy to assimilate American Indians in boarding schools. Richard Henry Pratt, a former U.S. Army officer, summed up the government policy in the late 1800s that was carried forward into the early 1900s
