Although 39 federally recognized American Indian tribes are headquartered in the state of Oklahoma, it comes as some surprise that there were no tribal colleges in the state until this century. During the past eight years, however, tribal colleges have been cropping up throughout the state, including the Comanche Nation College, the College of the Muscogee Nation, the Pawnee Nation College, and most recently, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College. This article features the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College (CATC), a tribal college located on the campus of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) in the city of Weatherford. CATC was created out of the need to preserve the native language of the Cheyenne tribe. The tiny college, which Cheyenne and Arapaho chief Lawrence Hart admits has a lot of "ifs" associated with its survival, has a definite edge. That edge comes in the form of Dr. Henrietta Mann, newly inaugurated college president. Mann, of the Cheyenne tribe, is a well-known powerhouse in Indian education circles. A native of Hammon, Oklahoma, Mann earned a bachelor's at SWOSU. Mann also holds the first endowed chair in Native American studies at Montana State University. She is also the author of Cheyenne-Arapaho Education, 1871-1982.