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The miniature student-made cars raced at a recent science camp might lose wheels or engine power, but they were nudged across a makeshift finish line with a little help from the students and their friends. In some ways, a similar process applied to the students themselves. Despite fears and concerns, they learned they could overcome obstacles with a little help from their friends and mentors—in this case, at the 2013 Native American STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Institute, funded by the National Academy of Engineering. The solar-powered race cars were only one project for the 30-plus middle school students from various tribes who cameRead More →

Following the July 30 story about Sam Simon, co-creator (with Matt Groening) ofThe Simpsonswho has terminal cancer, looking to donate all of his money to charity Indian Country Today Media Network decided to take a closer look at some philanthropic work within Indian country. RELATED:Where Will ‘Simpsons’ Creator Sam Simon’s Money Go? The first decade of this century saw a marked falloff in philanthropy to American Indians. And the story of this decade may be two steps forward, one step back. A study of philanthropy to Natives in the years between 2000 and 2009 by The Foundation Center and Native Americans in Philanthropy saw aRead More →

At its annual Public School Appreciation Day on April 12, the Cherokee Nation awarded checks totaling $3.2 million to 92 school districts in northeastern Oklahoma. The badly needed funding will benefit nearly 24,000 students within the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction area. Each year, the tribe allocates 38 percent of its tax revenues from tribal car tags to area schools. The unrestricted grants, totaling almost $30 million since 2002, are awarded on a per-student basis and come with “no strings attached,” according to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. “I believe the superintendents know best what the needs of their districts are,” said Baker. “We areRead More →

The Native student population at the University of Montana has more than doubled in the last decade, a trend that has prompted university officials to seek a more diverse faculty. When David Beck, chairman of the Native American Studies program, arrived at the Missoula campus in the year 2000, about 300 Native students were enrolled, he said. That population has increased to about 800, withNative studentsenrolled in 88 different programs. The increase more closely aligns the university with the demographics of Montana, home to 12 recognized tribes and seven reservations, and where about 10 percent of the total population reports American Indian heritage. “As theRead More →