Celebrating the Executive Order are (standing, left to right): David Gipp, Dr. Gerald Monette, Jessie Taken Alive, Tom Short Bull, Lionel Bordeaux, Dr. Francis Becenti, Caleb Shields, Jim Tutt, and Dr. Jim Shanley. Seated are Veronica Gonzales, Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty on Top, Assistant Secretary of Interior Ada Deer, and Faith Roessel.

The 29 tribal colleges in the American Indian Higher Education Consortium began the new year filled with hope. President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order on Oct. 21, 1996, directing agencies of the United States government to create new partnerships with tribal colleges and strengthen old relationships. It was officially announced at the National Congress of American Indians conference in Phoenix. The order culminates a 20 year effort by the colleges and the AIHEC staff.

While the Executive Order does not provide new funds, it provides critical access that has not been available to the tribal colleges in the past. Most federal departments and agencies were not aware that tribal colleges even existed, according to AIHEC. Similar executive orders have resulted in recognition and benefits for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and for Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Those orders were issued in 1978 for the Black institutions and 1990 for the Hispanic-serving.

Several of the tribal colleges were created more than 25 years ago. Yet federal agencies often have overlooked them because of their small size and remote locations. All but five are chartered by American Indian tribes and located on reservations. Federal officials typically believe that the Bureau of Indian Affairs should take care of all Indian issues.

“Our tribal nations have always known that we signed treaties and negotiated agreements with the entire federal government, not just with a single bureau or department,” says Dr. Gerald “Carty” Monette, president of Turtle Mountain Community College (Belcourt, North Dakota). “Policy makers and the American people have grown to believe that the Department of Interior has all the responsibility. This Executive Order will take us beyond that,” says Monette, who also serves as president of AIHEC (Alexandria, Virginia).

“It took a tremendous amount of shoe leather to build relationships with all the departments of the executive department,” according to Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty on Top, president of Little Big Horn College (Crow Agency, Montana). “We had to start with minor officials explaining what a tribal college was and move up through each department to the secretarial level…. Veronica Gonzales is a master at it,” she says. Gonzales is the acting executive director of AIHEC. Pease-Pretty on Top also credits other tribal college presidents for the success, especially Joe McDonald, David Gipp, Dr. Monette, Dr. Jim Shanley, and Lionel Bordeaux. Gipp praised the National Indian Education Association and the National Congress of American Indians for their support. Support came from both sides of the aisle in Congress.