Persistence is a characteristic of the tribal college movement, from students, staff, faculty, and administration. Our students impress me; they persist despite the obstacles they encounter. I have much the same story. While I was an undergraduate, tribal colleges did not yet exist. Had they, getting an education would have been much easier. My initial attempts at attending college were at two community colleges in Washington state. At the first, I lasted one quarter. At the second, I lasted a year. Then I transferred to Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, where I earned a BA.

During the summers, I would hitch-hike from Newton to work farm jobs in eastern Washington. After the wheat harvest, I would fight forest fires. At summer’s end, I’d return to Bethel College. During the school year, I worked two part-time jobs during the week and two 10-hour shifts during the weekends at a powdered egg processing plant. I could not eat eggs for many years. After earning a BA, I served in the US Army, then I worked at the Tongue River Boarding School at Busby, Montana. I eventually enrolled at Montana State University in Bozeman, earned an MA, was accepted for doctoral studies, but instead took a job in Anchorage, Alaska. Later, I was accepted in a doctoral program at Boston University where I earned an EdD. My advisors said that grades below a “B” would be failure. What a motivator that was since I’d always been just a so-so student. I was almost overwhelmed by my full-time job and graduate school deadlines.

Then I remembered my Cheyenne ancestors, and their rigorous trek from Indian Territory to Montana during the winter of 1878-1879, and the breakout at Fort Robinson in Nebraska on January 9, 1879. They were imprisoned and denied firewood, food, and water. Then, after days of harsh treatment, they broke out during -40-degree weather. Guards killed Cheyenne children, women, men, and the elderly. Cheyennes fled in weather they were not prepared for and hid from pursuing cavalry. All were massacred at the Last Hole. My ancestors had two closures to their situation—re-imprisonment or death. I too had closures, but imprisonment and death were not among them. When I compared their situation to mine, I realized mine was inconsequential. I would not be killed because of missed deadlines. This realization enabled me to persist and eventually fulfill my job and academic obligations—on time! It was a powerful lesson from our tribal history.

Were it not for the persistence of my Cheyenne people, I would either not be writing this at all or I would be writing it from Indian Territory. I urge all people to read our histories. Our elders still speak to us in that way.

Sincerely,

Richard Littlebear, EdD (Northern Cheyenne)
President, Chief Dull Knife College
Tribal College Journal Advisory Board Member