Many of the founders of AIHEC are still active today. Pictured at the spring 1976 AIHEC board meeting are (sitting, left to right) Sarah Hutchison, D-Q University board; Larry Belgarde, Turtle Mountain Community College president; Arlene Marshall, Cheyenne River Community College board chair; Phyllis Howard, Fort Berthold Community College president; James Hena, Navajo Community College representative; and Tom Short Bull, Oglala Sioux Community College president. Standing, left to right, are Louis LaRose, chairman of Winnebago Tribe and Nebraska satellites; Bill Teogisiak, mayor of Barrow and Inupiat University of the Arctic; Dr. James Shanley, Standing Rock College president; Thomas Atcitty, Navajo Community College president; Lionel Bordeaux, Sinte Gleska College president; and Charles Foote, Little Hoop Community College president. Photo by David Gipp.

Reminiscing abounds when tribal college veterans gather to plan direct mail campaigns, advocacy work, grant programs, and college services. The conversation differs starkly from that of the formative years. Tribal colleges must have really arrived when the “old timers” talk nostalgically about the days two or three decades ago when they struggled for enough dollars to open a college in a BIA-rejected trailer.

Over the past few months, I have talked with a number of tribal college staff, faculty, and senior administrators and asked them for advice they would offer to anyone starting a tribal college.

Nascent tribal colleges arise in a new environment. A presidential executive order requires inclusion of tribal colleges in departmental funding. The Kellogg Foundation’s tribal college initiative requires the rest of the higher education establishment to collaborate with tribal colleges. Congress designated most tribal colleges as land grant institutions, qualifying them for new resources. Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) no longer question the need for tribally controlled community colleges. Tribal colleges initially had to spend a lot of time explaining their missions to skeptical accrediting agencies. Now they are more familiar with the differences; indeed they have accredited many tribal colleges at the maximum levels.

Once tribal governments provided a charter and good wishes. Now they have discretionary funds and in some cases provide crucial assistance to start colleges. Twenty-five years ago, few tribal members were educated to teach at the college level, and few had the slightest idea how to manage a college. Today shortages remain but an increasing number of tribal members have the preparation to administer and teach at the college level.

Of course, the changing situation has its own challenges. Both students and outsiders expect more now of the tribal colleges than in the late 1960s and 1970s when Diné College and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) founders started. Accreditation requirements are stricter because of federally imposed accountability. Students have more mobility than in the old days. Today’s students expect computers; their predecessors thought pencils were nice. They expect financial assistance, tutoring, extra-curricular activities, and comfortable buildings—the early students wore gloves in class and brought wood for the fireplace. While these are not unreasonable expectations for students to have, they make starting a new college harder.

Imbedded in the memories of the elders are many thoughts that can serve new generations of college builders as they plan how to meet their mission without getting distracted down under paths.

Community development.  How should a tribal college or university prioritize when there are so many needs in the community. Most of the older colleges began as junior colleges in concept but quickly found themselves mired in trying to create jobs while establishing the academic credibility of the college. In retrospect, many felt that what they did was necessary but pulled them away from the main purpose of the college—to provide a sound education. Sometimes the demands of community development relegated academics to the background and even required diversion of academic funding. Academics need to come first, and then community development can follow. This was a difficult lesson. Some tribal colleges managed to achieve a balance while others diverted the majority of their resources and employees to working on non-college, non-academic tasks.

Grant opportunities v. core mission. Federal and private grant initiatives are tempting, but chasing them can distract a college from its core mission. Years ago, one reservation had a high concentration of licensed welders because the federal jobs programs were funding welders. However, there were no welding jobs on the reservation. The students followed the funding to nowhere. I heard many similar anecdotes about the problems created when colleges tried to meet every student and tribal need. Colleges must keep their eyes on their missions and goals when they choose programs. By pursuing everything, they over extended the limited personnel, and good people burned out. The tribal college veterans recommend keeping your eye on the prize. Create a college for the seven generations to come, not one that is only opportunistic.

