Thank You for Making Our 2009 Flame of Hope Gala A Success!

You proved neither, rain, nor sleet nor 18 inches of snow could stop you from turning out to celebrate the American Indian College Fund’s 20 years of dedication to American Indian education. Our supporters, students, and tribal college officials turned out to show their commitment to the miracles that tribal colleges are producing all across Indian country. The 20th Anniversary Flame of Hope Gala was a success despite the snowstorm that raged across Colorado October 28.

Thank you for showing your outstanding commitment to ensure the success of American Indians nationwide, the success of tribal colleges, and helping to change lives.

Gearing up to Celebrate 20 Years of Our Mission

This Wednesday marks our 20th anniversary Flame of Hope Gala. We are thrilled to be celebrating our 20 years in a beautiful venue with top-notch entertainment, our supporters, our tribal college leaders, and our students, and hope that our readers will be joining us at the Seward Ballroom of the Colorado Center for the Performing Arts at 6 p.m. on October 28.

But more importantly, I am excited to be marking 20 years of success and educating American Indian students, helping them to achieve their dreams. Thanks to your support, you have made more than 70,000 scholarships possible!

As we celebrate Wednesday night, it isn't about the food, the music, and how long the organization has been around. We are celebrating each and every student's success who has earned a scholarship and worked towards a better future for themselves, their family, and their community, while overcoming huge obstacles.

The American Indian College Fund and those who share its commitment to its mission salute each and every one of our current students and graduates.

Countdown to Our 20th Anniversary Celebration!

It's less than a week away, and we hope to see you there. The Empress of Soul, Ms. Gladys Knight, will be performing, and we will be joined by people from across the nation that support American Indian education.

We hope you will join us to celebrate how far we have come--the American Indian College Fund has provided more than 70,000 scholarships! But we also hope you will join us because we still have a lot to do--more than 25% of American Indians live below the national poverty line, and an education is the proven way to lift entire communities out of poverty.

As we embark on our next 20 years of educating the mind and spirit, we hope you will join us. For ticket and event information, visit our web site.

20th anniversary Flame of Hope Gala

It's not too late! Tickets are still available for the Fund's 20th anniversary Flame of Hope gala!

It promises to be a special evening with a performance by Gladys Knight, inspirational messages from our tribal college students and presidents, and more!

To get your tickets now, visit www.collegefund.org

Guest Blogger: Thinking Indian

My name is Jennifer DeVerney and I work at Herzing University as an Intern and Employer Outreach Specialist with the Career Services Department. I am a proud member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians located from Manistee, Michigan.

I have worked really hard to get to where I am today, and have been blessed to hold a career in education where I help change people’s lives on a daily basis regardless of their race. To “Think Indian” means so much more than just casinos, feathers, reservations, or pow wows. What “Think Indian” means to me is to know your culture, live it, take part in it, and be grateful and proud of your ancestry. In addition it means to be respectful, friendly, and courteous to your fellow man or woman.

Every day I strive to be the best example I can be to my children, co-workers, friends, family, and to our next generation. Being Native American allows me to hold my head up high and be proud of the many accomplishments of our people as well as my own. It is my identity, who I am, and no one can take that away from me.

Jennifer DeVerney
Internship & Employer Outreach Specialist, Herzing University

College Fund on the airwaves

American Indian College Fund President and CEO Richard B. Williams and Casey Lozar, Director of Corporate and Tribal Relations, will appear on Colorado and Company on Channel 9, KUSA-TV in Denver on Thursday, September 24, from 10-11 a.m.

American Indians Are Still Here-Guest Blog

We will be running a series of guest blogs about what it means to “Think Indian” in today’s world. This week we will run the first of our guest blogs. “Thinking Indian” is not just a slogan or idea put out by the American Indian College Fund. “Thinking Indian” is how people in the Native community live their lives and strike the balance between their lives as Indian people and mainstream society in college, in family life, and in the workplace. We welcome your stories and look forward to hearing from you! Please send your submissions, 200 words or less, to dhorwedel@collegefund.org

I embrace this opportunity to write about my challenges in mainstream academic institutions. Recently I was walking down the hall in a building on campus when I noticed a big sign over a bulletin board displaying in large letters the word “Diversity.” I stopped for a look.

Upon examination of the board I noticed the board contained a world map, greetings in many languages, and student organizations which represented all but one race. The missing race was American Indians. It made me think for a minute or two about whether or not the termination and assimilation policies of the U.S. federal government had been successful in convincing non-Natives that American Indians are gone. But more likely, it is the case my current academic institution is unaware of American Indians because the state has no federally recognized Indian tribes.

Nevertheless, there are both graduate and undergraduate American Indian student organizations on campus, and the absence of American Indians on this department’s bulletin board is merely a naive mistake; although, often the pedagogy and heuristics of history, government, and politics treat American Indians the same as the aforementioned department bulletin board. I believe it is important as a student to connect with the local Indian community in order to gain the balance necessary for success in big mainstream academic institutions. It has been important to me.

Jason Oberle
2010 Masters in Public Affairs candidate
Read Jason's American Indian Policy Blog