The
American Indian
Graduate
Spring 2010
Inside this Issue:
• President’s Message
• From the Director:
Obama Administration
Indian Education
Initiative
Higher Education: Key to Improving
Health in Indian Country
• Overcoming Challenges:
Clinical Psychology
• The DETS Project:
Diabetes Education in
Tribal Schools
• Healthcare Shortages:
The Need for More Native
Healthcare and Dental
Professionals
The American Indian
Graduate is now available
online at www.aigcs.org
CFC# 11514
President Obama hosts Tribal Nations Conference on November 5, 2009
An easy way for federal employees
to donate — 11514 American
Indian Graduate Center (AIGC)
NOMINATE AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT FOR THE
GATES MILLENNIUM SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Scholarships for our
Future Leaders
Eligibility Criteria
Students are eligible to be considered for a
GMS scholarship if they:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are African American, American
Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific
Islander American or Hispanic American;
Are a citizen, national or legal permanent
resident of the United States;
Have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on
a 4.0 scale (unweighted) or have earned a
GED;
Will be entering a U.S. accredited college
or university as full-time, degree-seeking
freshmen in the fall;
Have demonstrated leadership abilities
through participation in community service,
extra-curricular, or other activities, and
Meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility
criteria (Eligibility for Federal Pell Grant
can only be determined through the
submission of a Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S.
Department of Education).
Dallas Lopez, Pima/Hopi
Westmont College
"Learn to love learning on your
own, then you will find it a joy
and a blessing to be learning at
college."
To schedule a GMS presentation at your school or in your
community for 2010, visit
www.gmsp.org
or contact
The American Indian Graduate Center Scholars
4520 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite 1B
Albuquerque, NM 87109
(866) 884-7007 • www.aigcs.org
• GMS Partner for American Indians & Alaska Natives •
UNCF- the United Negro College Fund - is the administrator of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS).
Nominator: High school principals, guidance counselors or teachers may serve as nominators. In addition, any professional educator; for example, an educator at a scholarship assistance organization, education assistance agency or educational outreach program may also serve as nominator. The person who agrees to serve as a nominator must be familiar with the student’s academic background. Recommender: Individual familiar with community service and leadership activities. A supervisor at work, a community group leader or any other adult familiar with student’s non‐academic activities could serve as recommender. If nominator is also familiar with the student’s non‐academic activities, he or she may serve as both nominator and recommender. Table of Contents
The American Indian Graduate
Volume 9, Number 1
Volume 9, Number 1 • Spring 2010
5
6
8
12
A Publication of the American
Indian Graduate Center
4520 Montgomery Blvd., NE
Suite 1B
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Phone: (505) 881-4584
Fax: (505) 884-0427
AIGC Board of Directors
Message from the President
Message from the Director
Website: www.aigcs.org
Obama Administration Indian Education Initiative
Publisher
Sam Deloria
Director
Susan Duran
Stephine Poston
Editors
Jim Weidlein
Production Editor
Carolyn S. Tate
Design and Layout
by Sam Deloria
Graduate Horizons 2010
Arizona State University to Host Graduate Horizons
by Michele St. George
AIGC 2009-2010 Academic Year
All Native American High School Academic Team
by Marveline Vallo
15
Internships
by Erick Rhoan
Elizabeth Washburn, President
Chickasaw
A Blueprint for Success
David Mahooty, Vice President
Zuni
by Shawn Secatero, Ph.D.
Melanie P. Fritzsche, Treasurer
Pueblo of Laguna
16
19
AIGC Board of Directors
A Unique Opportunity
American Indian Well-Being Model in Higher Education
Overcoming Challenges
Dee Ann DeRoin, M.D.
Ioway Tribe of Kansas
Clinical Psychology
Grayson B. Noley
Choctaw
by Billie Jo Kipp, Ph.D.
20Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr.
Michael E. Bird
Santo Domingo/San Juan Pueblo
One Man’s Destiny
by Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr., DDS, MPH Assistant Surgeon General (SSPHS) Retired
22 Rose Graham
Navajo
Personal Motivation
Finding a Cure
by Walter G. Besio, Ph.D.
Continued on page 4
Cover: President Obama hosts
Tribal Nations Conference on
November 5, 2009
(Photo courtesy of the National
Indian Gaming Association)
The American Indian Graduate
3
Table of Contents
25
40Diversity in Healthcare
Webster University
Considering a Healthcare Career
by Ellen Driber-Hassall, Gerontologist and Senior
Director, Webster University
by Dee Ann DeRoin, M.D.
“Have You Considered…?”
26
World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
by Michael Jerue
This is Our Tradition
30
The DETS Project
by Susan Duran
32
An AIGC Alumnus Serving Others
by Daniel Nagasawa
34
Healthcare Shortages
by Ken Lucero
36
Oweesta
Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools
My Gift of Service and Education
The Need for More Native
Healthcare and Dental Professionals
Financial Education as the
Foundation for Personal Growth
and Economic Development for
Native Nations
by Heidi Davis
38
Public Media
by Kim Baca
Filling in the Gaps for Public Media
42
Indian Health System
Trahant: The Business Model for
an Indian Health System
by Mark Trahant
44
40th Anniversary Celebration
45
Opportunities
46
AIGC Fellows Update
AIGC’s 40th Anniversary –
A Huge Success
2010-2011 Academic Year
Alumni Connection
47UNM School of Medicine
Native American Enrollment
Doubles at UNM Medical School
by Luke Frank, UNM Media Relations Manager
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The American Indian Graduate
Now available online at
www.aigcs.org
Reprints and Permissions: Reprints of published articles and/or
artwork are prohibited without permission of the American Indian
Graduate Center.
American Indian Graduate Center,
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Visit us On-Line! www.aigcs.org
2010 AIGC, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published submissions and advertisements do not necessarily reflect
the view of AIGC, Inc.
4
The American Indian Graduate
AIGC Board of Directors
Message From the President
by Elizabeth Rodke Washburn
A
s I write this final letter as President of the Board
of Directors for the American Indian Graduate
Center magazine, I find myself reflecting on an
incredible number of memories. The past seven and a
half years have been a remarkable personal experience.
I would like to let all of you know how thankful I
feel to have had this opportunity to represent such a great
organization. Along with my fellow board members, I witnessed many goals accomplished and faced several interesting challenges. With the help of my board colleagues, none
of the challenges proved insurmountable. The responsibilities shouldered by boards are incredible – members often
work very hard behind the scenes without recognition or
accolades. I would like for all of these wonderful individuals to know they are deeply appreciated.
It has also been a privilege knowing and working with
Sam Deloria, as well as the rest of the dedicated people
staffing the organization, an impressive group of scholarship recipients and alumni, and our generous and dedicated supporters, contributors and volunteers. I’d like to
express my appreciation to all of these people for making
my tenure an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
This past year, we celebrated our 40th Anniversary
and we awarded our 15,000th scholarship! I take great
pride in being part being part of the organization that
has accomplished so much in 40 years. Without exception, the successes at AIGC are tied directly to the excellent work done by our Director and staff members.
It’s bittersweet to think of not being directly involved
with AIGC after this year, but as an alumna, I will always
Elizabeth Rodke Washburn
be a part of this fine organization, its mission and the
very special people who make it work and I look forward
to hearing about new programs, new approaches and new
adventures in the future! I am also confident that the
board will be in good hands with David Mahooty and
will continue to plan and manage strategically for the
future.
Please rest assured that I will continue to support
AIGC’s mission and ask that you continue your support
as well. ✦
Sincerely yours,
Elizabeth Rodke Washburn
This past year, we celebrated our 40th Anniversary and we awarded our 15,000th
scholarship! I take great pride in being part being part of the organization that
has accomplished so much in 40 years.
The American Indian Graduate
5
Message from the Director
Obama Administration Indian
Education Initiative
by Sam Deloria
I
recently attended a meeting called by Secretary of
the Interior, Ken Salazar, and Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs, Larry Echo-Hawk, that included Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, along with a host of
their top staff members (and Kim Teehee from the White
House), to talk about what the Obama Administration
can do to improve education for Indian students. The
non-governmental people attending the meeting included a cross-section of people working at charter schools,
public schools and universities, and representatives of
tribal colleges and Indian education organizations.
Before anyone gets all excited about who was there
and who wasn’t, I want to caution everyone to think
carefully about how we are going to respond to the
Administration’s promise of consultation – we must
have a workable and useful consultation system. No one
presumed to speak for anyone but themselves and their
organizations at this meeting, nor did the government
people seem to be laying the groundwork for claiming,
at some future time, that we “spoke for” the Indians.
To the degree the meeting might have been helpful, it
would be to orient the Administration people on some
of the issues in Indian education and some of the things
that are going on in the field at the moment. Over the
years, we have become so focused on consultation and
representation at every meeting that the result has been
government people too often coming to subsequent real
consultation meetings unprepared because they have
been reluctant to have meetings like this. Then they feel
blind-sided when tribal representatives turn out to have
their own views and opinions. Elected leadership has
the power to speak for the communities and to represent
them and they decide what “the Indian position” is. But,
we also have a lot of experienced people who have much
to offer and, because they are not elected officials, their
views are often not sought in the policy process.
At times like this, my nearly 50 years experience in the
field must be packaged in a useful and not cynical way if I
am to add something helpful to the discussion, something
at which I’m not always really good. I have always been
6
The American Indian Graduate
Sam Deloria
somewhat impatient and, some feel, too direct. I have
been working in Indian affairs at all levels since the Kennedy Administration, sometimes in education, sometimes
in law and policy, sometimes for tribes, the government,
universities and non-profits. I have often been wrong, but
I try to be wrong in a clear and instructive way. I have
seen administrations come and go, and each one, at some
point, says it wants to provide a first-class education for
Indian students; but it must be said that despite their best
efforts, things don’t improve all that much over time. The
failure to achieve hoped-for results is sometimes the result
of the notoriously short attention span in Washington but,
even if we were governed by Zen masters, this particular
set of problems is horrendously complex. So, while I came
to the meeting with an open mind, I also came with 50
years of skepticism as well.
What does one look for at a meeting like this? Well,
for starters, is it going to be a drop-in on the part of the
Big Shots, a welcoming speech and hasty departure, leaving us with the same nice, hard-working people we can
and do meet with any time? Not this one. It is rare,
indeed, that two cabinet Secretaries, an Assistant Secretary, their top staff members and the Senior White House
Advisor on Indian Policy are there and listening for one
and one-half hours. Second, are they setting us up for
some Good Idea that they want to promote? Not that I
could tell. They presented no solutions, threw ideas out
freely and listened to what we had to say. The next step,
and next clue, is whether there will be follow-up and what
form it will take. I’m sure all the non-governmental people at the meeting would be eager to assist in shaping a
new initiative and, at the same time, the Administration’s
effort to come up with something will eventually involve
many additional people and organizations as well.
What are my hopes? Well, to be a little self-serving,
I have to make our case. Our organization provides
what can only be called token funding to Indian and
Native grad students – you know, the people who will
work for the tribes to achieve all this self-determination
we have been promised. Our average grant is only about
$4,000 and our students average an annual shortfall of
$18,000!!! Among other things, this means that their
ability to work at low-paying tribal jobs upon graduation
is constrained by the need to pay back their educational
loans. Yet, we can’t seem to get a budget increase out of
the system – BIE, the Department, OMB and the Congress. Indian students are shovel-ready, if that is still an
operative phrase. A lousy $2 million increase – chump
change in Washington – would DOUBLE the scholarships we are able to give out! So, I hope that somewhere
along the line someone will conclude that adequate
scholarship support for students at all levels is an important component. But, nationally, we also have the leakiest pipeline in the country, the worst dropout rate at all
levels; we have systemic issues to address.
On the larger scale, I hope, as the process continues,
a distinction can be made between the technical governmental issues and the more abstract issues of substantive
educational policy. Curriculum, teacher training and all
that are very important and require attention. But, we
also need to understand that delivery systems are important – the structure and cultures of federal agencies and
how they relate to each other and to Indian tribes and
educational organizations. We need to look at the impact
of contracting schools and how that affects any educational initiative the Administration develops. We need
to look at the vast resources of the Department of Education, not only in terms of funding, but also the educational expertise they have and have access to and can
make available in a more focused way to the BIE system
and to community-controlled schools and public schools
serving our students. Sometimes, the people running
the government agencies in Indian affairs get caught up
in the metaphysics of policy and neglect the day-to-day
job of running the agency – the regulations, the forms,
the enforcement and accountability. I hope that won’t
happen here. I hope the government will look closely at
what it can and should do, and do it. For BIE/BIA, running the agency is like pushing a chain: you only control
or even influence the few links you have in your hand.
Moving the rest of the chain is another story.
I also hope that, somehow, we come out of this with a
stronger sense of our own responsibilities. Ultimately, the
federal government can’t give our young people hope and
pride: we have to do that. The Pre-Law Summer Institute
that my old organization, the American Indian Law Center, runs is the most successful program in history (with a
90% rate of law school completion) because we demand
and get maximum effort from the students and they finish the program and continue their lives saying it was
the most rigorous program they ever attended. All of our
schools and programs should approach our students with
the same high expectations and the same confidence in
their abilities. Those bogus “scholars” and administrators,
who have a stake in portraying Indian students as incompetents with their language and culture like millstones
around their necks, should be called out. And we need
to look at the accountability of our own programs and
institutions. I am tired of seeing school boards politicize
the schools, hire their unqualified relatives and rip off the
funds. We fought hard battles to establish our right to run
our own affairs 40 years ago and we have not made the
most of those opportunities. We should have no dropouts
and no suicides. No kid should feel alone or abandoned.