Cultural focus. Each of the people interviewed agreed that tribal culture must be the core of the college. Tribal and Indian studies should be integrated within the curriculum of all programs despite the inclination to avoid this extra effort. Some felt they had forgotten this in the scramble to survive. They hoped the newer tribal colleges would never consider tribal studies peripheral to the college. When courses are offered for credit, they need to conform to college standards. A few of the people I talked with said it was difficult to maintain freedom of inquiry when some tribal members demanded that faculty teach tribal traditions as doctrine. Cultural activities do not have to be credit bearing; other activities include, for example, pow wows, beading classes, and eagle feathers awarded to graduates. Several indicated the importance of a good cultural orientation for new faculty. They need to understand the tribal mission and support it even if they are not members of the tribe. One person said that tribal members needed cultural orientation, too.

Collaboration with mainstream universities. When the tribal college movement began, the two kinds of institutions did not even use the same vocabulary. The atmosphere has changed, and non-Indian institutions frequently approach tribal colleges with offers of collaboration. “Can we include you in the grant?” The answer should be, “Yes, but only if it meets our needs and returns something to the college.” The trick for tribal colleges is to make sure that a grant created by a state institution, for instance, provides a fair and reasonable role for the tribal college. Larger institutions can provide planning assistance, often are willing to offer their degrees on the tribal campus, and can assist in a myriad of other ways. It is fairly easy to create a win-win situation. For example, the University of North Dakota offers an elementary teacher education degree in cooperation with Fort Berthold Community College on the tribal college campus (see TCJ, Vol. XI, N.2, pp. 26-27.)

However, several mentioned how easy it was to over-extend personnel when collaborating. Colleges should not just jump at whatever the mainstream institutions offer. One tribal college found that its collaboration agreement was inequitable, requiring it to supply space and a coordinator while the university received the operating costs, salaries, and enrollment. Even if the university is the actual director of the grant, it should consider sharing expenses.

Accreditation. This requirement is controversial for some tribal colleges. Some see accreditation as a kind of cultural imposition and believe that a separate tribal college accrediting agency is needed, as indicated in an earlier article in the Tribal College Journal (Vol. V, N.4, pp. 25-28). They assert that accreditation requirements may force tribal colleges to become not-so-pale imitations of dominant society colleges. They are concerned that meeting all of the requirements for math, etc. threatens tribal studies and the need for tribal cultural emphases. Some have suggested a separate tribal college accrediting agency.

At this time, however, all agree that outside accreditation is necessary because funding and student transfers are tied to it. Of equal importance, accreditation is important to many of our own people, who prefer the credibility gained by meeting the same standards as mainstream colleges. The standards for accreditation imposed by the regional agencies can become opportunities to emphasize and validate tribal college missions. Accreditation visits should not be seen as just an intrusion. They provide a means to assess achievement and plan improvements. Accreditors’ recommendations often help educate the community about how colleges have different needs than K-12 schools.

Gregory Gagnon: Academics need to come first, and then community development can follow.

Conclusion

Tribal college veterans are the most optimistic college people in the United States. Amidst the litany of doom and despair chanted by mainstream academics, tribal college folk remain hopeful. They do not dwell on the past. “Students are better prepared than they used to be.” “Faculty are teaching better, with better preparation.” “New buildings will be there when we need them.” “Our goal is to become a university.” “We are meeting the needs of our people and helping Indian people gain a better life.” “Indian people can take pride in what they have achieved and will continue to achieve.”

Of course these optimists have day to day frustrations. They are wary of politicians that want to terminate the trust responsibility and the federal responsibility for education. They worry about new tribal elections. They are concerned about student needs. But none of these concerns puncture their bright bubble.

Tribal colleges are not just community colleges located on reservations. They are one of the many signs of positive change in Indian Country. By learning from our 33-year history, tribal colleges can continue to provide a cultural environment where Indian students become tribal citizens contributing to a tribal community.

Greg Gagnon (Bad River Chippewa) received his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. Prior to joining the faculty of the Indian Studies Department at the University of North Dakota, he was an academic vice president and faculty member at Oglala Lakota College from 1981-1997. Since 1985, he has been a North Central Association consultant evaluator. Currently he directs a teacher recruitment project involving UND, Turtle Mountain Community College, and Fort Berthold Community College. He has published articles in several journals and has written studies of contemporary tribal government and federal policy.

For more information about cultural curriculum and accreditation, see TCJ, Vol. IX, N. 2, pp. 11-15.