Tribal colleges and universities
[7] Federally recognized tribes wanted to have more control over the education of their children and ways to pass on their culture, and develop contemporary skills to build economic capacity.
These provide access to post-secondary education, accredited degrees, and vocational training for both Indian and non-Indian students in many rural areas.
Since the 1990s, the movement to place greater emphasis on culturally appropriate education specific to Native Americans has also helped boost enrollment.
This executive order was signed to address the high drop out rate, to help close the achievement gap between AI/AN students and their non-native peers, while also preserving and revitalizing Native languages.
"[17] In 2017 Ahmed Al-Asfour and Suzanne Young conducted a survey study of the professional development needs of faculty at TCUs.
They receive financial support only from the federal government, chiefly through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and remain chronically underfunded.
They say that faculty development should focus on training the non-native staff in regard to Native American culture, to better serve their population of students.
[18] Research done by Carol Ward, Kacey Widdison Jones, Ryan Coles, Loren Rich, Stan Knapp and Robert Madsen at Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC) found that AI/AN students had a special need for direct culturally sensitive mentoring and social support.
[20] Implementers of these programs have already begun to see small achievements, such as more often hearing greetings and other exchanges on campus taking place in native languages.
[20][21] Duran, Magarati, Parker, Egashira, and Kipp[22] conducted a web-based survey of 340 students, faculty and staff to better understand how TCU members perceived drug and alcohol problems and their readiness to address these issues, with results published in 2013.
[22] TCUs have been able to gain grants to enhance academic achievement by addressing alcohol and drug needs on campuses and continuing to study them.
[22] Duran et al. argue "these are the first steps to develop a culturally appropriate and sustainable alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention strategy for TCUs, which in turn enhances post-secondary academic success among Native students".
Through AIHEC, the colleges continue to work together to influence policy and build programs in all facets of higher education.
AIHEC provides leadership and influences public policy on American Indian and Alaska Native higher education issues through advocacy, research, and programmatic initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities, lands, and tribal nations; and through its unique position, serves member institutions and emerging TCUs.
In 1994, TCLI received a grant from the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to expand the program in order to include librarians from all AIHEC-affiliated libraries.
Other funding sources have included businesses and foundations such as EBSCO and the Paul G. Allen Foundation, and academic and governmental sources, such as the MSU Center for Native American Studies, the National Agriculture Library, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
In 2012, TCLI convened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in conjunction with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) annual conference, through IMLS funding.
It provides a forum for tribal students, staff, faculty, and college administrators to discuss their needs, successes, and missions.
Paul Boyer founded the journal after traveling among tribal colleges for a study, and realizing there was no central forum for them to share information about their programs.
[32][33] The program was established to commemorate the generous donation given in the mid-19th century by members of the Choctaw to the Irish people during the Great Famine.
Signed by President Clinton on October 19, 1996, this Executive Order was put into place for the purposes of helping to : (a) ensure that tribal colleges and universities are more fully recognized as accredited institutions, have access to the opportunities afforded other institutions, and have Federal resources committed to them on a continuing basis; (b) establish a mechanism that will increase accessibility of Federal resources for tribal colleges and universities in tribal communities; (c) promote access to high-quality educational opportunity for economically disadvantaged students; (d) promote the preservation and the revitalization of American Indian and Alaska Native languages and cultural traditions; (e) explore innovative approaches to better link tribal colleges with early childhood, elementary, and secondary education programs; and (f) support the National Education Goals.
[35] Executive Order 13096, signed by President Clinton on August 6, 1998, states that "The Federal Government has a special, historic responsibility for the education of American Indian and Alaska Native students.
The Federal government is committed to improving the academic performance and reducing the dropout rate of American Indian and Alaska Native students.
To help fulfill this commitment in a manner consistent with tribal traditions and cultures, Federal agencies need to focus special attention on six goals: (1) improving reading and mathematics; (2) increasing high school completion and post-secondary attendance rates; (3) reducing the influence of long-standing factors that impede educational performance, such as poverty and substance abuse; (4) creating strong, safe, and drug-free school environments; (5) improving science education; and (6) expanding the use of educational technology."
They serve the Māori community and in the case of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi confer degrees up to a doctoral level.
