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…

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…

Research findings have shown that Native students succeed academically when culture is integrated into the school (Apthorp, 2014). However, most teachers working on reservations are non- Native and have limited knowledge of American Indian history (Martinez, 2013). Moreover, there is a gap in the literature about effective cultural integration…

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…

People around the world watched scenes unfold at Standing Rock as Indigenous people and their allies protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). One of the men at the center of all of this has been Standing Rock tribal chairman Dave Archambault II. Interviewed time and again on radio and television, Archambault called for prayer and…

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…

On the shores of Lake Superior, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), a small cluster of Ojibwa (also known as Chippewa), keep their fires alive in the face of daunting pressures to let go of their ways. After the ravages of war, colonization, and territorial loss, KBIC continues to make a stand for their people and future generations. Their…

The present generation of American Indian, college-aged young adults are by their own accord fulfilling the "prophecy of the Seventh Generation." According to this prophecy, after seven generations of living in close contact with Europeans, young tribal descendants who are growing up today will find ways to bring back their culture and…

The purpose of this research project was to understand the food environment of the Fort Totten community on the Spirit Lake reservation in east-central North Dakota, as perceived by tribal members and employees at Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC). According to a 2010 report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the food…