President Joe Biden snaps a selfie with AIHEC student congress leaders.

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) student congress leaders attended the 2024 White House Tribal Nations Summit this week. The summit provided them an opportunity to hear directly from the president of the United States, cabinet officials, and tribal leaders on ways to strengthen tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

The AIHEC student congress comprises student leaders from the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). The students attending this week’s summit included AIHEC student congress president Thurman Lynch from Tohono O’odham Community College, vice president Frankie Wright from Salish Kootenai College, Northwest representative Lisa Aimsback from Blackfeet Community College, and communications officer Jalen Smallcanyon from Diné College.

The students had the opportunity to hear from President Joe Biden, talk with Vice President Kamala Harris, and meet Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. The students also attended an MOU signing between AIHEC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and met other key officials in the federal government.

Vice President Harris addressed the young leaders in her remarks advising them, “You will many times be the only one that looks like you in a room, be it a boardroom, a lecture hall, a meeting room, a congressional hearing. You may be the only one that looks like you in that room. But you always remember you are not in that room alone, that we are all in that room with you, and that when you walk in that room, we expect and demand that you will walk in that room chin up, shoulders back, carrying the voices of all of us who are so proud that you are there and are counting on you to lead.”

“The importance of having our student congress attend events like the White House Tribal Nations Summit helps us prepare them to be leaders and advocates for our tribal nations,” said Ahniwake Rose, AIHEC president and CEO. “The summit provides them the opportunity to directly engage with cabinet officials and staff who are making policy decisions that impact their communities and schools and to ensure student voices are being heard.”

“Attending the White House Tribal Nations Summit was a once in a lifetime opportunity; I never thought this could happen for me. I couldn’t be more grateful,” said AIHEC student congress president Thurman Lynch. “I hope our experience inspires the next generation of student leaders to get involved not only in their Tribal colleges, but their Tribal communities, too.”

Students from TCUs will also have an opportunity to advocate for their institutions to their respective congressional leaders during AIHEC’s annual legislative summit in February of 2025.