We brag about our traditional social support system –
where is it for these kids?
Rapid strides in improving Indian education are
only going to be accomplished by our people in the communities demanding it of their own institutions, as well
as government agencies, and bringing it about. High-level people in Washington can help; they can support our
efforts and they can run their own programs better, but
we can’t look to them to do our jobs. For the sake of our
young people, we need to lay off the rhetoric of culture
and sovereignty and get to the hard work of running the
best school systems in the world for them. (I know. I
know. Culture and sovereignty are important. But they
are too often used as a distraction and an excuse rather
than the positive forces they can be).
I welcome the Obama Administration’s interest in
helping us. If they fail, as so many others have in the
past, it is because we didn’t help and, in so doing, we
will have failed. It will be our responsibility. ✦
The American Indian Graduate
7
Graduate Horizons 2010
Arizona State University to
Host Graduate Horizons
National Pre-Graduate Program for Native
American Students
by Michele St. George
A
ciplines. American Indian educators and partner organizations, including the American Indian Graduate
Center, Princeton Review Foundation, Consortium for
Graduate Study Management and the Graduate Management Admissions Council will also be attending.
“When students finish the 4-day graduate workshops, they will have a completed a statement of purpose, personal statement, resume or curriculum vitae,
test preparation strategies, financial aid resources and
will have determined a graduate program of study and
career opportunities,” says Carmen Lopez, College Horizon’s new Executive Director, a citizen of the Navajo
Nation. “This program not only provides direct services
to students on the graduate process, but also contributes
Photo courtesy of Kevin Leonard
rizona State University will host Graduate
Horizons 2010 on their Tempe, Arizona campus,
July 17-20, 2010. Graduate Horizons (GH) is a
72-hour “crash course” for Native American college students and graduates, on preparing for master’s, doctoral
or professional school graduate studies. GH is part of
College Horizons, a pre-college program for high school
students.
This year’s GH attendees on the ASU campus will
represent over 50 tribal nations, Alaska villages and
Native Hawaiians, from over 20 states throughout the
nation. Working alongside the students are professors,
deans and university admissions officers, from over 40
graduate school programs, representing hundreds of dis-
Part of a Graduate Horizon Event
8
The American Indian Graduate
for this “crash course” program are specifically designed
for American Indian students and provide them with the
meaningful tools and strategies needed to be successful
in their pathway to graduate work.”
ASU partnerships with tribal
communities have resulted in some
significant programs designed
specifically for American Indian
students, including law, education
and nursing, as well as numerous
academic and social support groups.
Arizona is home to 22 federally-recognized tribes,
whose communities comprise over a quarter of Arizona’s
land. ASU partnerships with tribal communities have
resulted in some significant programs designed specifically
Photo courtesy of Kevin Leonard
to the capacity of Native nations by developing a new
generation of professionals with advanced degrees.”
“Graduate Horizons was the most inspiring and
informative event,” says Crystal Curley, an ASU student
who attended a 2008 Graduate Horizons program. “You
will be surrounded by Native students who have a dream
to better their community and by faculty who want to
guide and support you in making that dream a reality.”
Crystal, a Gates Scholar, who will graduate in May 2010
with a Bachelors of Science degree, says the program gave
her the motivation and information she will need to continue to graduate school.
ASU, this year’s conference site, is one of the largest
public universities in the nation, with over 1,400 Native
students enrolled, including over 250 master’s and doctoral students. Thirty faculty members and over 150
other professionals and staff are also Native American.
“We are thrilled to host the Graduate Horizons program this year and welcome American Indian students
and faculty, from tribes across the nation, to ASU,” says
Maria T. Allison, ASU University Vice Provost and Dean
of the Graduate College. “ASU and the Graduate College are firmly committed to supporting the success of all
students interested in graduate education. The workshops
College Horizons includes test preparation workshops.
The American Indian Graduate
9
Graduate Horizons 2010
Photo courtesy of Scott Troyanos
for American Indian students, including law, education
and nursing, as well as numerous academic and social support groups. Each year, ASU is consistently ranked highly
by Diverse Issues in Higher Education, for the number of
graduate degrees awarded to Native Americans.
“We are extremely proud and excited to have Arizona State University host our program,” says Lopez.
“They are investing in the future leadership of Indian
Country and offer strong graduate and professional programs that focus on Native issues.”
Khia Grinnell, who attended a 2007 Graduate Horizons program, is currently studying Indian Law at ASU’s
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. “I strongly recommend Graduate Horizons to anyone who needs help
in choosing schools, completing the application process
or getting an idea of the program they are interested in,”
she says. “It was great to get some one-on-one time with
admissions representatives from law schools.”
Students attending Graduate Horizons 2010 will
be housed at ASU’s Barrett, the Honors College; the
nation’s first comprehensive four-year residential honors
college at a public university. Barrett has a new sevenbuilding campus featuring housing, classrooms, faculty
offices, a fitness center, computer lounge and dining hall,
with covered terrace and garden. Built around six court-
The Hayden Library at the ASU Tempe Campus
10
The American Indian Graduate
yards, Barrett also contains an outdoor fireplace, space
for performances and recreation and a student-designed
sustainable living community, with low-consumption
plumbing fixtures, enhanced energy monitoring, recycled gray water, a green roof and organic garden.
Although the deadline to apply for this summer’s
Graduate Horizons is February 1, 2010 (1st round) and
February 26 (2nd round), applications might be accepted until June 1st, on a space-available basis. “We also
have financial aid available for students who qualify,”
says Lopez.
College Horizons, a non-profit organization, was
founded in 1998 to provide college counseling to Native
American students from across the country, with a particular emphasis on first-generation students and those
from rural communities who may not have access to
expert advising. The graduate program was established
in 2003, for those who want guidance in applying to
graduate school. To date, more than 1,550 students have
completed the high school program and 425 have completed the graduate program. ✦
For more information about College Horizons, please visit
www.collegehorizons.org, contact 505.401.3854 or e-mail
[email protected].
Honor. Respect. Tradition. Pride.
Education empowers you.
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you and your nation along the road to self-determination.
With our flexible scheduling, you can earn your degree while earning a living and fulfilling your family
and tribal commitments. Depending on your program, you can attend class at convenient times at a
location near your home or work. Or you can attend online, wherever or whenever you choose.
Classes are designed to allow you to collaborate with peers in small, interactive groups and are
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The University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association (ncahlc.org). The University’s central administration is located at 4615 E. Elwood St., Phoenix, AZ 85040. Online
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Proprietary Education. AC-0188. Indianapolis Campus: 7999 Knue Rd., Suites 100 & 500, Indianapolis, IN 46250; Northwest Indiana Campus: 8401 Ohio St., Merrillville, IN 46410. Ohio: Registration Number 1154320. Cleveland Campus:
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CL1001
AIGC 2009-2010 Academic Year
All Native American High School
Academic Team
by Marveline Vallo
O
nce a year, the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) honors ten outstanding American
Indian/Alaska Native high school seniors with
the All Native American High School Academic Team
(ANAHSAT) award. These high school seniors are
selected based on academic achievement, honors and
awards, leadership and community service. Each is given
a monetary award, which may be spent at the student’s
discretion.
The objectives of this program are: to increase awareness of academic achievement of Native high school
seniors among their peers, Indian Country and the public; to increase recognition of Native student success and
capabilities as a positive motivation for pursing academic
excellence and higher education; to increase academic
achievement and role models as positive influences in
Indian Country; to increase teacher, administrator, parent and community involvement by recommending,
nominating and supporting student participation and to
increase student participation in high school academic
programs and the pursuit of higher education.
Congratulations to the 2009-2010 AIGC All Native
American High School Academic Team:
Tanisha Atcitty (Navajo) – Tanisha graduated from
Greyhills Academy High School in Tuba City, Arizona.
In high school, Tanisha received the Academic Achievement Award, Top GPA of Class Award 2006-2009 and
the Congressional Award in 2008-2009 (this award is
given to students who have contributed their time to
volunteer work, personal development, physical fitness
and displayed exploration skills). She played junior and
varsity volleyball and varsity basketball. Her academic
achievements include attending the NASA Space Camp
in Huntsville, Alabama and participating in the Phillips Exeter Summer program. Tanisha was a Student
Council member in her junior and senior years, Class
President in her freshman, sophomore and junior years,
12
The American Indian Graduate
Student Body President for her senior year and a member
of the National Honor Society. Her community service
consists of being an assistant coach for youth T-ball and
an assistant at the Veteran’s Organization in Tuba City.
Tanisha is attending the University of Arizona pursuing
a biology degree.
Joshua Begay (Navajo)
– Joshua graduated from
Tuba City High School in
Tuba City, Arizona. Joshua
received the 2007 Academic
Achievement Award, 2006
Top GPA of Class Award,
2007 President’s Award for
Education Excellence and
2007-08 Honor Roll Recognition. He played junior
Joshua Begay
and varsity basketball. His
academic achievements include attending the Summer Engineering Academy at the University of Arizona.
Joshua was part of Student Council during his junior
and senior years, junior and senior Class President, Student Body President during his sophomore year and a
member of the National Honor Society. His community
service consists of being an
assistant for local community holiday dinners and
community trash pick up
day in Tuba City. Joshua
is attending the University
of Idaho pursuing an engineering degree.
Jared Blanche (Red Cliff
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) – Jared
graduated from Bayfield
High School in Bayfield,
Jared Blanche
Wisconsin. In high school, Jared received an Academic
Achievement Award, Who’s Who of America in 2005,
numerous band contest awards, Electrathon Award and
the Forensic Award. Jared was Vice President of his
freshman and sophomore classes and a member of the
National Honor Society. His community service consists
of assisting in local food drives and Earth Day cleanup
with members in Bayfield, WI. Jared is attending the
University of Wisconsin Superior and pursuing a psychology degree.
Rochelle Chee (Navajo)
– Rochelle graduated from
Ganado High School in
Ganado, Arizona. In high
school, Rochelle received
the Academic Honor Roll
for three years, 2006 Global
Expedition Award and the
Athletic Award for Cheerleading in 2007. Her academic
achievements include attending the Health Occupation Rochelle Chee
Students of America in Phoenix, Arizona. Rochelle was
part of student council for two years, Student President
for Future Business Leaders of America Club and a member of the National Honor Society. Her community service consists of being a volunteer for her church, chapter
meetings and staying after school to pick up trash in the
Ganado community. Rochelle is attending Haskell Indian
Nations University pursuing her business degree.
Rachel Chief (Navajo) – Rachel graduated from Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. In high
school, Rachel received the Academic Achievement
Award and the Top GPA of Class Award for four years.
She played junior & varsity volleyball, softball and varsity wrestling. Her achievements include participating
in Native American student arts & craft shows, Future
Business Leaders of America (member) and the Monument Valley High School Youth Alive program. Her
community service consists of being an assistant for
track meets, volunteering as a tables-time, score keeper
and running bout sheets for wrestling tournaments,
donating to the Women’s Shelter and volunteering her
time with church activities in Kayenta. Rachel is attending Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona
pursuing a nursing degree.
Cole Haskins (Cherokee)
– Cole graduated from
Booker T. Washington in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. In high
school, Cole received the
All-American Scholar –
U.S. Achievement Academy
Award, a National Society
of High School Scholar,
Who’s Who Among American High School for three
years and Oklahoma AcaCole Haskins
demic Scholars Award. Cole
was a member of the student council and a member of
the National Honor Society for three years. His community service consists of volunteering with the Big Brothers & Big Sisters, organizing toy and clothing collections
for Madonna House and volunteering as a mentor and
reader to a 1st grade class at Sequoyah Elementary
School. Cole is attending Dartmouth College pursing a
medical humanities degree.
Cameron Marshall (Northern Cheyenne) – Cameron graduated from Blackfoot High School in Blackfoot, Idaho. In high school,
Cameron received the National
Honors Society Graduation
Stole, Kasiska Health Science
Scholarship and received the
Blackfoot School District #55
Indian Education Program
Academic Excellence Award,
along with the Faithful Attendance Award. Cameron is a
member of the National Honor
Society, Indian Club and basketball team. Her community Cameron Marshall
service includes visiting the elderly in an assisted living
home, volunteering with the Salmon River Agai’Dika
101st Year Gathering Feast and helping her community
with picking up trash. Cameron is attending Idaho State
University pursuing a biology degree.
Jamal Sanchez (White Mountain Apache Tribe) –
Jamal graduated from Blue Ridge High School in Lakeside, Arizona. In high school, Jamal enrolled in college
courses, attended the National Youth Leadership Conference and a youth conference in Nevada. Jamal was in
the high school Chess Club and played basketball. His
Continued on page 14
The American Indian Graduate
13
AIGC 2009-2010 Academic Year
community service includes being a chess team coach
and coaching a 2nd grade team for the Apache Youth
Basketball League. Jamal is attending the Pima Community College pursuing a liberal arts degree.
Michaelina Sorrell-Strong (Navajo) – Michaelina
graduated from Mountain View High School in Tucson, Arizona. In high school, Michaelina was a member
of the National Honors Society for 2½ years, a member
of the Varsity Track and Field and Cross Country team
for 4 years. She was an active member with the Native
American club, African-American club, Hispanic club
and New Global Citizens club. Her community service
includes starting a Neighborhood Watch Program in her
neighborhood, coaching a U-12 girl’s soccer team and
being a member of the Girl Scouts for 12 years. Michaelina is attending the University of Arizona pursing a
mathematics degree.
Ashley Wilcox (Narragansett) – Ashley graduated
from Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, New York.
