Tribal College Journal

Rooted in Community:
Stories of Transformation Through Teacher Education

By Kelli Chelberg

The College of Menominee Nation’s Teacher Education Department employs a culturally responsive model that is informed by the traditional Menominee clan framework and the wisdom of the elders.
Why We Have to Keep Talking About Christopher Columbus

By Ryan Winn

When the POTUS erects a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds proclaiming him the “Discoverer of America,” we need to have a conversation.
From Conformity to Creativity:
Preparing Teachers to Foster Native Student Success

By Joseph Martin, Timothy Begaye, and Jon Reyhner

Historically, schools have stressed test scores and standardized curricula, which have failed Native children. To close achievement gaps, we must think critically and creatively.

College Fund Launches National Campaign to Recognize TCU Faculty

By Colleen R. Billiot

The campaign, titled, “Because of You,” celebrates faculty for the multiple roles they play as educators, advisors, leaders, researchers, and more on campuses serving Native communities.
IAIA Launches the Indigenous Interconnect Arts App

By Jason Ordaz

The first-of-its-kind social media platform is designed to connect Indigenous artists, writers, performers, filmmakers, alumni, students, and supporters in a digital environment grounded in creativity, community engagement, and cultural exchange.
College Fund Honors TCU Students of the Year and Coca-Cola Scholars

By Colleen R. Billiot

Every year, each of the 34 tribal colleges selects one student who receives a $1,200 scholarship. The Coca-Cola Foundation awards 36 Native scholars who are the first in their family to attend college.
Achieving the Dream Honors IAIA as a Leader College

By Jason Ordaz

Leader Colleges are recognized for meaningful progress in expanding access, improving early momentum metrics, advancing relevant student success strategies, and growing institutional capacity.
Cynthia Lindquist Joins College Fund as Chief Strategy Officer

By Colleen R. Billiot

The former Cankdeska Cikana Community College president brings nearly a quarter century of experience in tribal higher education to the position.
Theodore Van Alst Jr. and Shane Hawk Announce TCJ Student Writing Winners

By Kathy Aplan

The winning students will be recognized at the AIHEC student conference in Bismarck and have their work published in the 2026 edition of TCJ Student.
College Fund Names Leander “Russ” McDonald TCU President Honoree of the Year

By Dina Horwedel and Colleen Billiot

The United Tribes Technical College president’s openness to healing, humility, learning, and evolving—as a professional and as a human being—have been the real secret to his success.

News and events that impact you happen more often than we can print. Stay up to date with enews, blogs, and the latest job openings.

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IN THE CURRENT ISSUE

Preparing For the Next Era of Sovereignty

The president of the College of Menominee Nation reminds us to heed Wilma Mankiller’s perennial words of wisdom: “Whoever controls the education of our children, controls our future.”
Reading Proficiencies at Tribal Colleges

The longtime Oglala Lakota College president explains why implementing reading proficiency levels helps students succeed in college and future endeavors.
A Student’s Journey: Improving the Transfer Process

A collaborative program between Tohono O’odham Community College and the University of Arizona focuses on helping tribal college students transfer successfully to larger universities.
Current Trends in Teacher Education Programs at Tribal Colleges and Universities

Enrollment and completion data reveal that tribal college teacher education programs are producing graduates who are deeply rooted in their communities and well equipped to serve future generations.
Linda Sue Warner on Teacher Education

The veteran educator, author, and TCU leader offers insights into the state of teacher education at tribal colleges. Play Audio

DEPARTMENTS

For generations, teacher education programs serving Native students have sought to “make the child fit the desk.” Today, tribally controlled colleges, rooted in Indigenous values, have changed that paradigm.
EDITOR'S ESSAY
Making the Desk Fit the Child
By Bradley Shreve
TCJ STUDENT
Bury Me in the Prairie
By Jacob Henry Fasthorse-Cordova
“Let the rain dissolve my skin, let the beetles and worms break me down in every way, so I can finally give back to the prairie grass that whispered prayers into my night skies.”
IN MEMORIAM
A Good Journey: Remembering John Gritts
By Dina Horwedel
Kind, affable, and welcoming, John Gritts, the much-beloved Tribal College and University ally, left an indelible mark on all who knew him.

WRITER'S CORNER

Welcome to the Practice of History

By Ryan Winn

Our columnist explains why everyone is a historian.
INQUISITIVE ACADEMIC

The Best Native Studies Books of 2025

By Ryan Winn
Whether fiction, history, or memoir, great storytelling stands the test of time. Our annual list assembles some of the finest Native works published this past year.
FROM THE ARCHIVES

It Takes a Native Community: Educators Reform Schools in an Era of Standards

By Paul Boyer

From Volume 17, No. 4 (Summer 2006) - TCJ’s founding editor investigated how systemic change can happen when a clear and compelling vision takes root.

MEDIA REVIEWS
- They Would Not Be Moved: The Enduring Struggle of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to Keep Their Reservation
  By Bruce White
  Minnesota Historical Society (2024)
  320 pages
  Review by Nicholas Andrew Timmerman
- The Future of Navajo Education, Volume II
  Edited by Barbara P. Mink and Miranda J. Haskie
  Fielding University Press (2024)
  160 pages
  Review by Wafa Hozien
- Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay
  Edited by Cécile R. Ganteaume and Jennifer McLerran
  National Museum of the American Indian (2024)
  272 pages
  Review by Christine M. Ami
ON CAMPUS NEWS
- Haskell Announces Tribal Energy Leaders Fellowship
  
  Housed at Haskell Indian Nations University, the fellowship is a first-of-its-kind program designed to strengthen Indigenous leadership in the self-determined pursuit of clean energy across tribal communities.
- Blackfeet Community College Instructor Receives Grant to Study Long-COVID
  
  Dianna Arnoux-Whiteman of Blackfeet Community College will study long COVID on the Blackfeet reservation, which is considered a multi-system condition that can affect the brain, heart, nervous system, and other organs.
- Summer Law Program Open to Tribal College Students
  
  Join future Native American lawyers and a network of Native American legal professionals at the Pre-Law Summer Institute, the oldest and most successful pre-law program for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
TCU NEWS ROUNDUP
- SKC Entrepreneurship Students Create Scholarship for Future Business Majors
  
  Seniors in the class spent the year navigating red tape, volunteer shortfalls and fundraising fatigue to fund four $500 merit-based scholarships for first-year business students.
- Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College Students Engage with Science in New Laboratory
  
  Students at a community college in L’anse are the first to try out a newly finished education room and new equipment.
- Saving a Language: UTTC Students Study Hidatsa Language
  
  The Hidatsa language is in a state of emergency. Only an estimated 65 people speak it fluently.
- Haskell Students Draw the News
  
  David Titterington, an Art instructor at Haskell, assigned students to draw something from the news and connect it to a personal or Indigenous experience.
- Words Matter at TCU’s Language Summit
  
  The presenters showcased some of the ways communities are working to preserve, revitalize, and even normalize the use of the traditional languages of America’s first citizens.

MEDIA ROUNDUP

Indigenous Enlightenment: Printing and Education in Evangelical Colonialism, 1790–1850
Vanished in Hiawatha: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians
We Who Walk the Seven Ways: A Memoir
Dance of the Returned
Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health
Reclaiming Indigenous Governance: Reflections and Insights from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States
The Wolf’s Trail: An Ojibwe Story, Told by Wolves
Eastern Cherokee Stories: A Living Oral Tradition and Its Cultural Continuance
Indigenous Economics: Sustaining Peoples and Their Lands
From the Boarding Schools: Apache Indian Students Speak

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DEPARTMENTS

Goodbye 2025