A Place of Hope and Healing: Culturally Relevant Teacher Education at a Tribal College

This article draws upon original research about a teacher education program at a Tribal College located in rural Montana that integrates culturally relevant pedagogy across its coursework and clinical experiences while calling attention to widespread trauma in Native communities based on a history of forced assimilation. We end with recommendations for how all teacher education programs can better prepare candidates to work in Native American schools and communities.

AS TRIBAL COLLEGES NOS ESTADOS UNIDOS

Este artigo tem como objetivo descrever a organização do sistema educacional dos Estados Unidos caracterizando como a rede das Tribal Colleges se estrutura em tal sistema, bem como identificar significados dado a tal rede naquele contexto sociocultural. Trata-se de uma pesquisa documental que – além de artigos disponíveis sobre a temática – foram utilizados documentos públicos (normativos, informativos e curriculares) da instituição investigada disponível em seu portal, bem como dados do portal da Fundação Carnegie. A Tribal College investigada dispõe de três dos seus quatro programas de formação voltados para transferências para universidades, onde seus currículos são construídos por meio de tal lógica e, por vezes, deixando em segundo plano a sua missão institucional – este fato se comprova porque os custos dos seus cursos são 85% a menos daqueles cobrados nas universidades, atraindo alunos para iniciarem seus dois primeiros anos de formação superior nestas instituições.

“I see my ancestors”: exploring tribal college student experiences playing When Rivers Were Trails

The educational video game, When Rivers Were Trails, was launched in 2019. The purpose of the game is to teach players about Indigenous perspectives of history, US federal allotment policies affecting tribal nations, and some of the effects of these policies on Indigenous peoples. This article explores tribal college student experiences playing When Rivers Were Trails in hopes that it provides the basis for further research into how tribal college faculty may be able to teach the game within their own classrooms. Tribal colleges and universities were created by tribal nations to provide for the higher education needs of their citizens. Using phenomenological research methods, seven college students volunteered to participate in a brief study about their experiences playing the video game. Upon transcription and analysis of the interview data, three themes were developed that capture how these students define their experience with When Rivers Were Trails: feelings of representation, histories of land dispossession, and resilience of communities.

A Qualitative Study of Native American Higher Education and Student Resiliency

This chapter explores the degree to which Native American culture impacts the resiliency of Native American students earning degrees at three tribal colleges in the southwestern part of the United States. This is a qualitative case study that was based on the following research question: “How does Native American culture contribute to the resiliency of Native American students who are earning a degree at a tribal college?” This chapter focuses on the concerns of Native American students, and the cultural events they may have encountered during their educational journey. The research data were collected from interviews of 18 Native American students who were in their last year of college. Themes surrounding culture, resiliency, tribal colleges, academics, and Native American role models were discovered and used to determine the impact Native American culture has on the resiliency of Native American students.