Linda Lomahaftewa, a noted painter, has taught at much bigger places than the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). But Lomahaftewa, who is Hopi-Choctaw, and others on the faculty of IAIA are intensely devoted to the mission of this small but unique school. IAIA--the nation's only four-year fine arts institution devoted to American Indian and…

Among Oklahoma's 2,636-member Wichita tribe, octogenarian Doris McLemore is the sole person who fluently speaks the native language. And Terri Parton, president of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, says that makes her both a treasure and an imperiled, cultural linchpin. Developing a coterie of community-based American Indians who are restoring,…

As a student at Whittier College, Robert Jacobo relished learning more about Native American culture through courses in history and anthropology. But it was a business management course that helped him make up his mind about what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. "The professor was also doing some consulting for an Indian tribe," says…

Each year, "Diverse: Issues In Higher Education" publishes lists of the Top 100 producers of associate, bachelor's and graduate degrees awarded to minority students based on research conducted by Dr. Victor M.H. Borden, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the Indiana University Bloomington. This year, Diverse staff…

After two elections and several recounts and court decisions, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has installed a new principal chief for the first time in a dozen years. Unlike his predecessor, Chief Bill John Baker has not opposed descendants of the tribe's former slaves, known as the Cherokee Freedmen, having rights as tribal citizens. That legal…

The ambitious efforts to recruit American Indian males are working, despite an abundance of hurdles, including lack of money to pay for college, few peer and mentor incentives and important family obligations that don't seem to leave much time for pursuits like college. American Indian male enrollment at tribal colleges and universities has risen…

At first glance, Miami University in southwestern Ohio seems an unlikely spot for a major American Indian language and cultural preservation and revitalization project. There are no reservations in the state, nor is there a significant American Indian population. Yet, Miami University houses the Myaamia Project, a unique collaboration between…

High in the hills south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, stands a greenhouse that Luke Reed hopes will help American Indians eat healthier. Reed also recently used the structure, completed in August, to teach a course on greenhouse management to representatives of the nearby Santo Domingo, Cochiti and Santa Clara pueblos. Near the greenhouse, fruit trees…

Indian gaming has proven to be a very good thing for all students in Oklahoma, but particularly tribal college students. It also has proven to be remarkably popular, even in the face of the national recession. The Creek Nation operates several casinos in the state, the main one being the River Spirit in Tulsa. The performance of any gaming varies…

With local lumber mills shutting down, Robert Kenning, an instructor at Salish Kootenai College in western Montana, and the tribe's forestry director, came up with an idea. Kenning landed a $200,000 Department of Agriculture grant in 2010 to explore the possibility of turning logging scraps and smaller trees into chips or pellets that could be…

The governance structure of most American Indian tribes was designed by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the 1930s, and tribes and experts say the systems disadvantaged tribal nations more than they helped. "These governments were not very sophisticated and were often unwieldy, with no provisions for court systems. These systems usually…

For eight decades, students at Southeast Missouri State University, a mid-sized college located on the banks of the Mississippi River in rural, conservative Cape Girardeau, had proudly rooted for its sports teams, the Indians. The old-timers said the name was adopted in the mid-1920s to honor the legacy of American Indians and their warrior…

It's a long, long way from Bay Mills Community College, near the shores of frigid Lake Superior, to Detroit. But distance, time and demographics aside, the school and the city are united by Bay Mills' status as the nation's only tribally controlled college that authorizes quasi-public schools, known officially as public school academies. And it's…

Native Americans have long struggled to battle Hollywood stereotypes, correct the distorted "official" histories found in textbooks and museums and present their stories on their own terms. It is not surprising that a group of Native American scholars and activists is gearing up for an effort to rewrite their history to clarify the true…

Tribal colleges are at the forefront of a communitywide effort to combat suicide with culturally relevant methods. The Wiconi Ohitika project is one of several tribal college and mainstream university efforts to address the high rates of suicide among American Indians. According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide…