Educating Native Students
Inspiring Future Leaders
By Tiffany Lee

2002 TRIBES students perform a trust building excercise at the Santa Fe Mountain Center.

"I came here to learn how to be a leader," said Pevodah Nauni, a full-blood Comanche Indian from Cache, Oklahoma, during orientation activities of the Tribal Resource Institute in Business, Engineering, and Science (TRIBES) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. TRIBES is an academic enrichment program, which takes place for seven weeks each summer on the campus of the University of New Mexico. However, rigorous academic curriculum is only one facet of the program. Another objective is to teach young Native students who are entering college how to become leaders and serve their Native communities. TRIBES was started by the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT), an organization founded in 1975 to support member tribes as they develop their management capabilities and use their energy resources as the foundation for building stable, balanced, self-governed economies. CERT also recognizes that knowledgeable, trained, and experienced Native people are necessary for attaining tribal goals. Thus, education is a top priority as well for CERT. A. David Lester, executive director of CERT, comments that educating Native students to become leaders of their communities and servants of their people is vital for the challenges that lay ahead. He explains, "Many challenges remain. Much work is yet to be done to ensure that the promise of those long-ago treaties is keptóthe promise of sovereign nations where our ways of life and traditions can flourish. CERT is dedicated to doing the work, day-by-day, tribe-by-tribe, student-by-student. It is our commitment to our childrenóand their children. We will persevere."

The Power of TRIBES
The vision of tribal leaders for TRIBES was to create Native students who are critical thinkers, knowledgeable about Native issues, and committed to serving their Native communities. TRIBES is based on the belief that Native children need to experience and become aware of their own worth, potential and values as Indian people. In some ways, the goal for TRIBES students to become academically competent is secondary to facilitating their awareness of these fundamental understandings about life and about themselves. Lester eloquently explains this philosophy behind CERT education programs, "CERT education is to affirm our existence in a rapidly expanding Indian world and to celebrate the blessings we get by participating in that dynamically modern, yet strongly grounded ancient wisdom. What is called for now is for each of us as Indians to be grounded in the wisdom of our Indian ways and to be competent in coping and dealing with the technologies and the peoples we will work and interact with socially, economically and politically. No one is from everywhere, everyone is from somewhere and we are blessed by having strong ties to the ëcenter' of creation so that no matter where we find ourselves in our life journey, we can understand where we are, what our purpose is, and how to get home again. That is the idea behind the TRIBES summer experience and I think why it is such a powerful experience."
In an effort to positively influence students to know themselves, their values, and be prepared for college, TRIBES brings approximately 30 Native high school graduates from all across the country to the University of New Mexico (UNM). The students earn nine credits in math, English, and Native American Studies, courses that are crucial to their success as Native students in college and as future leaders. They also engage in numerous Native community- based activities designed to increase their awareness of important issues in Indian Country related to business, engineering, and science. Hopefully, they will be inspired to contribute back to their communities once they reach their educational goals.
One significant community-based activity occurred when the students participated in a cultural campout in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona on the Navajo Nation as a way to reconnect with their Native sense of self, away from the academic environment on campus. Sheena Greenstone, Navajo, came away with more insight and appreciation for her heritage. She said, "Just being there made me realize how strong my culture and pride is within me. I am totally proud of being Navajo." Students were engaged in daily hikes, personal reflections, ceremonial practices, and fun. In one of the daily hikes, Pevodah commented, "Walking was a big problem for me but after awhile it didn't seem to bother me. I enjoyed the hiking but I kept my snail-like pace up the mountains. All the people that rushed up the mountain missed out on all the scenery that can't be seen at the top."

Jemez Elder speaks with 2002 TRIBES students during a community visit.

