In North America, and worldwide, Indigenous languages are disappearing at an alarming rate. There are, however, models of success for language revitalization in immersion language programs, usually found in tribal colleges and universities. Whether the language learners are tribal college students greeting one another in their native language,…

Ojibwemotaadidaa Omaa Gidakiiminaang (let's speak Ojibwe to one another here on our Earth) is an Ojibwe language immersion program funded by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC, Cloquet, MN) and with grants from the State of Minnesota. With a development team that included FDLTCC President Larry Anderson, among others, participants…

In 1996, faculty at Sitting Bull College (SBC, Fort Yates, North Dakota) developed its Environmental Science (ENS) Program, basing it on the scientific method and techniques students would need for employment in environmental technician positions with local and tribal agencies. Over the course of 15 years, this employment-based training evolved…

In this article, the author describes the Summer Leadership Conference which was sponsored by the AIHEC Student Congress (ASC) and held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) on June 24-27, 2010. This was the third year that IAIA has hosted the conference. Tribal college students chose the theme "Red Movement:…

Why would anyone want to spend thousands of hours away from home and pay hundreds of dollars in tuition to acquire one of the world's most difficult languages? For Anishinaabe people, that is an easy question to answer. The Ojibwe language is the thread that ties communities together and unites all Anishinaabe as one people sharing a common…

This article reports on the re-emergence of some historic films from the '60s which creates excitement amongst Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe people and inspires them to launch a project to digitize and edit the old media. The "Audio Visual Production Project" began to take shape in the fall of 2006 when the tribal vice chairman, Rusty Barber,…

The problems many Indian children experience in schools-- low academic achievement, absenteeism, high drop-out rates-- cannot be solved by any one individual. Instead, it requires action by the entire school system and, especially, greater leadership by Indians themselves. Tribes must become partners in the process of school reform and become…

The article offers the author's comments on the Niitsitapi Education Program initiated by Red Crow Community College in Canada. The program was aimed at promoting Kainai knowledge and culture as the basis for student learning. The program was widely appreciated by students as well as their parents. It was harder than the regular teaching program…

Describes the American Indians in Mathematics (AIM) project developed by Montana State University's Center for Native American Studies and Mathematics Department. The AIM summer program uses new technologies and teaching methods and focused mentoring to create learning communities in classrooms, schools, and reservations. Discusses AIM's…

Describes Turtle Mountain Community College's week-long College for Kids for students entering grades three through eight. Younger and older students engaged in separate activities designed to increase student knowledge of the indigenous plants, water, and insects in the region. Offers a day-by-day summary of activities. (DMM)

Describes Saskatchewan Indian Federated College's preprofessional, university-level science program and its focus on building math and science skills and on Indian culture, traditional medicine, current and future health care needs, and the goals of Indian people. Reports departmentwide enrollment increases. (DMM)

Describes the nursing program at Salish Kootenai College, focusing on recruitment, retention, individual curriculum plans, remedial/refresher courses in math and science, staffing, clinical practica, student responses, and funding. (DMM)

Describes the growth of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College's science and technology programs through grants which have funded new faculty positions, the construction of new science and computer facilities, 16 computers, and the implementation of long-distance learning systems. (DMM)

Describes Sinte Gleska University's Human Services Program, which offers associate and baccalaureate programs to train midlevel human service professionals (i.e., criminal justice and mental health/social workers) within a reservation context. Describes program outcomes. Stresses the need for training to serve culturally different persons in the…

Describes individual, community, organizational, and college examples of efforts to promote sobriety and recovery from alcoholism among Native Americans. Discusses a sobriety movement tenet that alcoholism threatens the entire tribe and requires collective action. Highlights links with a broader movement for spiritual and cultural renewal. (DMM)