In high school, Ashley was a member of the National
Honor Society, First Honor’s Student for three years and
enrolled in several college courses. She was a member
of the Nassau County Youth Board and Sacred Heart
Academy Costume Committee. She volunteers in her
community by raising money for charities, visiting group
homes and shelters, helping underprivileged families
and the Habitat for Humanity program. She has been a
member of the Girl Scouts for 10 years. ✦
Congratulations to the
2009-2010 All Native American
High School Academic Team!
American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) Ad
Published in August 2009
t i ng
Celebraears
20 Y
Dedicated to improving the lives of American Indians, the Buder Center for American Indian Studies promotes the
higher education of American Indians, preparing students to assume leadership positions in social service and
governmental institutions.
Among the Buder Center’s special advantages are:

Opportunities for full and partial scholarships to American Indians from the Kathryn M. Buder Charitable
Foundation

A variety of academic concentrations

Course work focused on social work practice with American Indians

Fieldwork with American Indian communities in your area of concentration

Excellent assistance in job placement

Dual degree-programs with law, business, architecture, and health/hospital administration
Stephanie Kettler, Program Manager One Brookings Drive Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, MO 63130
E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (314) 935-4510 Fax: (314) 935-8464 Website: http://buder.wustl.edu
14
The American Indian Graduate
Internships
A Unique Opportunity
by Erick Rhoan
T
his year, I had a unique and wonderful opportunity to work for the United States Attorney’s Office.
My work with this great agency began this summer, when I applied for an internship with that organization. I was hired to perform legal research for the Civil
Division of the Eastern District of California. At the
time, I was using this opportunity not only to gain experience but also obtain clinical units from my law school
(the great San Joaquin College of Law, of course). When
I accrued the required number of my clinical hours, I
was disappointed that I would be faced with having to
leave behind such a great office and staff. However, I
had gained a reputation for efficiency and quality in my
work and was asked to stay – this time under a federal
work study program!
What I love the most about working for the US
Attorney’s Office are the people that comprise the staff.
The attorneys that I work with are not just good lawyers,
they are also good friends. To say that I have learned a
lot from them would be an understatement. I entered
this office seeking and hoping for a quality mentorship
experience, but not expecting one. My expectations have
been blown away ten-fold. Not only am I being mentored by some of the best attorneys in California, I am
also learning about the law in a way that law school
could never teach me.
My daily job duties revolve around legal research
– finding the right law to help the attorneys win their
cases. I have been entrusted with research involving complex litigation and have actually drafted a few motions,
requests for admission and have performed background
research on opposing parties’ expert witnesses. I love to
research the law. I love problem solving and every case
that I have been given is similar to solving a puzzle. So
far, I have been very successful and have earned glowing
remarks from my supervisors.
Erick Rhoan
What I love the most about
working for the US Attorney’s
Office are the people that
comprise the staff. …Not only am
I being mentored by some of the
best attorneys in California, I am
also learning about the law in a
way that law school could never
teach me.
I do not look forward to the day that I have to finally leave this place but, when I do, I know that I will have
had an experience that few law students can enjoy. Furthermore, I will take the lessons and good habits that
I have learned from my mentors with me to my next
opportunity. These are skills that I wish to apply when
helping my own clients get the justice they deserve and,
one day, I intend to use those skills to help not only my
people, but the Indian community at large. ✦
The American Indian Graduate
15
A Blueprint for Success
American Indian Well-Being Model
in Higher Education
by Shawn Secatero, Ph.D.
I
remember conducting an oral history project on the Tohajiilee Navajo Reservation during the mid 1990s. I was often concerned about American Indian higher education and
needed some type of advice to help me succeed in my master’s program. I interviewed
a Navajo elder and asked him, “What words of advice would you offer our younger generations who plan on attending college?” He answered, “I would tell them to remember who
they are, where they are from and where they are going in life.” Furthermore, the elder
explained the sacredness of spiritual, mental and physical well-being and the importance of Shawn Secatero
the close connections of an individual, family and community.
These three elements of well-being ignited my thinking into a broader view of helping all students succeed in
higher education. As I continued my education at the doctorate level, I expanded my well-being model, which served
as a major component of my dissertation that involved success and persistence factors pertaining to American Indian
Graduate and professional students.
The overall purpose in developing the holistic American Indian Well-being Model in Higher Education was to
create a blueprint for American Indian college students by addressing well-being factors that include: spiritual, cultural,
social, professional, mental, emotional, physical and environmental pillars. The well-being model can be used as a primary means of helping college students, college practitioners and researchers in addressing issues that concern higher
education. Prospective college and graduate students may find themselves asking the following questions, which are
relevant to well-being factors when considering higher education. Here are the following eight pillars:
1. Spiritual Well-Being (Purpose)
Why am I attending college?
Before an individual decides to pursue higher education,
he or she may ask, “Why am I attending college?” This
sense of purpose includes important elements, such as an
individual’s beliefs, happiness and balancing well-being
factors in life. Examples of spiritual well-being can relate
to daily prayer, self acceptance/realization, life fulfillment
and remembering teachings from those in the spirit world.
2. Cultural Well-Being (Identity)
How do I balance my culture and the modern world while
I am in college?
Cultural well-being is essential for American Indian
students to succeed in college, which integrates knowing who you are, where you are from and where you are
going in life. This formulates the issue of identity and
protecting our culture, by interpreting our past and link-
16
The American Indian Graduate
ing our future. Examples of cultural well-being include
the cultural practices, songs, Native language, rituals,
artistic talent, community pride and giving back.
3. Professional Well-Being (Planning)
What are my goals for my college and professional career?
Professional well-being includes a variety of factors,
including planning a successful college academic experience and future career. Professional well-being also
includes the development of skills, interests, work ethic,
hobbies, financial literacy and leadership.
It is essential for college students to plan ahead in fulfilling all academic, career and financial aid obligations.
4. Social Well-Being (Networking)
Do I have adequate networking skills to succeed in college?
Social well-being is defined as, “Our ability to interact successfully within a community and throughout a variety of
cultural contacts, while showing respect for ourselves and
other, (WSU Well-being site, 2009). Examples of social
well-being include time management, cooperation, group
work, literacy skills, intimacy, dialogue with professors and
students and a circle of positive friends.
As part of building one’s college career, it is important to have a plan to navigate and identify all eight of
the well-being pillars.
5. Mental Well-Being (Thinking)
As part of developing a personal well-being model for
higher education, I created a circle that highlights each
of the eight well-being pillars; spiritual, cultural, social,
professional, emotional, mental, environmental and physical. In addition, each circle represents a particular area for
each well-being pillar, such as resources, strengths, challenges and a plan of action. Students who are completing
this model must carefully read each well-being resource
and develop a basic understanding. There are no wrong
answers, as each student labels each portion of the model
with their own interpretations. The main objectives of
the personal well-being model are to encourage students
to think critically about well-being factors that can help
them succeed in higher education
Am I academically prepared to meet the rigors of college?
Mental well-being is defined as a state of well-being in
which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, coping skills and learning how to think in a variety of ways.
It can sometimes be referred to as “intellectual wellbeing,” (WSU Well-being Site, 2009).
Examples of mental well-being include study skills,
learning styles, problem solving, test preparation,
research skills, creativity and rigor.
6. Emotional Well-Being (Feeling)
Do I know how to balance my emotions to succeed in college?
Emotional well-being allows us to recognize, understand,
experience and express a full range of emotions and channel those emotions into healthy behaviors that satisfy
personal and social goals, (WSU Well-being Site, 2009).
Examples of emotional well-being include stress management, positive self-esteem, adaptation to change, coping
skills, resiliency and anger management.
7. Physical Being (Body)
Can I take care of myself and my body while I’m in college?
Physical well-being can be referred to as the ability to
understand what can make our body most efficient and
effective and the ability to recognize and respect our own
limitations, (WSU Well-being Site, 2009). Examples of
physical well-being include proper diet, exercise, drug and
alcohol awareness, motivation, sex education, personal
hygiene, sleep and relaxation.
8. Environmental Well-Being (Place)
Is the college that I plan to attend a good fit for me and
my goals?
In many American Indian traditions, the umbilical cord
of a newborn is often placed in the ground or kept in the
family home for safekeeping. The umbilical cord serves
as an educational seed that is planted for future growth
and a sense of place. In American Indian society, the
sense of place is very important and provides a foundation for learning and a physical concept of home.
Developing A Personal Well-Being Model
Resources
Resources are instrumental to student success at all levels of higher education. A resource can be identified as
a mentor, student support specialist, elder, community
activist, leader, coach or even a family member. In addition, college campuses have various forms of resource
centers that assist students with tutoring, school organizations, workshops and other events that are relevant to
academic and personal growth.
Strengths
It is very important for college students to identify personal strengths that can assist in positive self-concept.
Strengths are connected to the positive attributes that
each person embodies; talents, thinking skills, friendliness, perseverance, dedication, knowledge of culture and
other positive factors.
Challenges
Learning to identify challenges is another essential tool
for developing a personal well-being model. Challenges
are obstacles to succeeding in college, such as lack of
mentors, homesickness, no sense of belonging, family
issues and a shortage of financial aid funding.
Continued on page 18
The American Indian Graduate
17
A Blueprint for Success
Plan of Action
IR
L
C U L
U A
T U
I T
Challenges�
R
A
L
A
L
strengths�
N
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RP
OSE
IDEN
TIT
A L
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Plan of action
Plan of action
ND
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BO
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PLA
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IO
E
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Diagram of Well-Being Model in Higher Education
S
P
NE
The plan of action is a vital element of the well-being
model, which identifies a possible solution in reference
to addressing challenges. In this plan of action, a student
may also list a timeframe to effectively solve the challenge. When using this model, it is important to know
that some students may leave blanks in portions, which
can be addressed at a later time.
Plan of action
strengths�
L
L
ENVIR
TA
The American Indian Graduate
EN
18
ON
M
It is important to note that students will not complete all
portions of the circle. The model serves as a foundation
L
C A
S I
Physical Well-being
Resource: Young Children
Strength: Role Model status for children
Challenges: Eating too much junk food
Plan of Action: Eat healthier foods such as vegetables
and fruits
Y
In another example, a student may identify and connect
with physical well-being. As a resource, a student may
identify their younger siblings as a resource, since most
young children are physically active and idolize college
students. As a challenge, a student may express that he
or she is eating too much junk food rather than making
healthy food choices. As a solution, the student will identify eating healthier foods, such as vegetables and fruits
as a plan of action.
H
Spiritual Well-being
Resource: Traditional Elder
Strengths: Daily Prayer, Ceremonial duties.
Challenges: Homesickness; wanting to come home often
Plan of Action: Call home once a week to speak with
family members
Challenges�
P
If you look carefully at the diagram, the student is in the
center where all lines meet. In the inner circle, a student
must identify a person that would serve as a resource
in that particular well-being pillar. For example, in the
spiritual portion of the well-being model, a student may
identify a traditional elder as a resource and list daily
prayer as a strength. As an example of a spiritual wellbeing challenge, a student may identify a disconnection
with home. In the outer portion of the circle, a student
will therefore identify a plan of action, such as calling
home to speak with family members at least once per
week as a possible solution.
Chart created by Jihee Kang Lombardi, Graphic Designer,
Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, VA
Plan of action
for college students to initiate a plan of action. Once a
student identifies and completes the pillars of well-being,
the final process begins of creating a life symbol in higher education.
Creating a Life Symbol
As American Indian people, well-being can often take
a symbol in many forms, including animate and inanimate. For example, as a Canoncito Navajo college student, corn was always revered as being a sacred symbol
among our people. Therefore, I incorporated the eight
pillars into a well-being symbol, illustrated as follows:
As part of my personal life model, I drew the straight, intersecting lines as corn stalks, because it is sacred among the
Canoncito Band of Navajos. A seed of corn resembles my
umbilical cord, which my parents buried in the earth near
my home. The umbilical cord represents my physical wellbeing and my foundation in life. As part of environmental
well-being, I was nourished with love, respect and a good
home. Corn also needs nourishment and proper care to
grow strong and healthy. I developed my mental and emotional well-being as a teenager. I often credit one teacher
who made a positive difference in my mental well-being by
challenging me to reach my full potential in her classes. In
terms of emotional well-being, my high school counselor was
an extraordinary person, who helped me address challenges
as I entered college. In this stage of a corn stalk, I developed a strong base to stand on my own. I continued to grow
socially and professionally in my young college life. I became
president of an American Indian club at my university to
enhance my social network. I also developed my teaching
skills as an educator and finished my teaching licensure
Continued on page 43
Overcoming Challenges
Clinical Psychology
by Billie Jo Kipp, Ph.D.
T
he overwhelming need for Native psychologists
in Indian country is well documented. The last
documented statistic on Native psychologists was
approximately 1 for every 100,000 Native patients. As
a Native psychologist, this statistic is one of the many
reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, but
not the foremost.
As a Blackfeet woman, I had lived most of my adult
life on the Blackfeet Reservation. I had raised 5 children and suffered the social and mental ills of substance
abuse, depression and other health-related difficulties associated with living in an impoverished community. With my recovery came awareness and guidance,
in the direction of pursuing a chemical dependency
degree, which became my life’s goal. I left the reservation and pursued a bachelor’s degree in counseling psychology, with an associate’s in chemical dependency.
