After serving more than 20 years as president of Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) in Montana, President Carole Falcon-Chandler leaves behind a long list of accomplishments, a legacy of compassionate and visionary leadership. This article examines President Falcon-Chandler's life and contributions to the college and that of her successor, Dr. Sean…

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (NHSC) in North Dakota is a tribal college chartered by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation to serve as the agency responsible for higher education on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in order to train tribal members and retain tribal cultures. With the preservation and revitalization of tribal culture…

Many areas of the United States still fall short of digital equity and inclusion, defined as the ability of individuals to access and use information and communication technologies to participate fully in society, democracy, and the economy. This is especially true in Montana, the authors' rural state. Only 63.6 percent of Montana citizens have…

American Indians account for roughly 2% of the United States population. Yet with only four Natives in the House of Representatives and no Native senators, representation in Congress is roughly half of what it would be if it was proportional to the overall Native population (Wang, 2010). Compounding the lack of government representation on a…

In 1862, the U.S. House of representatives granted land to states for the express purpose of supporting the development of public universities. In turn, states were given the responsibility for providing the land upon which these universities would be built, as well as contributing monetarily to their ongoing development. Known as the Morrill Act,…

For several years there has been a movement to protect Chaco Canyon from the effects of fracking, yet it was not until 2022 that Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland imposed a ban on fracking within a 10-mile radius of Chaco. But Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and a coalition of Navajos who own land allotments within the 10-mile…

Canada has long been a colonial country and an extractive economy. In the 20th century, with the adoption of multiculturalism and a global peace keeping mission, the country seemed to embrace a new ethos. However, Canada remains deeply colonial and, in spite of a judiciary that since the repatriation of the Constitution in 1982, increasingly…

Engineering schools have been unable to recruit and retain Native American students at the same rate as other students. Consequently, the Native American representation in engineering has been declining over the years in Arizona, even though the state ranks third in the number of degrees earned in the US by Native Americans. To understand the…

This research study focuses on finding the key to success for Indigenous students pursuing a university degree at a mainstream institution of higher education. The subject groups are students who are currently attending a mainstream university, mainstream university dropouts, and mainstream university graduates. Successful graduates who have been…

For many American Indian citizens, especially those in rural reservation communities, a number of circumstances diminish the standard of living and the prospects for cultivating Native ways of knowing for a better future. One possible pathway to ensure that future is through a partnership between tribes, universities, and tribal colleges and…

There is a pressing need for American Indian and Native Alaskan professionals who have the preparation necessary to address the quality of life and natural resource issues in Native communities. We assert that universities should adopt proactive strategies that build pathways for Natives to obtain advanced degrees.

Recent perspectives on Indigenous health have recognized language, culture, and values as central to well-being and recovery from historical trauma. Health coalitions, which identify community health concerns and mobilize members to implement strategies for change, have begun to shift their focus from programs to policy, systems, and environmental…

By all appearances, Montana's Fort Belknap fits the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) definition of a food desert perfectly. There are no supermarkets on the 1,000-square-mile reservation. Most residents of this Indian reservation, especially those living on the southern end of the reservation, must drive long distances to buy…

Students at Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) are determined to utilize their education to help combat the looming climate change crisis and the effects it will have on their Fort Belknap community. Children at ANC's White Clay Immersion School have built their own weather station and created an Aaniiin language book on climate change for elementary…

There is a human rights crisis in Indian Country. This crisis--one of many--is the result of an almost universal lack of legal representation of Native people when they appear as defendants in tribal courts. The lack of lay advocates and attorneys representing Native defendants creates tremendous problems for tribal members who find themselves in…