Today marks the national observation of Martin Luther King Day. The American Indian College Fund is closed to observe the life of this great leader, but I wanted to write to commemorate not just the life of King, but the life of all great leaders, including our American Indian leaders, who have worked hard to ensure that all Americans have the right to share in the American dream.
The Civil Rights movement gave rise to a new generation of people believing that they had the right to achieve their dreams, and that they could. Those beliefs gave way to reality. Our tribal college movement was born in that time, in 1968, at Dine College in Tsaile, Arizona.
King was tireless in his work to propel his people forward, and to propel all people of color forward. I honor him today, as well as those others that were not so well-known, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes on behalf of their people to create a better future for them through better education, better health care, and better opportunities for civic engagement.
Thank you, Dr. King, and thank you, all of you leaders, past and present, who continue in the spirit of our great leaders and Dr. King.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Reflections on Change
In today's world an education is necessary more than ever. The economy is global, competition for jobs comes from outside our country's borders, and nothing is certain. The same is true in Indian country.
For our people to survive and flourish, we need to educate our next generation of leaders. Our people need to be educated not just in traditional subjects, but also Indian leadership, Indian traditions, our languages, and more.
But an education is not enough. Indian people know that we also need a good heart, dedication to making decisions that are the right ones for our people, and the support and encouragement of those people to lead the way.
Tribal colleges are the proving grounds of both an education and training and education in the Indian way. Students can test themselves academically, socially, and spiritually at a tribal college.
The American Indian College Fund has researched the financial needs of our students and has determined that there is $50 million in unmet need at our tribal colleges. To ensure that our people have the skills and education they need to meet the changes of the future, we have committed to raising more funding to be able to double the amount of scholarships that we award to our students.
The Fund is committed to facilitating education for our people in these changing times.
I encourage anyone thinking of an education to pursue that goal. Our leaders knew the importance of education and training, and although the forum is different today, tribal colleges are the institutions that enable students to get a first-rate education, the Indian way.
For our people to survive and flourish, we need to educate our next generation of leaders. Our people need to be educated not just in traditional subjects, but also Indian leadership, Indian traditions, our languages, and more.
But an education is not enough. Indian people know that we also need a good heart, dedication to making decisions that are the right ones for our people, and the support and encouragement of those people to lead the way.
Tribal colleges are the proving grounds of both an education and training and education in the Indian way. Students can test themselves academically, socially, and spiritually at a tribal college.
The American Indian College Fund has researched the financial needs of our students and has determined that there is $50 million in unmet need at our tribal colleges. To ensure that our people have the skills and education they need to meet the changes of the future, we have committed to raising more funding to be able to double the amount of scholarships that we award to our students.
The Fund is committed to facilitating education for our people in these changing times.
I encourage anyone thinking of an education to pursue that goal. Our leaders knew the importance of education and training, and although the forum is different today, tribal colleges are the institutions that enable students to get a first-rate education, the Indian way.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Resolving to Make A Difference
If you resolved to make a difference in the world around you, to help others to achieve their education goals and succeed, then the American Indian College Fund is an organization suited to your giving style.
The American Indian College Fund is the oldest nonprofit in the country dedicated to providing scholarship assistance to American Indian students and assisting the country's more than 30 tribal colleges.
And if you are an American Indian thinking of entering college this year, and would like to continue your education this year, then I urge you to apply for a scholarship with the American Indian College Fund.
Whether you are a donor or a student, your dedication to education--either your education or someone else's--is making a difference in Indian country.
The American Indian College Fund is the oldest nonprofit in the country dedicated to providing scholarship assistance to American Indian students and assisting the country's more than 30 tribal colleges.
And if you are an American Indian thinking of entering college this year, and would like to continue your education this year, then I urge you to apply for a scholarship with the American Indian College Fund.
Whether you are a donor or a student, your dedication to education--either your education or someone else's--is making a difference in Indian country.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Language and Culture Empower Our Youth
I want to thank a reader of Money magazine who wrote that he was shocked by our ad campaign, "If I Stay on the Rez." He noted "This ad does such a disservice it's impossible for me to comprehend why you would encourage Indian youth to learn in their native language, whatever that may be. English is the language of this country, whether you like it or not. Business is conducted in English. And so is biology." He went on to note that Indian youth should be taught their native tongues while they are growing up, but should study English while in college, and should be encouraged to leave the reservation.
Letters like this that help us understand the misconceptions people have about tribal colleges and the important work we have yet to do to educate the populace. Tribal colleges are institutions where students learn English, math, and computer science alongside their traditional languages, much like students study Russian, French, Spanish, or German in college. The difference, of course, is that native languages are not foreign languages, they are our own. When we study our languages we are not doing so as the children of immigrants searching for our roots or desiring to communicate with outsiders—we are celebrating our identities as indigenous people, and re-learning or studying in depth what was forbidden, suppressed, or taken from us.
Regardless of the reason one studies another language, studies show that people who grow up bilingual—no matter what the language—perform better on standardized academic tests, such as the ACT, SAT, LSAT, and GMAT. These same studies show that people who speak their own culture's language perform better overall in academics.
Language has been a political issue worldwide. Since the beginning of humankind, language has been a tool of power. Language is a reflection of a dominant culture’s mores and beliefs, and law codifies it. But when people speak their own language along with a dominant language, monoglots sometimes feel threatened. This is why, of course, the U.S. government forbade Indian children from speaking their languages when they were shipped to boarding schools. It is also why many languages disappeared or went underground in Africa and South and Central America when European nations colonized those continents.
If language is power, imagine what studying one’s own language does for our Indian students. It empowers students, gives them pride in their culture, gives them a sense of past, present, and future. Our languages are the language of this country just as much as English is. Indian people negotiated treaties and forms of government that our country’s Constitution used as a model. Our language is stamped on the country, indelibly, in the names of states, rivers, and mountains: Connecticut, Mississippi, Niobrara. Our land is a living entity, and it whispers our language and breathes our spirit. This is what tribal colleges teach: how to proudly navigate the worlds around us and the languages of those worlds. We belong in the world of our ancestors every bit as much as we belong in the world of the present. Tribal colleges graduate doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and scientists, who stay or return home to the reservation to make a better life for their people, and passing on the tradition of success. Yes, we are Americans, we are the first Americans, and we are proud of that and of our country. But this does not mean we are not proud of being citizens of other nations, too. Just like any American can hold dual citizenship with a country in Europe and speak more than one language, we can, and do, as well.
Our country is founded on the principles of diversity as espoused in the Confederacy of the Iroquois, as the French called the six nations of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras. This diversity is enshrined in our Constitution. Our tribal colleges, like the Constitution, celebrate that diversity, our cultural strengths, and our accomplishments. Like language, diversity brings power and strength. It is our country’s foundation, and it is its future.
Letters like this that help us understand the misconceptions people have about tribal colleges and the important work we have yet to do to educate the populace. Tribal colleges are institutions where students learn English, math, and computer science alongside their traditional languages, much like students study Russian, French, Spanish, or German in college. The difference, of course, is that native languages are not foreign languages, they are our own. When we study our languages we are not doing so as the children of immigrants searching for our roots or desiring to communicate with outsiders—we are celebrating our identities as indigenous people, and re-learning or studying in depth what was forbidden, suppressed, or taken from us.
Regardless of the reason one studies another language, studies show that people who grow up bilingual—no matter what the language—perform better on standardized academic tests, such as the ACT, SAT, LSAT, and GMAT. These same studies show that people who speak their own culture's language perform better overall in academics.
Language has been a political issue worldwide. Since the beginning of humankind, language has been a tool of power. Language is a reflection of a dominant culture’s mores and beliefs, and law codifies it. But when people speak their own language along with a dominant language, monoglots sometimes feel threatened. This is why, of course, the U.S. government forbade Indian children from speaking their languages when they were shipped to boarding schools. It is also why many languages disappeared or went underground in Africa and South and Central America when European nations colonized those continents.