Through this experience, I had the opportunity to work
for a semester on my own reservation. It was then that
I realized the mental health needs of the reservation
demanded more education and skills than I had with my
chemical dependency degree. To address the collective
and individual trauma, it was required that I gain more
education, knowledge and clinical practice to be effective. It was this that provided me with the direction and
energy to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
Education has been a gift, but it has also come with
setbacks and challenges. When Natives pursue a Ph.D.,
they are often challenged to think differently and change
is inevitable, but not always cultural. The Ph.D. program
demanded that I integrate theories and dogmas that conflicted with being Blackfeet; however, I had to remember
that I had to learn these concepts knowing my ultimate
goal was to obtain my Ph.D. Once I obtained my doctoral degree, I began to challenge, adapt and change
these teachings to include a Native American perspective, with the credentials that academia recognizes. This
has been one of the greatest challenges of my work; to
be a Native scholar and research, teach and write from
a Native perspective. The balance between being Native
Billie Jo Kipp
Education has been a gift, but
it has also come with setbacks
and challenges.
and gaining the acknowledgement of the academic community as a valid professor continues to be challenging.
My greatest satisfaction continues to be my clinical
work with tribes. It is through my work as a psychologist in Indian country that I realize it was all worth it. To
help Native people understand and accept who they are,
despite their social and mental difficulties, is something
that reminds me that my degree is useful and appreciated.
I have been fortunate in my career. I maintain a parttime research faculty appointment and provide clinical
services to the New Mexico pueblos. This affords me the
academic challenge and the ability to provide to tribes
what is most useful to them. Education has been a difficult path but, with my degree, I have received many
rewards and have been able to benefit tribes with 15 years
of clinical experience. For those who follow me — keep
focused, stay when challenges are overwhelming, stay connected to your people and know that, in the end, your
degree not only belongs to you — it moves a nation. ✦
(Billie Jo Kipp conducts research in Mental Health at UNM
CNAH and in Diabetes Management with Project ECHO
at UNM.)
The American Indian Graduate
19
Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr.
One Man’s Destiny
by Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr., DDS, MPH
Assistant Surgeon General (SSPHS) Retired
T
he life story of Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr.
(Laguna/Ohkay Owingeh) reaches back to the
ancient Pueblo culture cherished by his grandparents and parents and extends to state-of-the-art
medical and dental sciences and the current needs of the
American Indian people.
Dr. Blue Spruce’s journey began on the Santa Fe
Indian School campus, with his parents’ determination
that their children would excel academically and obtain
college degrees. He attended St. Michael’s High School
in Santa Fe and graduated as valedictorian of his class.
He is a 1956 graduate of Creighton University’s School
of Dentistry.
After graduating from dental school, Dr. Blue Spruce
planned to return to the pueblos to treat his people. As
it turned out, not only was he the dentist for the Northern Pueblos, but his destiny reached far beyond; from the
wilds of Montana to New York City to San Francisco to
South America and back to the United States. In Washington, DC, he presented the needs of American Indians
to Congress and lunched with the President of the United States. Throughout his journey, Dr. Blue Spruce has
traveled between two cultures, succeeding in mainstream
society, while keeping pueblo tradition in his heart.
Facing prejudice and conquering adversity, he
reached the zenith of his career as Director of the Phoenix Regional Indian Health Service and achieving the
rank of Assistant Surgeon General of the United States
– the equivalent of a Navy Rear Admiral.
Dr. Blue Spruce retired from federal government
service in 1986 and, in 1990, was founder of the Society of American Indian Dentists. He now serves as the
Assistant Dean at the Arizona School of Dentistry and
Oral Health (ASDOH). He is referred to as the ‘busiest retired person’ and continues to pursue his passion of
increasing the number of American Indian dentists and
other health professions. Six years ago, he presented the
following message at the annual convention of the Association of American Indian Physicians:
20
The American Indian Graduate
Dr. George Blue Spruce Jr.
Indian Self Determination: Truth Or Myth
A wise American Indian man stated: “We have seen
the lightning and have heard the thunder, but when is it
ever going to rain?”
He was voicing the frustration of the Federal Government’s failure to live up to the treaty obligations that
promised resources to help American Indian people in
their struggle to survive; after their land had been taken
away. It was nearly fifty years before congressional legislation recognized American Indian tribes as sovereign
governments and thus began a new era in Federal Government/American Indian tribal relationships.
However, it was not until July 1970, when the
President of the United States, before a general session
of Congress, delivered the first “American Indian Message” – when he stated: ‘on every scale of human measurement, whether it is employment, income, health or
education – the Indian – the first American – ranks at
the bottom!”
When the President speaks, action usually takes place.
Following this important address, there was landmark legislation that changed the course of history for American
Indians. In 1972, the Indian Education Act was enacted,
followed by the Native American Program Act of 1974,
the Indian Self Determination Act of 1975 and the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act of 1976.
It has been 34 years since the Indian Self Determination Act was passed. What did this historic act do for
American Indian people? When you ask a tribal leader
what it meant to his or her tribe; they will say, “It meant
that, for the first time, we can now assess our own needs,
prioritize those needs – but most importantly – we can
now manage and control our own programs!”
The question now remains – is Indian Self Determination “Truth or Myth”?
American Indian health professionals do not believe
progress is being made when viewing the data related to
the number of health professionals. When one visits any
of the numerous health facilities in Indian country, it is
very obvious that there are very few American Indian
health professionals, especially at the doctorate level (e.g.,
physicians, dentists, pharmacists). Thus, Indian people,
without those ‘doctorate credentials, are not participating in those ‘meaningful’ leadership positions that allow
them to be a part of managing and controlling their own
programs.
The scenario is especially appalling when we look
at the lack of American Indian dentists. It has been 33
years since the Indian Health Care Improvement Act
was passed. Title I of the act provides scholarships for
American Indian students interested in becoming a
health professional. It is disappointing to see how very
few students apply for scholarships to pursue a career in
dentistry, medicine and pharmacy. It is further disappointing to observe the following data:
• There are approximately 400 dentists employed by
the Indian Health Service and approximately 150
dentists employed by tribal health programs. Of
those 550 dentists, less than 50 are known to be
Native American (identified as being enrolled members of federally-recognized tribes)! To have parity
with the non-Indian ratio of dentist to patient, we
need over 3,000 Indian dentists.
• The Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID)
can only document approximately 140-150 American Indian dentists in the United States.
• There are less than 5 American Indian dentists in 8
of the 10 largest tribes.
Another way of looking at this pathetic data, is that
there is only ONE American Indian dentist for every
27,000 American Indian individuals!
There are many reasons for this severe lack of American Indian dentists, physicians and pharmacists, the
least of which are: lack of family and extended family
support; lack of role models; lack of appropriate counseling; lack of proper course preparation and lack of financial resources. A network of support, at every level of the
student’s educational pathway, needs to be established to
address the obstacles listed above. However, when all is
said and done, there remains a major entity that plays a
critical role in the production of the American Indian
dentists and that it – the dental schools themselves. Of
the 56 dental schools in the United States, there are very
few that have made a genuine commitment to recruiting
and enrolling American Indian dental students.
It has been determined that Indian students coming from their respective communities are more likely to
return to their own communities to work. With the medical and dental problems that exist in our Indian communities, it benefits everyone to join in the effort to promote
“Home Grown” medical professionals and dentists.
The Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
(ASDDOH) has made such a commitment. This is
manifest in that, during the 8 years that the ASDOH
has existed, the school has graduated 8 American Indian
dentists, representing 9 federally-recognized tribes. It
should be noted also that 100 Indian students are presently enrolled in the ASGOH, representing 11 different
tribes and 4 more Native American students are entering next year’s freshman class. The ASDOH is proud to
state that all the Indian graduates are treating American
Indian patients throughout Indian country and, further,
those presently in school made a similar commitment to
work among their Indian people.
American Indian people now have reason to be
hopeful, “That rain is now on the way!” ✦
Dr. Blue Spruce’s new book, ‘Searching for My Destiny’,
published by the University of Nebraska Press, is currently
available in all major bookstores and online at Amazon.com.
The question now remains – is Indian Self Determination “Truth or Myth”?
The American Indian Graduate
21
Personal Motivation
Finding a Cure
by Walter G. Besio, Ph.D.
B
eing a Mohawk descendent, I grew up in northern
New York. I moved to Florida for work. I always
wanted to be an electrical engineer and spent
twelve years going to night school and, once I received
my Associates of Arts degree, I went to school full-time to
pursue my bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
I have never lived on a reservation however, during my most influential years, I lived with my grandmother, from whom I get my American Indian ancestry
(Mohawk). My mother died when I was six months old
and, until I was four, I was raised by my grandmother.
Even at this early age, she taught me the value of eating
fresh foods and harvesting only what we truly needed.
She taught me how to use different plots of earth for
our garden each year to give the land time to rejuvenate. She showed me how to plant fish remains and turn
under unused vegetables to help replenish the soil. In the
spring, I was amazed to see tiny sprouts peering above
the soil but, even more so, in the late summer when we
could begin reaping the benefits of what we had sown.
Since fish were plentiful and the river was near, I
was able to become a productive member of the family
by bringing fresh fish home for my grandmother to clean
and cook. I was shown how to clean them, but was not
expected to. We went for walks in the fields to gather
wild berries and nuts; I was taught not to be greedy and
that we must leave some of the wild fruits of the land,
as animals needed them as well. Grandmother demonstrated how to find a use for everything we took from
our planet and taught me not to waste it.
As I have matured, I have continued to expand upon
these lessons. I was raised in a rural setting, with a river
for a front yard, a stream as the side yard and woods as our
backyard. I spent most of my childhood outdoors exploring Mother Nature and observing the natural cycles. I still
find comfort in spending time in the outdoors breathing
fresh air; the scents and sights calm my mind and allow
me to connect with the spirit for guidance.
The path I took to acquire my education was
quite unusual. Thanks for why and how I chose to go
22
The American Indian Graduate
Walter G. Besio
to college and then on to graduate school are owed to
many people, but four are prominent in my memory.
My father despised formal education and discouraged
it, making me want it all the more. My grandmother,
who told me I was stupid because I couldn’t spell, gave
me incentive to prove her wrong. Then there was a
high school guidance counselor who did everything he
could to get me into college, other than going to class
for me. He got me hooked on a lifetime learning experience that just keeps getting better and better. Two others who helped pave the way are a friend who, while he
was working on his undergraduate Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering (BSEE) during the summer, came
for an internship and worked with me at a company
where I was employed. With his encouragement, I left
work and went back to school full-time, as he went to
work. Later, he also went back to school and received his
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and was always one step ahead
to help guide me. Another coworker who had his Ph.D.
also was inspiring. Both of these friends helped me when
I had problems with school. The old adage of surrounding yourself with people that are like what you want to
be is the best encouragement I can give.
My undergraduate degree was in electrical engineering. I choose that field since electronics comes easy
for me and is applied to control and manipulate most
everything. I trust this will be an expanding field for
many years to come. When I finished my undergraduate
degree (BSEE), in 1993, since my brother was a C4-C5
quadriplegic from an automobile accident, I was interested in finding a company to work for that was researching a cure for paralysis. That type of work was being
performed at two universities; Case Western Reserve
University, in Cleveland, and the Miami Project to Cure
Paralysis at the University of Miami. I decided to go to
the University of Miami and performed research at the
Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. I developed a hand
grasp enhancement method for my master’s degree.
I still wasn’t convinced that I could compete with
all the smart people around me who seemed to be better prepared for graduate school. One point that should
not be underestimated is that you need to make progress
while you can. Don’t procrastinate and think you will
be able to work on things later. Everything in the university setting is in flux, not only the research, but the
people as well. The advisor I agreed to work with for my
masters was from Yugoslavia and, when war broke out in
the mid 1990s, he decided to return home to take care
of his family, leaving me without the head of my thesis
committee. I soon learned how important it was to have
a strong committee chairman. Another thesis committee member, who didn’t like my previous thesis advisor,
decided, without consulting me, that he would be my
new advisor. I had chosen my Department Chairman to
be my new thesis committee chair. I then learned what it
was like to complete a thesis by committee. I constantly
went around and around, to each member of the committee, over and over, to resolve issues. The political
issues of the committee consumed far more of my time
and energy than the actual research. Since it was directly
related to helping my brother and other persons with spinal cord injuries, completing my master’s degree was a
major accomplishment. When I practiced on my brother, with what I had learned, he began to regain movement of his arm. It gave him hope that he could begin to
take back control of his body.
When I was in the first year of my Ph.D. studies, my
older brother, the one paralyzed from the neck down, left
this physical world. It took me quite a while to recover and
determine if I still wanted to stay in school. Much of my
reason for being in school was the fact that I wanted to
have the resources to give my brother a better life. With
that possibility gone, I had to decide if it was worth continuing. I spent a few months in solitude in the woods or
at the beach every chance I could get away. Once I had
made my connection with the higher spirit, I was ready
to dedicate myself to my Ph.D. studies. Instead of doing
it on my own, I now had the help of my brother from the
spirit world, which I found was stronger than anything
he was able to do for me while physically on this planet.
Even with my brother’s help, it still wasn’t easy. I still had
what appeared to be the insurmountable task of passing
the Ph.D. qualifying exams.
In biomedical engineering, we had three, four-hour
written exams that had to be completed over the span of
two days. They were engineering math, engineering and
physiology. Since my math skills weren’t what I felt I needed to pass the exams, I needed a lot of preparation. Fortunately, I had a really smart study partner who helped me
learn, and relearn, a lot of math to prepare for the exams. I
also worked problems day and night for about six months.
My study partner had previously helped two other colleagues of mine who passed. One of the best compliments
I ever received was from her. She said that tutoring me
was a great experience, unlike the other people she helped,
because I actually learned the material and got much better in solving engineering problems.