The Lobo Nation Project
Reflection on one's identity and heritage is important for the core project in TRIBES. This project is the conceptualization and development of the fictitious Lobo Nation, designed to give students more realistic encounters with current concerns on Native lands. In this project, students create their own tribe by forming a government structure, electing leaders, and resolving several dilemmas similar to current issues in Native country. For example, in one scenario, several (fictitious) local companies have built processing plants on the northern border of the Lobo Reservation. The plants produce huge amounts of waste that the companies pour into the waterway that flows through the reservation. Many Lobo people have developed numerous health problems because the waterway is a major source of drinking water. However, numerous Lobo people work for the companies, and their jobs may be in jeopardy should the tribe try to shut the processing plants down. Students are asked, "What can the Lobo Nation do to resolve this dilemma?"
Students debated during the 2002 Summer TRIBES program on this question with a split between those who felt the environmental and health concerns had priority over the economic stability of its members, and those who argued that recovering from significant job loss and resulting consequences of unemployment was more severe. Sheena summed up their decision, "We decided that it was not just a reservation problem but a problem for everyone who lives along that river. So we said we should file a lawsuit against the company with the help of other people along that river. Our committee came up with the idea that we should do a test [on the water]. If the test showed positive for toxins, we would file a law suit. In the meantime we would use our money to clean the water for the people and later, in the lawsuit, get reimbursed for the money. But others were arguing that we should not file a lawsuit but use our money to filter the water ourselves and just leave it alone because nobody would help us with the lawsuit. In the end we compromised that we would test the water then file a lawsuit and filter the water for the time being."
Another concern was job protection. The students decided to approach the companies in a manner to ensure job protection for their people while trying to persuade the companies to end their dumping. According to the students, the important lesson learned was how life is not black and white, and decisions tribal leaders have to make are very difficult because of the impact on community resources, including members. Lloyd Lee, Navajo, and the instructor for the TRIBES Native American Studies course, explained the importance of the Lobo Nation project. "The key element of TRIBES is the Lobo Nation project. The project is designed to get the students to think critically about the present and future of their Native communities. The students learn what it will take to work for their Native community and the enormous amount of effort they must put into their own Native communities' continuance. While they are role playing a fictitious Native tribe, they understand the many issues they must face as a member of a Native community tackling many social and political issues. Several students in this past summer's program acknowledged how the Lobo Nation project was fun and important to them personally and how the Native American Studies course was one of the best courses they have taken. The TRIBES students learn a great deal in a short amount of time and the knowledge and experience they get from the program will continue on with them the rest of their lives."

Pevodah Nauni, Comanche, Rain Waquiu, Jemez/Acoma, and Lani Tsinnajinnie, Navajo, strip vigas for the Walatowa Woodlands Initiative in Jemez Pueblo.

Community Life in TRIBES
Resident life in the dorms on campus is another important component to TRIBES. It offers the students a chance to learn how to live independently and form bonds with one another. Shayne Benally, a Navajo/Southern Ute residential adviser (RA) for TRIBES and a student at UNM, said the dorm life, "gave the students a sense of community while learning to adjust to being away from home. When they leave for their colleges, they won't have that cohesiveness. Our program allows them to take the TRIBES community with them." The residential advisers, who are usually Native college students, play an extremely important role as they become like parents to the students. RA's have more influence on the students than they realize. One student commented in their anonymous evaluation of the program, "The RA's helped every student in every way that they could. They should be recognized for their effort and for giving up their summer to help with our transitions." The RA's spend 24 hours a day with the students and come away with personal growth as well. Shayne explained her own growth when she said, "It's hard to sum up how I grew from my experience in TRIBES because with each situation, event, or experience I had with the students and staff, I learned something. I grew emotionally, spiritually, and culturally, which makes me stronger and more prepared for life."
TRIBES offers students challenges on many levels, in academics, in community living, and in understanding who they are as Indian people. One student remarked in their evaluation that the program was, "hard work and fun at the same timeóa good combination." In fact, some had underestimated what they would come away with during their summer in TRIBES. A student made this clear when she stated, "I didn't expect it to be this challenging and rewarding." But having a lasting impact on students is what is most important to CERT member tribes. One student definitively attested to the program's success in this area when he stated, "This experience will definitely stay with me the rest of my life." That impact will help CERT to build generations of Native students committed to persevering and excelling for the benefit of our sovereign nations.

Tiffany S. Lee, Navajo/Lakota, is the coordinator for TRIBES and CERT's Scholarship Program. She has a Ph.D. in sociology of education from Stanford University.