The biggest obstacle facing Indigenous students completing college degrees is cost, according to a collaborative study by the National Native Scholarships Providers.

Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said students frequently take on debt to pay for postsecondary education, which comes at a high cost to tribal communities. Jobs paying enough for graduates to repay their loans and support their families are in short supply in Indian Country.

"And if students have to take on considerable debt in order to afford to go to college, then they often are unable to return to their tribal communities to give back, which we know they want to do," Crazy Bull explained.

The report recommended continued investment by governments and the private sector in scholarship organizations such as the College Fund, tuition support and supportive partnerships. South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota and Montana now offer tuition-waiver programs to Native American students from any state.

Crazy Bull pointed out getting more high schools to encourage students to fill out the federal Financial Aid Form, which is required by many colleges before releasing need-based scholarships and grants, also can help more Indigenous students tap resources.

"Many of our students still are first-generation students," Crazy Bull noted. "They don't have any experience with college, so they don't know how to go about accessing resources for college."

Just 36% of Indigenous students enrolled in four-year colleges in 2014 completed degrees in six years, compared with a 60% graduation rate for all other students. Lifetime earnings are much higher for people with college degrees, and Crazy Bull pointed to one study, which found graduates also score better on multiple quality-of-life indicators.

"Their well-being characteristics were excellent," Crazy Bull emphasized. "I think not only is it about earnings and a career pathway, but it's also about a better quality of life generally."

November is Native American Heritage Month, and a South Dakota organization is working to help establish leadership skills for Indigenous youth.

Data compiled by the Center for Native American Youth show young people within this population face many obstacles, from high school graduation rates below the national average to being over represented in foster care.

John Richard, youth and family specialist with the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on the Pine Ridge Reservation, said it underscores how Indigenous youth are still reeling from trauma experienced by past generations, and added their programs focus on providing structure and healing.

"Really, what we want to do is fill in those roles, in how to express yourself in healthy ways, and also being able to have a support system and that kind of structure, where it's going to guide them and flourish into their future lives," he said.

Richard added on the Pine Ridge Reservation, there are few resources for prevention and awareness for behavioral health. Among Thunder Valley's youth outreach programs is an initiative where elementary-age children are connected with high schoolers. Those mentorships emphasize improving self-identify through sports and learning more about the Lakota language.

There's also the WWHY Girl Society program, which prepares girls for life challenges and traditional Lakota womanhood ceremonies.

Lynn Cuny, Thunder Valley's deputy director, adds it serves as a safe space, as Pine Ridge continues to deal with high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives.

"It's overwhelming for us as adults, so imagine being a youth, feeling that and seeing that every day. So, we've even done self-defense classes with our young Girl Society," she said.

Thunder Valley leaders say staffing shortages and transportation barriers sometimes prevent them from expanding certain programs, like a summer leadership academy. However, being able to bring in teens and young adults as mentors has allowed elements of their outreach work to thrive.

Alaska tribes are urging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to keep protections in place for more than 28 million acres they say are critical to their way of life.

The BLM is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement next month on the effects of opening the acreage up to mining and extraction. Known as D-1 lands, large parcels across the state were originally protected from development under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act more than 50 years ago.

Eugene Paul, tribal Chief of Holy Cross and chairman of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, said these lands are important for their food sources.

"Other places have these big stores, Costco and stuff, that they buy a great amount of goods and stuff, but we don't choose that," he said. "We choose what we were taught to do and to live off our land, and it means a lot for us to take what we need and then gather what we need to put our families through the winter."

Seventy-eight tribes wrote a letter to the BLM asking to keep safeguards for D-1 lands in place, noting Alaska already is feeling the impacts of climate change and development could further erode tribes' way of life. For nearly two decades, the agency has submitted resource plans recommending lifting protections for D-1 lands.

Frank Katchatag, president of the village of Unalakleet and vice chair of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, said tribes are fighting for their lands.

"Salmon cannot fight for itself. The caribou and the moose cannot fight for itself," he said. "We are trying very hard to protect those species so that we may continue the life that we live and pass on to our children and grandchildren."

Katchatag said that if the lands are damaged and the rivers polluted, his home will never be the same.

"I look forward to meeting more with the Alaska BLM director and I truly hope that the Secretary of Interior continues to meet with us," he said, "because we're not going to give up."


Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


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By Jeniece Roman for WSHU Public Radio.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for Connecticut News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has made progress on its farm in North Stonington. In partnership with UConn, tribal members are learning about sustainability and self-sufficiency.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation had long owned an expanse of densely wooded land in North Stonington, close to its reservation. But eight years ago, tribal member Jeremy Whipple - then a public works employee at the tribe - had a vision for what the land could be.

"They allowed me to come up here and start clearing the land cause it was all overgrown so I brought it up to what it is now," Whipple said.

Now that parcel of land is Meechooôk Farm.

Equipped with greenhouses that house hydroponic lettuce, tomatoes, and fruit year-round, the land also supports livestock including cows. The transformation was made possible through support from The University of Connecticut and the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program.

Whipple is now the director of the Agricultural Department for the Tribe. He manages the farm along with seven other employees. Right now they are working to add more greenhouses on site.

Each greenhouse on the farm is equipped with long rows of white containers. Seeds are placed in small squares of dirt that will grow into bundles. Water is distributed through an irrigation system from an 1100-gallon water tank. Bees are then brought into the greenhouse to pollinate the plants. It allows for a harvest year-round.

While the crew manages the farm, UConn provides training, as well as food safety classes and supplies. A majority of the food harvested goes to a food assistance program for tribal members, the rest is sold. During the growing season, tribal members receive a box of vegetables every two weeks.

"Right now we have 180 members that are signed up for the program and the grant reimburses the farm, you know, $70 a box we give out. The USDA actually compensates us for feeding the community healthy food," Whipple said.

UConn Extension also helped to set up a youth engagement group to provide agricultural training and science programming. Whipple said the project will strengthen the tribal community and help establish self-sufficiency.

"We're trying to be sustainable and you know you can't be sovereign without food," Whipple said.

The education goes beyond to also teach members that struggle with health issues like diabetes about nutrition. Whipple hopes the project will encourage their membership to grow gardens in their own yards to have sustainability within their households.

"So we're going to train the community. It's community-based. So we're trying to get the membership and everybody on the same page on growing and bringing back our traditional roots for gardening and our culture," Whipple said.

The USDA recently funded the project for an additional four years thanks to its success. Whipple hopes to expand the farm and the agricultural products they can grow. He said the tribe will also apply for grants to add a meat processing facility and event space for classes.


Jeniece Roman wrote this article for WSHU Public Radio.


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