Within the engineering field you primarily need
math and computer skills and good communication
skills are always helpful. What I found was that to get a
Ph.D., the best skill is perseverance. I needed to be able
to stay very focused to complete my research and stay on
track. Many times, I found that there were lots of activities that I wanted to be involved in, but had to say “no”
in order to meet my goals towards completing my Ph.D.
I had to put on blinders and stay extremely determined.
Organization is a must as well. I needed to develop a system of storing information that I might need, so I could
find it later without wasting time. Another organizational skill that helped was writing weekly status reports. I
would write about what I did in the same format so that
it could be incorporated in my dissertation.
There are several other things that I would like to
convey to perspective American Indian graduate students. A fellow engineer friend of mine once said that
an education is never wasted; someone will eventually
pay you for what you know. Having worked at different levels in the electronics and medical device industries, I found that the people with the highest degrees
got the best work, were able to decide more about what
work they would perform and received the highest pay.
An education is not a guarantee of prosperity but, if
you choose your field of study wisely, it can help provide a stable life not just for you, but for your family. By
obtaining a graduate education, you will have a much
The American Indian Graduate
23
Personal Motivation
more flexible work schedule. If you continue your education and obtain your Ph.D., you will be surprised at all
the new opportunities that come to you, beyond what
you can possibly imagine.
I am an assistant professor in the Department of
Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, at
the University of Rhode Island, at Kingston. I teach
graduate and undergraduate classes, such as biomedical
instrumentation, physiological control systems analysis
and modeling, and advanced rehabilitation engineering.
In my research, I have combined the electrical stimulation, used to enhance grasping in paralyzed persons
developed for my M.S. research with my Ph.D. research
on concentric ring electrodes for diagnosing cardiac
diseases, to develop a novel therapeutic technique for
neurological diseases. Currently, my primary research
areas are developing therapeutic devices for epilepsy and
brain-computer interfacing for persons that are severely
disabled.
The specific reasons I have chosen engineering as
my career is to try and contribute to biomedical devices
and products that will help save lives and limit pain and
suffering. By becoming a faculty member of a major university, I am able to conduct the research of my choice.
I believe that by teaching, some of the students will be
influenced, in a positive way, by my virtues and attitude. What I think about education is: learn all you can,
because some day you will need it. To me, education can
change the world. Education is a tried and true way of
pulling yourself out of poverty; it is a self-bootstrapping
method of pulling yourself up. Most students, not just
Native American students, shy away from engineering.
Math was not my strongest area, but I learned ways to
solve problems that allowed me to master my engineering classes. It would make me extremely happy to have
Native American students come and study with me, so
I can show them how to master their engineering classes and have fun at the same time. Enjoy your time in
school; make the best you can of each day but save some
of your energy for tomorrow.
My ultimate goal in life is to have a peaceful life
with my family and friends. To achieve that, I have
continued my education to open opportunities that
will allow me to achieve my goals. My immediate family includes a wife and 21-month old daughter who we
want to see grow and evolve. Since becoming a faculty
member, I have graduated approximately twenty-one
master’s students and two Ph.D. students. I now have a
large extended family of students throughout the United
States whom I try to visit whenever I am traveling. I am
also making great inroads into the research community;
24
The American Indian Graduate
my research is being recognized as revolutionary. Not
that I would consider myself an expert or leader but,
recently, I was invited to take part in a summit that was
by invitation only, for the top 50 leading innovators in
epilepsy. I didn’t want to tell them that they made a mistake inviting me because it was a lot of fun being around
so many bright and talented people.
In summary, some people always take the easy path.
When there has been a fork in the road, I have always
taken what I thought was the more difficult path. It may
have been less traveled but I have found, through talking with people who took the other path, my experiences were far richer and more rewarding. Remember life
is not a race to the end — it is all about relationships.
Enrich your life as much as you can along the way by
experiencing all that this life offers. We are here to learn.
Try to learn your lesson the first time, otherwise you
may find yourself in the same situation over-and-over
until you finally get it right. Traveling to other countries
is a great way to see things from a different perspective.
Traveling around the United States can also help open
new perspectives on life, to some extent, and is worthwhile. Fortunately, in my field I have been able to present my research all around the U.S. and, to some extent,
in other countries like China, Japan and India. Keep a
positive attitude. Finally, there is no time to waste on a
single negative thought. Don’t entertain it, push it out
of your head. My way to do this, when some negativity tries to creep in, is to think about a favorite place or
thing. Keep moving forward. Set your goals and you will
achieve them. Keep the light in your life. ✦
(Walter Besio, Ph.D., is from the Mohawk tribe and is currently a professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. Walter received his Bachelor of
Science degree in electrical engineering from the University
of Central Florida in 1993 and a Master of Science degree
in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami
in 1997. He continued his educational path and received
his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of
Miami in 2002. His primary research areas are developing
therapeutic devices for individuals with epilepsy and brain
computer interfacing for persons that are severely disabled
Walter is also an AIGC alumnus.)
Webster University
“Have You Considered…?”
by Ellen Driber-Hassall, Gerontologist and Senior Director,
Webster University
P
ractically from the moment we are born, family
and friends begin wondering and asking what we
will become when we are all grown up. Elders are
abuzz with ‘will the child carry on in the tradition of the
family and will their heritage be honored’. Of course, no
one really expects an answer when we are that young but,
if you notice, the question is asked with a more serious
intonation with each successive accomplishment; winning a spelling bee, earning first prize at the science fair,
upon entry into middle school and when a college scholarship is awarded. By the time we reach high school, the
tone of the question assumes almost an ominous feeling.
Results of standardized tests act as indicators of things
in which we probably will succeed, with future education and training often being guided by these results.
Then, we head off to college to pursue that long sought
after career. Will we return to our family homes or move
away? Graduation with degrees for some will come in
four years, for some in six years and, unfortunately for
some, never. Look around and ask the professionals you
know, how many of them are employed in the profession in which they originally earned their degrees. The
answer will surprise and amaze you.
Could a career in gerontology pave your way to a
new and unique career destination? What do you think
of when you hear the word gerontology? Do you have a
passion for learning from your elders and do you want to
pursue helping them a live a better life, while maintaining their independence? Do you recognize this as your
professional calling? Wikipedia defines the term gerontology as, “the study of the social, psychological and
biological aspects of aging. It is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that studies the
diseases of the elderly.” Quite simply stated, gerontology
studies the natural processes of aging with a multidisciplinary lens, whereas geriatrics studies the maladies associated with aging from a medical perspective.
Why do gerontologists enter the field, what draws
them to the profession and why could this be a career for
you? Many gerontologists are drawn to the field because
of work they have pursued in other careers. They feel they
received knowledge in a specific area of expertise, but now
need to further shape and mold it to more accurately serve
the needs of our aging population. It is no secret that, by
the year 2030, the estimated number of senior citizens
(those over 65) could well reach 78 million. This group
acts and reacts to situations unlike that of previous generations. Otherwise known as Baby Boomers, this group
is better educated, has more disposable income, is more
politically active and demands more of a voice in what
happens to them than their predecessors. What does
that mean for the average business owner, social worker,
human resources manager, financial planner, architect,
chiropractor or mental health counselor?
Academic literature and scientific studies tell us
that seniors, many times, experience physical changes
that result in required accommodation adjustments to
their living environments to accomplish their activities
of daily living. Surviving the death of a loved one or
being diagnosed with a chronic disease can, many times,
plunge the elder into pits of depression and social isolation. Gerontologists recognize these issues and work in
conjunction with the elder’s healthcare team to bring
about possible solutions. Additionally, family members
and children of elders can seek assistance from gerontologists to meet the needs of their aging relatives. Gerontologists approach their professional with a broad social
science background. Their goal is to help everyone live
as fully and vitally as possible. They seek to promote the
concepts of healthy, conscience, positive aging.
Now that we have discussed what gerontology is and
isn’t, what gerontologists do and the professional framework in which they carry out their work, how does one
earn a degree in gerontology? Since the formalized field
of gerontology is an emerging profession, only a few universities have degree programs in the field. Some schools
offer a bachelor’s (undergraduate) degree, some offer a
certificate, while still others offer a master’s and doctoral
(graduate) degrees in the field. In the Albuquerque area,
Continued on page 43
The American Indian Graduate
25
World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
This is Our Tradition
by Michael Jerue
T
All photographs courtesy of MEDIAK
he World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) has
always been a time to unite in traditional games
of fun and skill that bring life and Native pride
to our people. Year after year, we meet during the 3rd
week of July, for four days, in Fairbanks, Alaska, not
only to compete, but to demonstrate our personal best in
strength, endurance, agility, balance and concentration.
Each year, both male and female Native athletes strive to
better their past personal goals.
The traditional opening for the games is ‘The Race
of the Torch’, a five-kilometer foot race. The winners of
the women and men’s races will have the honor of carrying a flaming torch into the arena at the beginning of
the games. The torch is passed to two elders, who light
peat soaked in seal oil; this will remain alight for the
duration of the games. The very last game is White Man
vs. Native Women Tug-O-War. The Native women have
never lost this game.
Knuckle Hop
26
The American Indian Graduate
According to the WEIO website, the 15 games that are
played consist of the following traditional competitions:
Knuckle Hop (Seal Hop)
This is an endurance test of pain and strength. The
object is to see how far one can go in a “push-up” position, with elbows bent and knuckles down. The only
parts of the body touching the floor are knuckles and
toes. From this position, the participant “hops” forward
as far as possible, keeping the back straight and elbows
bent. This game was originally played on the floor of a
traditional community center or hut, or outside on the
ground. Now, this game takes place on the arena floor.
Four Man Carry
Often, during a successful hunt, there is a time when
game has to be packed for long distances. This is also
true of packing wood or ice. The four man carry not
Two-Foot High Kick
best two out of three rounds wins the match. There are
times when the loop will slip off a contestant’s ear. If
that happens, that person loses that round. During each
round, the participants use alternate ears. This is a game
of tolerance to pain; a trait sometimes needed to survive
the harsh realities of the North.
Drop the Bomb
One-Foot High Kick
only tests the capability of carrying heavy loads, but
the distance that weight can be carried. Volunteers are
“draped” over the participant during the event. The winner is the person who can carry the combined weight the
farthest distance.
Ear Weight
The weights used in this event are 16 one-pound lead
ingots, which are threaded with twine. The contestant
loops the twine around one ear and, by lifting straight
up, without using the cheek, pack the “weight” and go
for distance. Before lead weights were used, heavy sacks,
such as twenty-five pounds of flour, were used for this
event. Distances of over 2,000 feet have been attained.
Ear Pull
In this event, two people sit down facing each other with
twine looped around each other’s ear - right ear to right
ear, left to left. The two begin a “tug-of-war” and the
In this game, the contestant lies down on the floor, face
down with arms straight out, in an “iron cross” position. Three “spotters” position themselves; one at the
feet holding the ankles, while each of the others take a
wrist. The participant tightens all of his or her muscles
and the three “spotters” lift the body so that it is approximately one foot above the ground. They begin walking
at the speed dictated by a floor official. When the body
or arms begin to sag, the participant has “dropped the
bomb.” The objective is to go the farthest distance in
this rigid position.
One-Foot High Kick
This high kick event requires the athlete to jump off the
floor with both feet, kick a suspended object with one
foot and land on the floor using that same foot, demonstrating balance. Kicking the height of a basketball
net is not uncommon during this event. It is supported
that when a messenger from hunting or whaling crews is
within visual distance of the villagers, he will kick high
into the air, thereby giving a message that a whale has
been caught or the caribou are running near. The twofoot high kick means a slightly different but similar message. The high kicks are considered the premier events of
the WEIO.
Two-Foot High Kick
This event is similar to the one-foot high kick; the difference being the athlete jumps off the floor with both
The American Indian Graduate
27
All photographs courtesy of MEDIAK
World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
Kneel Jump
feet, hits the suspended target with both feet together
and maintains balance upon reaching the floor. Upon
landing, both feet must touch the floor at the same time.
Years ago, in the coastal whaling villages, in order for the
village to know that a whale has been taken, a runner
would return to the village and, when within sight of the
village, the messenger would jump and kick both feet
into the air while running. In that manner, the people
of the village would know a whale had been caught and
prepare themselves to help in the “beaching”.
One-Hand Reach
This game requires the athlete to balance on only the
hands, with at least one elbow tucked into the lower
abdominal area. The rest of the body is parallel to the
floor. The participant will then use one hand to reach
up and touch a suspended target. Upon doing this, the
participant must get that hand back to the floor before
any other part of the body touches. This game demonstrates balance, athletic prowess and strength. Reaching
the greatest height is the objective.
Alaskan High Kick
In this event, the athlete sits on the floor below a target, with one hand grasping the opposite foot. With the
remaining free hand planted on the floor, the athlete
springs up and attempts to kick the target with the free
foot. After kicking the target, the athlete must land in
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The American Indian Graduate
Alaskan High Kick
the original position before kicking. Kicking the greatest
height determines the winner.
Kneel Jump
In this event, the contestant sits on the floor at a given
line and has the feet flat on the floor with the bottoms
up. From this position, they must jump as far forward as
possible, landing on the feet and maintaining balance.
The contestant is allowed to swing the arms back and
forth to gain momentum for the leap forward. The practicality of this event comes from the quickness and balance needed while being out on the moving ice during
breakup.
Indian Stick Pull
This game is a test of gripping strength. The equipment
for this game consists of a stick tapered at both ends.