If language is power, imagine what studying one’s own language does for our Indian students. It empowers students, gives them pride in their culture, gives them a sense of past, present, and future. Our languages are the language of this country just as much as English is. Indian people negotiated treaties and forms of government that our country’s Constitution used as a model. Our language is stamped on the country, indelibly, in the names of states, rivers, and mountains: Connecticut, Mississippi, Niobrara. Our land is a living entity, and it whispers our language and breathes our spirit. This is what tribal colleges teach: how to proudly navigate the worlds around us and the languages of those worlds. We belong in the world of our ancestors every bit as much as we belong in the world of the present. Tribal colleges graduate doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and scientists, who stay or return home to the reservation to make a better life for their people, and passing on the tradition of success. Yes, we are Americans, we are the first Americans, and we are proud of that and of our country. But this does not mean we are not proud of being citizens of other nations, too. Just like any American can hold dual citizenship with a country in Europe and speak more than one language, we can, and do, as well.
Our country is founded on the principles of diversity as espoused in the Confederacy of the Iroquois, as the French called the six nations of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras. This diversity is enshrined in our Constitution. Our tribal colleges, like the Constitution, celebrate that diversity, our cultural strengths, and our accomplishments. Like language, diversity brings power and strength. It is our country’s foundation, and it is its future.
Monday, December 10, 2007
A Time to Give
The holidays are a traditional time of giving: to family members, friends, and philanthropic causes. American Indians have a long history of philanthropy. Generosity in the Native community was demonstrated by holding a giveaway or a potlatch. And a person's value was measured not by what they owned, but what they gave away.
I would like to take this time to thank all of our donors for their gifts of money, time, and the gift of caring. Your efforts make a difference in our students' lives, and that difference changes lives and communities.
If you haven't already given this year, I would like to ask you to consider a gift to the American Indian College Fund. The impact we make is large, and is causing a transformation in Indian country as more people see education as a way to make a better life for themselves, their family, and their communities. But as more students are eager to go to school, there is more unmet need.
We look forward to welcoming you into the American Indian College Fund family!
I would like to take this time to thank all of our donors for their gifts of money, time, and the gift of caring. Your efforts make a difference in our students' lives, and that difference changes lives and communities.
If you haven't already given this year, I would like to ask you to consider a gift to the American Indian College Fund. The impact we make is large, and is causing a transformation in Indian country as more people see education as a way to make a better life for themselves, their family, and their communities. But as more students are eager to go to school, there is more unmet need.
We look forward to welcoming you into the American Indian College Fund family!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Chrysalis
The author at age 18.
I received a letter from Ann Marie Donoghue from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center about this painting, A Young Oglala Sioux, painted by the artist James Bama. I was the subject in the painting, which is currently on view in the Coe Auditorium Gallery. Prior to that, it was displated in the Kriendler Gallery of Contemporary Art, a gallery inside the Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
Seeing this painting again after so many years reminds me that from adolescence to young adulthood, a person is coming into his own. He is learning about who he is, how he fits into the world, what talents the creator has gifted him with, and how he can contribute those gifts to the world.
Chrysalis is a word derived from Latin for the gold-colored pupa of butterflies, denoted as the “sheltered stage of being or growth.” When I look back on this painting, I think of the golden years of youth.
Sadly, for many of our young Indian people, there is no sheltered golden time to learn, grow, or determine what their gifts might be. They are often responsible for young children or family members, and the grinding demand of providing food and shelter for their families and themselves engulf their days. Young Indian people live in some of the poorest areas of the country, and the opportunity to go to college for higher intellectual and spiritual growth is a luxury that few can afford.
As we enter the season of giving, my fervent wish is that all of our young Indian people can fulfill the purpose that the creator intended.
All young people should have the luxury of holding dear and nurturing a dream, giving birth to that dream as it emerges from the chrysalis to fly, spreading beauty and hope. I hope that you will help spread the gift of hope this holiday season.
Monday, November 19, 2007
A Lot to Be Thankful For...
We at the Fund have a lot to be thankful for this year. Our individual, corporate, and foundation supporters are stepping up to the plate to help American Indian students achieve their goals and dreams. We are seeing our graduates go on to successful and fulfilling careers. And we are seeing tribal colleges expand their offerings and increasing their support to their communities in many capacities as educators and community centers.
As we enter this period of reflection and thanks across the nation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who care enough to make a difference in your communities and with the American Indian community.
As we enter this period of reflection and thanks across the nation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who care enough to make a difference in your communities and with the American Indian community.
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