Intertribal Center
At Central Wyoming College,
we change lives and build futures. This is especially true with our Native
American students, who have specialized needs in their pursuit of higher
education. While the
college has a number of services in place for American Indian students, such as
support and advocacy programs, they are not centralized, making it difficult
for some students to realize they have access.
With as many as 20 percent of CWC's student population being Native American, the college has made a commitment to cultural diversity and is supporting the construction of an Intertribal Education and Community Center. The mission of the center is to coordinate Native American services, educate and inform non-Natives and Native Americans alike about tribal heritage and customs, and to provide a positive influence in the lives of the region's American Indian population and the community at large.
Arapaho architect Dennis Sun Rhodes has made preliminary designs of a center that represents a drum, the heartbeat of the American Indian culture.
The Central Wyoming College
Foundation and an Advisory Board, made up of well-known philanthropists and
public leaders, are committed to this project, but they need the financial
support of others, like you to make it a reality.
Berte and Alan Hirschfield, 20-year residents of Teton County, have already made a $500,000 gift toward the project and challenged others to match the amount. CWC has initiated the "Come Walk With Us" campaign.
In Spring 2006, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi announced a $1 million federal appropriation he secured for the center's construction, and $1.1 million was included in the Wyoming Legislature's 2006 budget bill for the center. The college still needs to raise $1.8 million to complete the $4.4 million project.
Upon hearing of the federal and state support for the facility, the Hirschfields promised CWC President Jo Anne McFarland to make a $300,000 donation. But the couple surprised project supporters by upping the amount by another $200,000 at a 2006 event where a funding raising strategy was unveiled.
The Planning
The planning for the center came about more than two years ago when representatives of the Northern Arapaho Tribes told CWC trustees that Native Students have different learning habits, requiring cultural sensitivity and special services. Though numerous services and programs were in place for Native American students, some were difficult to find as they were spread across the campus. CWC staff began a series of meetings with tribal entities, students and alumni, and soon thereafter the idea for the Indian Education Center was born.
The center is meant to represent the past, present and future of the cultural and economic life and influences on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The function, as well as the design, are culturally influenced and provide space for education, career counseling, public meetings and displays of cultural art and artifacts.
After going through the required approval process with the CWC Foundation, CWC Board, the Wyoming Community College Commission and the Wyoming Legislature, the college over the past several years has solicited support from nearly every group on the Wind River Indian Reservation, including the four school districts located on the reservation.
Meetings are ongoing between college and tribal officials to discuss better ways of meeting the unique educational needs of American Indian students.
Native American Studies Program
Central Wyoming College has an associate of arts degree in Native American Studies, a program intended for students who intend to work in or near American Indian communities. Both native and non-native students are strongly encouraged to take these courses.
Appropriately, the college also provides outreach educational resources, programs and activities to incorporate Native American cultures into the curricula of not only Central Wyoming College but also to public schools in the region.
The Native American Studies courses are excellent electives for enhancing many different programs of study, and offer non-Indian students a unique opportunity to learn in the classroom about tribal cultures firsthand in the Wind River area. The program strives for an academically sound evaluation of the history and cultures of the native people of the North American continent, with particular emphasis placed on the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of the Wind River Reservation.
The college also offers classes in both the Arapaho and Shoshone languages.
Recognizing the elders of these tribes represent the wisdom of the past, guests are called upon frequently to share their knowledge of tribal traditions.
The proposed center would provide office space for the elders and mentors who are so important in guiding Native American students.
In addition to the Native American Studies program, courses in native arts and culture, natural resource and mineral development, informational technology and other trades are proposed with the additional classroom space afforded by the center.
Other services for Native American students
In addition to the academic programs, CWC has numerous support services for American Indian students. A Native American Services coordinator serves as an academic advisor and also provides career exploration and planning, and career and personal counseling. There is also help for Native American students wanting to transfer to a four-year institution following graduation from CWC.
Additionally, the college's Student Support Services program provides tutoring, basic job skills training, support and study groups and student progress monitoring. Student talents and accomplishments are also often showcased.
On numerous occasions during the academic year, the college invites motivational speakers and has hosted receptions and film festivals.
Appropriately, a number of scholarships are specifically dedicated to Native American students from both institutional funds and private endowments. And a special ceremony is held each spring to honor Native American graduates and an Outstanding Native American graduate is introduced at each commencement.
The Native American students have had a strong voice by playing key roles in student government, and the college strives to hire Native American employees.
As a result of multiple federal grants, the college has many early awareness and college prep programs available through the Gear Up, Educational Talent Search (ETS) and Upward Bound programs.
The Gear Up and ETS programs are geared toward directing middle school students to higher education through numerous academies offered during the school year, on weekends and during the summer. About one-third of the program participants are Native American. Half of the students in the college's Upward Bound program, which is directed to disadvantaged students, are Native American, as is the staff of the program. All of the early awareness programs have components for teacher and parent professional and personal development.
CWC has services on campus and on the reservation
Also offered by CWC's Board of Cooperative Educational Services is the after school activities and academic program, Lights On, which is offered at most of the reservation schools. Adult Basic Education centers, also operated by CWC staff, are located at numerous locations, including the reservation. It provides preparation for high school equivalency exams, GED, and basic skills development for adults. There are also Community Technology Centers located at Arapahoe and Fort Washakie.
College credit and community services courses are also taught at Arapahoe, Fort Washakie, St.Stephens, Ethete and at the Tribal College.
More than half of the participants in CWC's Employment Training for Self Sufficiency, eight-week sessions offered quarterly, are Native American.
Center's programming
In addition to centralizing the CWC's Native American services and academic programs, the Intertribal Education and Community Center is also designed for cultural events, such as the United Tribes Club's annual Powwow, public meetings, outreach services and display of cultural art and artifacts.
CWC houses the Stewart Collection, an assortment of valuable American Indian artifacts collected at the turn of the century. The collection, which will remain permanently at CWC, is currently housed on the second floor of the library and therefore is not as visible as it would be in the Intertribal Center's proposed gallery.