The stick is about a foot in length and one and onehalf inches in diameter in the center. Grease is applied
to the stick and the competitors then grab the ends and
attempt to pull it away from one other. They must pull
straight back, without jerking or twisting. The best two
out of three rounds determines the winner of the match,
each round using a different hand. This primarily Indi-
Arm Pull
Two athletes position themselves facing each other so
that their legs are positioned with one leg crossed over the
opposite leg of the competitor. They then lock arms at the
elbows, fists down, and begin pulling the other contestant towards one another. Two out of three attempts will
determine a winner. After each attempt, the players switch
arms and legs. Brute strength is revered when bringing the
quarry out of the hole in the ice.
Nalukataq (Blanket Toss)
Eskimo Stick Pull
an game was originally used to strengthen the hands for
grabbing fish out of the fish wheel.
Eskimo Stick Pull
In this event, two athletes face each other, while sitting
on the ground with their feet pressed together and knees
bent. A stick, one-inch in diameter, is placed between
them where their feet meet. Each athlete grabs the stick,
position their hands so that one person’s hands are on
the inside, and the other’s hands are on the outside. All
hands must be touching. Using the legs, arms, back and
a sure grip, the contestants then attempt to pull the stick
away from their opponent. The winner is the person
who is able to either pull the opponent over, or is able
to pull the stick out of the opponent’s hands, on two out
of three attempts. Each round, the athletes will alternate
the position of their hands. This type of strength is an
important commodity to have when bringing a seal in
from the hole in the ice.
Toe Kick
The player stands at a given line and jumps forward,
attempting to kick a stick (one-inch in diameter) backwards, with the toes of both feet remaining together.
The contestant must land forward of the mark where the
stick was originally located. When all players accomplish
this, the stick is moved forward another two inches for
each round, until a winner is determined. Each player is
allowed three attempts at each distance in case of misses.
This is another game of athletic prowess and balance.
Balance is needed while negotiating the melting ice during breakup.
Several walrus skins are used for this event. The skin has
holes on the edges so that rope can be looped through all
the way around and used for handle grips. One person
gets in the middle of the skin and stands while being
tossed. With a good coordinated effort on behalf of the
pullers, the person being tossed can get as high as thirty
feet in the air and must land on their feet, without falling down. This is quite similar to a trampoline; the only
difference being that people are the springs and they can
move quickly to catch an errant jumper.
The Nalukataq is done within the whaling communities in the spring if there has been a successful whaling season. It is been part of the whaling feast activity as
long as people can remember. There are two schools of
thought as to why this sport is done. One is for the simple exhilaration it provides; the other is that this practice
was once used for spotting game over the horizon. The
judges look at balance, height and movement in the air
(sometimes you can see jumpers dancing or running in
place) and all around form and grace, when determining a winner. Sometimes, to the delight of the pullers
and spectators, flips and somersaults are done. During
Christmas, at the height of their jumps, jumpers used to
throw candy and other goodies to the children.
The logo for WEIO consists of six interwoven rings
representing the six major Eskimo and Indian tribes in
Alaska: Aleut, Athabascan, Eskimo, Haida, Tlingit and
Tsimpshian. More information on the games can be
found at www.weio.org.
A quote from Big Bob Aiken, longtime athlete,
coach, role model and friend from Barrow, Alaska, goes,
“To live a subsistence lifestyle requires a lot of strength
and a lot of patience. The games are a way to mentally and physically prepare you for endurance. The more
you can endure the better hunter you will be. The better
hunter you will be, the better survivor you will be.” ✦
The American Indian Graduate
29
The DETS Project
Diabetes Education in
Tribal Schools
by Susan Duran
D
iabetes was rare among American Indian and
Alaska Native peoples until about 50 years ago.
Since then, diabetes has become one of the most
common and serious illness in the Tribal Nations of
North America (Narayan, 1997). In 2002, more than
100,000 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)
adults, or nearly 15 percent of those receiving care from
the Indian Health Service (IHS), were estimated to have
diabetes. The total prevalence of diabetes is at least two
to three times that for non-Hispanic whites of similar
age. Prevalence rates vary by Tribal Nations, rising to
15.9 percent among the Plains Tribes (CDC, 1998). In a
new and alarming turn of events, Type 2 diabetes, typi-
Federal Agencies and Partners of the
DETS Project
Contributing Partners
Doug Coulson, Ph.D., PS International, External Evaluator
Michelle Chino, Ph.D., University of Nevada Las Vegas,
Ethnographic Interviewer
Carolee Dodge-Francis, Ed.D., University of Nevada Las
Vegas, DETS Sister Site Coordinator
Marilyn Hetzel, Northwest Indian College, Consultant
Barbara Schulz - Northwest Indian College, Consultant
DETS External Advisory Committee Members
Roger Bybee, Ph.D., Biological Science Curriculum Study
Robin Butterfield, National Education Agency
Jody Chase, Ph.D., National Science Foundation
Gerald Gipp, Ph.D., American Indian Higher Education
Consortium
Cindy La Marr, Capitol Area Indian Resources, Inc.
Joseph Taylor, Ph.D., Biological Science Curriculum Study
Roberto Trevino, Ph.D., Bienestar Health Program, Social
and Health Research Center
Alvin Windy-Boy, Rocky Boy Indian Reservation
30
The American Indian Graduate
cally considered an adult disorder, is now emerging in all
populations of youth in the United States, including AI/
AN populations (Narayan et al., 2000).
In 2001, the congressionally authorized Diabetes Mellitus Coordinating Committee, chaired by the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), hosted a meeting with the Indian Health
Service Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention
(IHS/DDTP) and the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee (TLDC) to address the seriousness of Type 2 diabetes in AI/AN communities. At the meeting, NIDDK
accepted the challenge from the TLDC to lead the effort
to prevent Type 2 diabetes in AI/AN youth by developing a curriculum that would teach the science of diabetes
in tribal schools.
What followed was a unique, collaborative effort
that included NIDDK, IHS/DDTP, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Native Diabetes Wellness Program (CDC/NDWP), eight Tribal Colleges
and Universities (TCUs) and the NIH Office of Science
Education (NIH/OSE). The result of this collaboration
is the DETS Health Is Life in Balance K–12 curriculum.
The DETS Project is part of a national effort to
decrease the incidence and improve the care of Type 2
diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Natives
(AI/AN). The DETS Project is a K–12 Curriculum
developed using a multidisciplinary approach. The
DETS Curriculum consists of units that incorporate
National Science Education Standards, Inquiry-Learning (5E model) and AI/AN cultural and community
knowledge.
The goals of the DETS K–12 Curriculum are:
• Increase the understanding of health, diabetes and maintaining life in balance among American Indian/Alaska
Native students. (Teach about diabetes)
The curriculum incorporates inquiry-based learning
that will enhance students’ science process skills. Lessons
encourage students to become researchers. Investigative
inquiry (observing, measuring, predicting, inferring,
classifying, experimenting, communicating, etc.) allows
students to emulate the work of real-life researchers. The
discoveries of diagnosis, treatment, control and prevention of diabetes increase student understanding and
appreciation for direct and indirect effects of scientific
research within a cultural framework.
• Increase American Indian/Alaska Native students’ understanding and application of scientific and community
knowledge. (Value and use scientific and traditional knowledge)
The DETS curriculum supports the integration of
AI/AN culture and tribal community knowledge with
diabetes-related science. Lesson plans enhance the content being taught to meet educational standards within
school districts.
• Increase interest in science and health professions among
American Indian/Alaska Native youth. (Encourage science
and health careers)
The DETS curriculum encourages students to gain
an understanding of diabetes-related biomedical sciences.
Lessons are built around role models who are health science professionals. Students increase their awareness of
careers in science and health. They also learn about the
value of the involvement of these professionals in their
communities. ✦
Educational Content of the DETS Project
K – 4 Content
5 – 8 Content
9 – 12 Content
Students will:
• develop a concept of health through balance in life;
• identify how making healthy food choices
and being physically active every day can
prevent diabetes;
• explore the concepts of balance and imbalance through learning activities and visual
aids and apply these concepts to maintaining health; and
• explore four areas of their lives-body, mind,
feelings, and the world-that work together
in harmony to promote good health.
Students using the social studies unit will:
• describe lifestyle in terms of dietary patterns, physical activity levels and personal
choices; and
• identify environmental changes that can
be made to improve or maintain personal
health and the health of families and communities.
Students using the science unit will:
• learn through analyzing case studies how
the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of a person’s life are affected
when someone has diabetes and how to
use those aspects of life plus input from the
community to regain balance and health;
• understand by using models how the hormones insulin and glucagons regulate blood
glucose levels and maintain homeostasis; and
• understand how problems with the body’s
use of insulin disrupt the homeostatic regulation of blood glucose and lead to diabetes.
• Please note that all K-4 units are interdisciplinary curriculum units emphasizing health
science with strong language arts components, and that the kindergarten units are
suitable for both K and pre-K levels.
Students using the science unit will:
• understand as the result of scientific investigation and the accumulation of evidence,
that disease develops slowly across time; and
• understand that diabetes is a disease in
which a person’s body is not able to use
glucose properly.
Students using the health unit will:
• learn by conducting interviews with community members what others know about
diabetes and what misconceptions about
diabetes are common;
• participate in role playing to learn about
careers in health professions that deal with
diabetes;
• learn about the risk factors for Type 2
diabetes including which can be controlled
through personal behavior and which cannot; and
• learn that people can reduce their chances
of getting Type 2 diabetes by making lifestyle changes.
The American Indian Graduate
31
An AIGC Alumnus Serving Others
My Gift of Service and Education
by Daniel Nagasawa
N
early forty-thousand applicants fought for acceptance into medical school last year; less than half
of them matriculated. These remarkable students,
who are impressive enough to gain access to pursue their
aspirations, all shared similar characteristics: intelligence,
diversity, dedication and passion. Like them, I too, have
spent my lifetime building the character and experience
necessary to succeed in the world of medicine.
While ambitious, my ultimate goals are to become
a neurosurgeon and acquire an eventual professorship.
The field of neurosurgery is the pinnacle of what medicine represents: precision, excellence, discovery of the
unknown, development of a novel patient’s life for a few
months or even weeks, and knowing that short period
will be the most important and meaningful in their
entire life. However, in order to ensure the continuing
success of the field, professionals are needed to instill
upon the next generation not only the basic required
knowledge but, more importantly, the ideals, compassion and inspiration to become not just a physician, but
an incredible one.
Although I was born into a lower-class, single-parent, minority family of Japanese and Cherokee heritage,
my mother, brother and sister have provided me with
seemingly endless support to rise above these constraints.
While I may be classified as an underprivileged individual, this status has, by no means, hindered my abilities to outperform my peers and identify myself as being
second-to-none. It is far too easy to allow one’s self to
fall between the social-economically stratified cracks
and accept the role into which the the world places you.
However, I am thankful that I was given challenges and
hardships as, despite them all, it makes my successes all
the more meaningful.
During my extensive premedical preparation at the
prestigious University of California Berkeley, I made it a
point to diversify my interests so as to distinguish myself,
not just as an honors graduate of the psychology department, but as a man who could excel in all fields when
pushed to the limits. I spent my evenings after chemistry
labs with my head in the books and in a helmet on the
field, playing football for a nationally-rated college and
32
The American Indian Graduate
Daniel Nagasawa
I am thankful that I was
given challenges and
hardships as, despite them
all, it makes my successes all
the more meaningful.
learning the values of teamwork, dedication and perseverance. I came home from conducting post-doc level neuroimaging research and played the guitar and piano with my
friends in the fraternity that I helped lead. I would spend
my weekends aiding those afflicted with various disabilities by co-conducting group therapy in rehabilitation centers and tutoring teenagers with ADHD for the SAT’s.
It’s amazing what these undervalued individuals are able
to accomplish when given the chance and motivation to
succeed. I also spent time abroad studying art, literature
and history in Italy, traveled to 23 different countries and
now speak five different languages. As I was by myself,
I exercised my resourcefulness and independence, while
gaining a greater sense of cultural awareness and language
proficiency; aspects essential for dealing with the diversity
of patients the world has to offer, as many are unable to
express their needs in English. In summation, this pletho-
ra of experiences during college taught me the time management skills and discipline vital to being able to thrive
under stressful situations and succeed academically.
Yet, in order for me to devote the majority of my
young adulthood towards medical school, I needed to be
certain of my decision. So, I took my time and waited
for the answer to that ubiquitous question, “Why do you
want to become a doctor?”, to find me. As cliché as it
sounds, I realized that I want to help people. Although,
at first glance, my response may appear no different
from the rest, I had to travel to a remote village in Guatemala to discover its true meaning.
While studying for the MCAT, I set up a five-month
adventure, traveling to regions worldwide as a volunteer.
I pushed myself through 10-hour days in emergency and
operating rooms in California. In Houston, I assisted triage centers after Hurricane Katrina victims were displaced
from their homes. I volunteered with the Red Cross,
launching numerous HIV awareness projects throughout
the entire country of Belize. In Honduras, I assisted with
everything from translating and passing out clothing, to
ear irrigations and prescribing medication.
Certainly, any one of these experiences could stand
alone as life changing, but the one which really opened
my eyes happened in Guatemala. I arrived a day after
Hurricane Stan devastated the country, burying entire
cities under ten feet of mud and debris. I worked with
a doctor traveling throughout the country, establishing
local clinics to service those stricken with poverty and
lacking access to healthcare. Yet, my primary goals were
to secure funding to bring clean water to people living
in a village in thatched homes and spending countless
hours per day carrying water from the polluted river.
