November marks the celebration of Native American History month, a time where we come together and celebrate Indigenous culture, accomplishments and people in the Americas.For almost 100 years, Americans both Indian and non-Indian have advocated for a permanently designated place on the calendar to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, and cultural and historical legacy of the original inhabitants of what is now the United States and their descendants: the American Indian and Alaska Native people.The quest for a national honoring of Native Americans began in the early 20th century as a private effort. As far back as the late 1970s,…
Author: Native Origins Community
Denver, CO — At the heart of the American Indian College Fund’s latest PSA campaign, “Move Aside,” is the unwavering potential of tribal college students. Launching on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the campaign shines a light on the growing number of Native Americans with college degrees (more than 300,000) while centering on and celebrating the Indigenous experience.W+K Creative Director Patty Orlando and creative team members Robin Maxkii and Brad Trost saw an opportunity to create something unapologetically Native — by subverting the formal and outdated everyday symbolism and language of corporate America and breaking tribal stereotypes.…
Chef Sean Sherman has been working in the culinary world for as long as he’s held a job. He began working at local restaurants in South Dakota during his high school and college years, and continued on this path well into adulthood. But one day, while working as a chef in a restaurant that celebrated exotic flavors and artistic cooking styles, Sherman realized that none of the food he cooked represented the Native land that the restaurant was built on. This realization was the first day of Sherman’s new mission: to research and recreate the dishes and cooking methods of…
Denver, CO. — The American Indian College Fund’s Ded Unskanpi (which translates from Dakota as “we start here”) Adult Basic Education Program will support five tribal college and university (TCU) partners through June 2024. Adult Basic Education (ABE) and literacy programs are essential to students’ success in an HSE program, college, career, and life, working to support students to develop literacy and problem-solving skills. The program will address the critical gap in the education pathway for Native students to help them earn their high school equivalency degrees, continue to college, find meaningful employment, and forge healthy lives. The program resulted…
As members of the National Native Scholarships Providers (NNSP), we believe school should be a place where young people feel free to learn, grow, and excel—while being true to their identities. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and many young Indigenous people approach graduation with apprehension. Many graduates across the country decorate their graduation gowns and mortarboards to celebrate the occasion, yet some school boards, policymakers, and elected officials discriminate when Indigenous students choose to wear Native regalia, which is a spiritual and cultural tradition relating to their tribal identities. Pictured: Graduates at a tribal college graduation ceremony wearing…
The American Indian College Fund (the College Fund) has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2023 honor by Denver Post Top Workplaces. This is the College Fund’s fifth consecutive year on the list, which is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization including alignment, execution, and connection. “Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “That’s…
Diversity in Health Care Scholarship Program to reduce ongoing health disparities in Native communities and diversify workforce. The American Indian College Fund is launching its Diversity in Health Care Scholarship Program with a $1.6 million grant from the United Health Foundation to reduce health disparities and outcomes in Native communities and to address underrepresentation of Native health care professionals in the workforce by providing academic and career services to American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) college students pursuing degrees in health care fields. The Diversity in Health Care Scholarship Program is expected to support a cohort of 60 Native scholars…
OKMULGEE, Okla. – The College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN) is proud to announce that its president, Dr. Monte Randall, was named as a commissioner with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the newly established Carnegie Postsecondary Commission. He will serve a two-year appointment in this role alongside a cohort of other innovative leaders that work to elevate underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation students in the college-to-career pipeline. The Carnegie Foundation’s newly established commission will focus on identifying the most effective ways to propel college graduates into meaningful careers. For the next two years, the commission will focus…
In late September, Space-X Crew, the fifth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight launched into the cosmos and traveled to the space station. But unlike any other space mission in history, this one was led by mission commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, a colonel for the U.S. Marines, the first woman commander of a NASA Commercial Crew Program launch, and the first Native American woman in space. Before ever setting foot in NASA territory, Mann attended the U.S. Naval Academy for her undergraduate degree and Stanford University for her…
In a first of its kind for any Native American tribe, the Cherokee Nation has signed a historic self-governance agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation. In June, U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation, joined Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. of the Cherokee Nation to sign the first compact under the Department’s Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSGP). This approval grants the Cherokee Nation the freedom to plan its own road construction and transportation services without federal permission, but marks the first contract of its kind to occur between a Native American tribe…