After traveling for six hours, I arrived and began to
survey the topography and photograph contamination
sources. Meanwhile, my associate interviewed families
and translated the conversations into Spanish for me, as
the locals only spoke their Native American language
of Q’eqchi. That night, the family of the village leader cooked dinner for me in their open-fire pit and we
ate. At the end of the meal, he looked over to me with
hope in his eyes and joy in his heart, shook my hand
and muttered but a single word, “Banitosh,” meaning
“thank you.” I went to bed after dinner, knowing he
would stay awake all night to ensure that I did not miss
my 3:30 a.m. bus, as it was the only one leaving for several days. He walked me down to the dirt road, oil lantern in hand, and waited with me. I was only there for
15 hours but, when I left, a piece of my heart remained.
To know that I could bring hope and life to those who
were struggling to maintain either was a blessing. I
knew then, that I wanted to spend the rest of my life
doing the same for others.
However, there are thousands of regions worldwide in
need of aid and my abilities can only stretch so far. Thus, I
plan to bring my services first to those who were gracious
enough to support me during my time of struggle. As a
proud member of the Cherokee Nation, I am currently
turning toward the Native American community to partially relieve me of the heavy burdens of medical school
expenses. In return, I hope to share my success with those
of a similar background in need of not only medical care
but perhaps, more importantly, inspiration. There could
be no greater satisfaction than to reinforce to all those students who suffer from economic or social constraints that
there is truly no limit on what they can achieve, if they
only persevere and pursue their dreams. ✦
(Daniel Nagasawa is of Cherokee and Japanese decent. He
is currently enrolled in the University of California-Irvine’s
School of Medicine and plans to complete his medical residency in 2011. He received his Bachelor’s of Science degree
in Psychology from the University of California-Berkeley.
Daniel is an AIGC alumnus.)
“If you want to learn
cutting-edge approaches
to pedagogy and apply
these techniques in your
own classroom, you
will succeed at WSU.”
Jeanette Weaskus
Nez Perce American Indian
PhD student English
go.wsu.edu/gradschool
Pullman • Spokane • Tri-Cites • Vancouver
The American Indian Graduate
33
Healthcare Shortages
The Need for More Native
Healthcare and Dental Professionals
by Ken Lucero
“I
f you are an Indian health professional, the
need for your services is abundant and the challenges are immense but probably more fulfilling because you know you are helping someone truly in
need. And, often times, you may be the first and only
Indian health professional the people you are serving
have ever seen.” George Blue Spruce Jr., DDS, MPH,
(Laguna/Ohkay-Owingeh) and the first recognized
Native American dentist.
Ever since the inception of the Indian Health Service (IHS), government officials have known that the
health delivery system for American Indians and Alaska
Natives is sorely underfunded. Dental programs are no
exception. As a result, the message sent to tribal communities has been that dental care is not that important.
This is a perception that needs to be addressed immediately. As more and more tribes take on the responsibility
to manage their own health programs, they are having a
difficult time filling dental professional positions with
Native Americans. Beyond this issue, the dental profession, in general, is experiencing a high level of retiring
dentists and difficulties in attracting dental professionals
to rural communities.
Dental Professional Shortages: The gender, racial
and ethnic distribution of dentists and dental hygienists
is among the least diverse of the health professions and
far from equals the overall composition in the nation’s
population. Although minority health professionals are
more likely to practice in minority (underserved) communities, they represent only a small portion of the total
dental workforce. For example, of all active dentists, just
14% are women, 3% African American, 3% Hispanic
and less than 1% are Native American. Ninety-five percent of dental hygienists are non-Hispanic white, 3%
African American and 1% Hispanic; 99.1% are female.
The recent downturn in the national economy has
altered retirement, delayed practice sales and limited
mobility of practicing health professionals. For dental
professionals, general shortages have existed across the
34
The American Indian Graduate
Ken Lucero
nation for several years and, while those shortages may
be lessened or delayed for some communities, any sustained economic upturn will assure that shortages will
again be a concern.
In Native American tribes, the shortage of oral
health providers has been demonstrated in at least three
ways: 1.) current providers, such as Indian Health Services, report over 60 vacancies for dentists, pediatric and
general oral surgeons and registered dental hygienists,
2.) there are few Native American dental providers in
oral health practices and 3.) even fewer are practicing in
Native communities.
Unfortunately, this may continue, as fewer dentists
are opting for government service and the gap continues
to widen between the Native American applications for
dental training and the number of Native American dentists represented in the dental profession. Overall, Native
Americans do not fare well in comparison with other nonwhite populations within the oral health professions.
Much like the disparity with the practicing dental and dental hygiene professions, the population of
minorities in dental and dental hygiene schools is underrepresented in relation to their proportion of the overall
population. Less than 10 percent of African Americans
and Hispanics comprise the student makeup of dental
schools, compared to about 25 percent of the nation’s
population. The disparity is even greater among Native
Americans. Postdoctoral training programs (the source
for future faculty) show a similar lack of diversity.
Diversity in Dental Schools: The number of African American, Hispanic and Native American students
in dental schools remains disproportionate to their numbers in the U.S. population. In 2006, underrepresented
minority (URM) students comprised 12.4 percent of the
applicants and 11.6 percent of first-year enrollees. Asian/
Pacific Islanders and whites comprised 69.7 percent of
applicants and 71.1 percent of first-year enrollees. The
proportion of URM students applying and enrolling
in U.S. dental schools is far less than the proportion of
URMs in the communities served by the dental school.
For example, during the 2003-04 academic year, 7 percent of dental students enrolled at the University of
California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of
Southern California (USC) were Hispanic, while 46.5
percent of the Los Angeles population was Hispanic.
Also, in 2003-04, total African American enrollment
at all U.S. dental schools was 5.41 percent, while 12.8
percent of the U.S. population was black. The proportion of URM dentists also remains significantly lower
than the proportion of URMs in the U.S. population.
Currently, about 6.8 percent of professionally active
dentists are URM, while 27.9 percent of the U.S. population is URM. Increasing diversity in the dental profession is vital to the future of the profession and is central
to achieving optimal oral health for racial and ethnic
minority groups, which experience a higher level of oral
health problems and have limited access to dental care.
Pipeline and Dental Education Process: Scholarships are out there. Slots are continually held for the
underrepresented minority students. National associations, such as the American Dental Education Association and the American Dental Hygienist Association
have developed and continue to foster mentoring and
other forms of support to assure success for students
from communities in need. However, until communities, schools, tribal governments and families commit
resources and effort for assuring success in education,
oral health careers will continue to elude Native American youth. That is not to say that there will not be
exceptions and the efforts of the associations, scholarship
sources and others will result in attracting and assuring
successful completion of oral health education programs
for some Native American students. However, in order to
increase diversity in the oral healthcare workforce serving Native American communities, there is a significant
effort needed to double, then triple and eventually more
than quadruple the current number of Native American
dentists, dental hygienist, dental assistants and perhaps
advanced practice oral health providers prepared to serve
Native American communities.
Readiness: In his study, “Indian Students and College Preparation” (published in 2002), Dean Chavers,
Ph.D., of “Catching the Dream,” based in Albuquerque,
NM, captured some of the underlying issues facing Indian students in pursuing a college education. Dr. Chavers
surveyed 740 Indian high schools during the 1999-2000
school year. Basic data was collected from 47 of the 740
schools (6.3%), on and off reservation high schools, serving Indian students in 16 states. Dr.Chavers’ findings
point to major concerns about how Native American students are poorly prepared for college and, even more so,
for health professional career paths. Generally, Dr. Chavers found that only 17% of Native American students in
schools surveyed were enrolling in college. Less than 10%
were taking four years of college prep in math and 30%
were not enrolled in any math courses. Over half of the
schools lacked a science lab and only 1% of the students
were enrolled in advanced placement classes. Only 2.4 %
of the students had access to full and current sets of scholarship directories. Related to engineering, health professional careers and science, only 4.9% of the students were
taking calculus. While noting other areas of concern, this
study underscores the challenges in encouraging, preparing, recruiting and retaining Native American students in
higher education and health careers.
We need to be more engaged at the local level to
increase the number of students entering and completing their post secondary education. At this point, it is
not enough to teach our children to finish high school;
we need to raise the bar. A college degree needs to be
the new standard. With this new expectation, we can
then begin to develop our future health professionals.
Dr. Blue Spruce, states, “It’s at the doctorate level that
you have the golden key to open up doors. You can go
into meeting rooms and be heard. You can be part of
the decision-making. In the United States, it’s the medical doctor or the doctor of dental surgery that has the
opportunities to be heard.”
Our tribal communities, along with their leadership,
must push local school systems to work with the local
universities in promoting an enhanced belief that we can
meet the challenge of developing more Native American
health professionals. ✦
The American Indian Graduate
35
Oweesta
Financial Education as the
Foundation for Personal Growth
and Economic Development for
Native Nations
by Heidi Davis
F
inancial education programs in Native communities strengthen local economies one individual at
a time. By teaching Native community members
how to manage their assets, save towards financial goals,
take advantage of resources and avoid predatory lenders,
financial education programs contribute to the development of sustainable economies and healthy communities.
For almost a decade Oweesta has been working to
strengthen the financial skills of Native people throughout the country. As a leader in the Native community
and economic development movement, Oweesta accomplishes this task by delivering regular workshops for
Native financial education trainer certification throughout the country. The workshops, conducted by the
Financial Education and Asset Building Department,
are typically three days and require a certification test
at the conclusion. Over the past two years, Oweesta
has been conducting some of these workshops through
the Expanding Native Opportunities: Native Financial
Skills Initiative (NFSI), an initiative funded by the U.S.
Department of Treasury’s Community Development
Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund. NFSI was created
to help Native CDFIs, specialized financial institutions
that work in market niches underserved by traditional
financial institutions, and other similar organizations
develop financial education programs.
NFSI offers an innovative and culturally-appropriate training program delivered by certified instructors
who are committed to empowering Native communities through financial education. Through the handson approach of this program, participants are able to
develop their teaching and presentation skills to become
dynamic and impactful financial education instructors.
Upon completion of the training, participants become
36
The American Indian Graduate
certified to teach the Building Native Communities curriculum in their communities.
The Building Native Communities curriculum
helps Native individuals, families and communities gain
control over their financial future by teaching them how
to adapt their traditional skills to the wise management
of financial resources. It teaches fundamental financial
management skills, such as how to develop a spending
plan, work with checking and savings accounts and to
understand and access credit. The materials illustrate
how one’s everyday decisions and actions help to support
the local economy. This knowledge ultimately enables
individuals to collectively build self-reliant, economically
healthy communities now and for future generations.
The Oweesta Model™ illustrates that programs,
institutions, sovereignty, impact and systems are all related
components of the cyclical and circular process of Native
community and economic development. Although there
isn’t a designated starting or stopping point, one can view
financial education programs as foundational for healthy
Native community and economic development. A few
individuals armed with sound financial management
skills can have a dramatic ripple effect on the entire community. This knowledge is spread to other individuals,
who then form institutions, organizations and businesses.
An economic system buds and, in turn, strengthens the
sovereignty of the Native nation.
Several Native communities across the country have
established extraordinary financial education programs
that are transforming their economies, one individual
at a time. The Tohono O’Odham CDFI in Arizona
has conducted a handful of Building Native Communities trainings since 2007 and incorporates spirituality into their course as a key to financial success. The
Turtle Mountain CDFI in North Dakota has provided
financial literacy training to a wide segment of their
community population, including high school students,
tribal housing authority tenants and tribal administrators and employees. Nearly 20 of their participants are
now certified as instructors and are conducting financial
education training through various tribal organizations,
maximizing the impact of financial education on the
Turtle Mountain Reservation. In Oklahoma, the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation
provides an average of 1,154 hours of financial education
training per year to enhance their community’s economic development efforts.
The Oweesta Model™ provides a multi-faceted, comprehensive approach to community and economic development and has been proven a useful tool in transforming
Native communities. In addition to financial education
and asset building, Oweesta also has departments in place
to address institution development and enterprise and
entrepreneurship development. Many Native communities work in more than one of these areas simultaneously
to achieve the desired change.
Financial education programs are usually offered
as part of the development services provided by Native
CDFIs and other like institutions. Creating a Native
CDFI is becoming an increasingly popular way for
Native people to build stronger, more self-sufficient communities and nations. Native CDFIs help to develop
local economies by creating entrepreneurs and businesses,
increasing homeownership and empowering community
members to reach their financial goals. Native CDFIs
provide locally-based access to capital and the necessary capacity building services to bring permanent and
positive change to Native economies. Oweesta’s Institution Development Department focuses on Native CDFI
development, the backbone of Oweesta’s formation and
ongoing work. This aspect of training and technical assistance for Native communities consists of several training programs that not only help participants assess how
starting a Native CDFI can benefit their communities,
but also takes them, step-by-step, through the process of
establishing one of these proven and innovative financial
institutions with unique, on-site technical assistance. The
CDFI Fund has also contracted with Oweesta to provide
the Native Communities Financing Initiative, another
initiative of the Expanding Native Opportunities program, to empower grassroots change for people and communities through Native CDFI development.
Financial institutions and other like organizations
exist within a given larger system of the Native community. Creating strong and effective enterprise and entrepreneurship systems in Native communities is essential
to building a healthy, thriving economy. By establishing,
expanding and improving local systems and infrastructure, Native communities create an environment that
supports private and tribal sector development, allowing tribal businesses, private homeownership and the
private business sector to flourish. Oweesta’s Enterprise
and Entrepreneurship Development Department heads
up this broader development for Native communities.
The Native Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development Initiative, another initiative of the Expanding
Native Opportunities program, is based on a new model
of community economic development. Tailored for
Native CDFIs and their partners, this training program
is designed to assist communities with developing effective enterprise and entrepreneurship systems. Integrated
systems allow strong institutions, appropriate programs,
real impact and true sovereignty to evolve.
Although developing a financial institution or creating entrepreneurship systems may seem like incredibly
complex issues or, at a minimum, issues that require
teams of people to tackle, we encourage you to become
part of the foundation to a vibrant, thriving economy
in your community. Take advantage of financial education programs offered by your tribe or local CDFI. Put
sound financial management practices to work in your
life. Become an example to others and share the knowledge you have learned. Strengthening your nation’s sovereignty can begin with one individual – you. ✦
Although developing a financial institution or creating entrepreneurship systems may seem
like incredibly complex issues…, we encourage you to become part of the foundation to a
vibrant, thriving economy in your community.
The American Indian Graduate
37
Public Media
Filling in the Gaps for Public Media
NAPT Providing Native and Youth Voices for PBS
and Public Radio
by Kim Baca
J
ust 40 years ago, two East Coast educational television stations merged to create a non-profit to provide national educational programming. The model
would be different from such commercial networks as
ABC, CBS and NBC. Public broadcasting stations
would have greater say in what they wanted to broadcast,
after paying membership fees to the national, non-profit
organization. Individual public broadcasting stations
could also create their own content. The Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) was born, with 365 member
stations making up the new network.
Seven years later, a group of Native American producers, working at individual PBS stations across the
country, started a national organization to distribute
television programs by and about Native people. Since
then, the organization has focused on empowering, educating and entertaining through public media, while
sharing Native stories with the world.
Since 1976, Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) has supported and funded more than
250 television and radio programs for public broadcasting. The founders of NAPT (first incorporated as the
Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium),
which include George Burdeau (Blackfeet), Wallace
Coffey (Comanche) and its first Executive Director,
Frank Bythe (Eastern Band of Cherokee/Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), pushed for a way to include Native voices in public television. This drive continues today with
NAPT’s producer development workshops, partnerships
with other non-profits and colleges and internships to
continue cultivating young Native talent.
“NAPT has had a major impact on the American
public and their perceptions of what Native people are
today,” NAPT Executive Director, Shirley K. Sneve
(Rosebud Sioux), said. “We pride ourselves on bringing
authentic voices to television and radio. We are also com-
38
The American Indian Graduate
Since 1976, Native American
Public Telecommunications
(NAPT) has supported and
funded more than 250 television
and radio programs for public
broadcasting.
mitted to carrying on this tradition by offering opportunities for young people to gain media experience.”
With the help of the Emma Bowen Foundation,
NAPT funds a work-study scholarship for a student at
its headquarters in Nebraska’s public television station,
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, in Lincoln. NAPT also helps fund the Institute of American
Indian Arts, for its annual student filmmaking training
program, with ABC and the Disney Corporation. Additionally, NAPT funds the American Indian Summer
Institute, a program designed to train Native students in
the television and entertainment industry. Created seven
years ago, by the Native Media Technology Network, in
partnership with the Fox Entertainment Group, more
than 100 Native students have entered the week-long
workshop at Fox studios in Los Angeles. Many former
workshop participants have sought careers in television
and film production after finishing college.
Last year, NAPT, one of five National Minority Consortia, charged with increasing diversity by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, provided fellowships for
PBS’ NewsHour, to increase diversity in national election
coverage. NewsHour intern, Tristan Ahtone (Kiowa), is
now an intern at National Public Radio in Washington,
D.C. Rhonda LeValdo (Acoma Pueblo) is finishing a
Master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Kansas
and teaching at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Together with its minority consortia partners, NAPT
also has been part of other ground-breaking projects, such
as the award-winning series, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? NAPT has also been tapped to advise
other PBS outlets, aiding the history series American Experience’s We Shall Remain project, a five-part look at American Indian history in America spanning over 300 years,
which aired this past spring.
Although NAPT’s primary focus is programming
for PBS through its federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NAPT is much more than
just film and television. In 1994, after seeing an increasing need for Native American-specific radio programming, NAPT launched the American Indian Radio on
Satellite service (AIROS) to deliver music, news and
entertainment, via satellite, to public radio and the then33 tribal stations across the nation. The service was the
first, and only, Native radio programming delivery service in the country. AIROS distribution included: Voices from the Circle, hosted by Jim DeNomie (Bad River
Chippewa); UnderCurrents, hosted by Gregg McVicar
(Tlingit); AlterNative Voices, produced by KUVO in
Denver and Reach the Rez Radio, produced by Cherokee/
Chichimeca rapper Litefoot.
In 1994, NAPT took things a step further and created a show to spur national discussion on Native American issues. Native America Calling, now produced by
Koahnic Broadcasting Corporation, remains the nation’s
only live Native American radio call-in show.
After handing over the distribution service and the
live call-in show to Koahnic in 2006, the AIROS Native
Network kept its service as an Internet-based radio station that plays all genres of Native American and indigenous music, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. AIROS.org
was created in 1997, making it one of the oldest Native
Net-based radio stations in the country.
Last year, NAPT revived one of its oldest radio
music shows, Native Sounds-Native Voices, which is
now co-hosted by two college students. Sina Bear Eagle
(Oglala/Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) and Aden Marshall (Rosebud Sioux) broadcast live every Thursday at
KZUM in Lincoln, Neb. The show is also featured on
the AIROS Native Network or AIROS.org.
“Working in radio was never something I’d seriously
considered, so every aspect of the job was completely new
to me,” Bear Eagle, 23, said. She was asked to take over
the show last year, after long-time host, John Gregg, left
NAPT after 12 years. “I sat in on another programmer’s
show twice and was pretty much left on my own to work
the board. The most difficult part was trying to navigate
the equipment at the studio and remembering the process.”
“But I’ve really enjoyed my time working on Native
Sounds-Native Voices and time at NAPT,” Bear Eagle
added. “It’s been an extremely positive experience.”
While NAPT continues to work with traditional forms
of media, including its DVD sales of films produced for
PBS, on its VisionMaker Video website, the Internet is
providing a new outlet for young Native talent. NAPT,
embracing its telecommunications name, launched a new
website earlier this year that allows filmmakers, musicians, screenwriters, actors, playwrights, graphic artists
and other media makers a space to showcase their work.
“More and more people are turning off the TV and
turning to the web,” Sneve said. “That’s why it’s important that we provide a space for Native people to share
their stories with the world. Through streaming audio,
video and downloadable podcasts, our goal is to educate
people about the issues facing Native communities.” ✦
For more information about NAPT and its work, go to
www.nativetelecom.org.
You are thinking big about the kind of social
impact you want to have after you graduate; you
want to be a leader for business and society; you are a
future nurse, poet, businessperson, doctor, engineer,
teacher, lawyer, politician; you are committed to
diversity in public and private management; you
are ready to work and play with engaging students
from a variety of backgrounds; you are in or beyond
your sophomore year. We want you to come to
New Haven, Connecticut, for a fully funded, twoweek session in June to discover how an MBA could
prepare you to change the world.
Learn more and apply online at premba.som.yale.edu.
Applications due by March 18, 2010.
The American Indian Graduate
39
Diversity in Healthcare
Considering a Healthcare Career
by Dee Ann DeRoin, M.D.
W
hat do Standing Rock, Umatilla and Okmulgee have in common? Like several other Native
communities, they have vibrant community
health programs with committed staff: Native health
professionals working alongside their non-Indian colleagues to improve the lives of their community members. I might not know this if I hadn’t been there. And
what I’d like to share with you is how I got there and
how much it means to me to have the opportunities to
visit and work with these communities – and why you
may want to choose a similar path.
We know that our tribes, our reservations and our
urban Indian communities have many different health
needs. In nearly every kind of medical condition, we are
faring worse than the general population: tobacco-related diseases, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and emotional
health. We also know that we have not had adequate
resources to improve our health status, in spite of the
treaty promises from over a hundred years ago.
Facing these challenges and yet wanting to make a
difference can be daunting. But there are many different
roles you can play and choosing one path now does not
mean you can’t choose a different one in the future.
My background is family medicine and public health
education. This combination of clinical knowledge and,
especially, clinical practice, plus my health education
training, serves me well as a community health specialist. That means I can now help communities work to prevent diseases or to catch them early, when they can still be
treated successfully.
Many of our Indian communities consider good
healthcare as having the availability of a physician. It is
true that you need to have a doctor around to help you
diagnose and treat your health problems and to provide
emergency care. If you are that family doctor, your goal
is to know as much as you can, to be ready for whatever medical – or mental health - problems come your
way. I’ve always felt the practice of family medicine is
a daily exercise in humility. We can’t know everything,
but we need to be able to recognize when it’s time to ask
for help, whether from the cardiologist, nutritionist, psy-
40
The American Indian Graduate
Dee Ann DeRoin, M.D.
Many of our Indian
communities consider good
healthcare as having the
availability of a physician.
chologist, community health nurse or the CHR (tribal
community health representative).
But, most of our health problems need to be
addressed long before we see the doctor. Many of the
medical problems which are confronting us need to be
prevented – starting before birth! And we now know, for
example, that babies who are breastfed have a decreased
risk for developing type 2 diabetes. We also know that
obesity among our children is rising at alarming rates.
Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and, as
it increases in our communities, 20 years from now we’ll
have young people in their thirties dependent on dialysis. Who is going to help our people learn – in culturally
appropriate ways – how to make the behavior changes
that will literally save lives?
The year I was applying to medical school I had
the wonderfully good fortune to study at the University
of California at Berkeley School of Public Health. My
master’s degree is in Public Health Education, which is
the discipline of identifying necessary health behavior
changes and creating ways to promote these healthier
behaviors. This might be a public relations campaign
(Stop the Pop!) or an on-the-ground program working
with people to help them get fit (Just Move It!). But one
of the most valuable lessons from my year in the School
of Public Health was what I learned about and from the
other disciplines: health administration, epidemiology
and biostatistics, maternal and child health and nutrition, to name a few.
Are you a good leader and manager, wouldn’t set
foot in a chemistry lab, but want to make a difference?
Consider becoming a clinic or hospital manager – or the
Director of Indian Health Service!
Like numbers, but faint at the site of blood? Epidemiology and bio-statistics are how we know what’s going
on with the childhood diabetes rates and the hugely disproportionate numbers of certain cancers in Alaska and
the Northern Plains.
Want to help figure out how to prevent or diagnose
colon cancer early in a community where they can’t do
the basic screening tests, because they only have outhouses? Health education is for you!
If all of this sounds like too many years in school
right now, there is another practical possibility: nursing.
There are many Native people, men and women, who
have started with an LPN or associate degree in nursing.
This has enabled them to have a well-paying job, either
while they decide if they want to continue their education or to work while they continue their education. They
have completed bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, even
doctorates. Nursing is one of the few professions in this
country that allows such a step-wise progression and the
advanced degrees don’t necessarily need to be in nursing,
though they often are. There were many nurses in the
Berkeley School of Public Health who were working on
graduate degrees in non-nursing fields.
I encourage you to consider these possibilities. The
work that you do and the relationships you develop,
whether in the exam room, in the diabetes program exercise gym or with your staff, as you support their clinical
and outreach work with your good management skills,
will continue to give back to you for years to come. ✦
(Dr. DeRoin is a member of the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and
Southeast Nebraska and an American Indian Graduate
Center alumna, who currently serves on the AIGC Board of
Directors. If you have questions or comments for Dr. DeRoin,
you may contact her at [email protected])
505-292-6988
www.webster.edu/abq
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Albuquerque, NM 87110
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The American Indian Graduate
41
Indian Health System
Trahant: The Business Model for
an Indian Health System
by Mark Trahant
W
Photo courtesy Mark Trahant
she said. “How we lead and manage people and how we
hat is the business model for the Indian health
do business as an organization.
system?
“That said a lot to me. You’d think in a health care
On the surface, this is a preposterous quessystem,
your only focus is improving quality, but here,
tion because the U.S. government promised to fund
the
staff
said loud and clear, there are things about the
the health care needs for American Indians and Alaska
Indian
Health
Service as a business that need to be
Natives. It’s also supposed to be a simple business: Conimproved.” She said this is particularly interesting and
gress funds the system (the IHS, tribal contract facilities
helpful because in order to “ultimately” improve the
and urban programs), the agency spends that budget and
quality of care, “we have to improve the business.”
patients are treated.
These two issues are not sepaBut that’s why the question is not outlandish.
rate. Health organizations that
The Indian health system has never had enough
improve patient quality are also
money – and therefore, it’s essential to secure as
improving their business operamany resources as possible in order to effectively
tions (and vice versa).
treat the most patients.
One way to demonstrate both
“As we look at the Indian Health Service,
is to compete. American Indians
we need to think of it as a business,” said Yvette
and Alaska Natives often have
Roubideaux, IHS director. “A lot of people think
choices in health care, especially
of the Indian Health Service as a service. It’s a
those carrying employer-based
service that provides health care to American
insurance or Medicare. In that
Indians and Alaskan Natives. People who work
context, the IHS is a competitor
in IHS think of their positions not just as jobs, Yvette Roubideaux, M.D., M.P.H.
to those other health organizabut also as something important personally.
tions and must demonstrate its expertise.
Many people feel like they are on a mission working for
One of the biggest business challenges for the IHS is
the Indian Health Service – and I think that’s great. But
increasing
revenue. The Obama administration boosted
I also think we have to recognize that we are a health
the
IHS
budget
by 13 percent in 2010, but that is still less
care system – and that we’re a business. We have to look
than
what’s
spent
by other health organizations. Health
at how we run our organization, to improve the way we
care
reform
could
help
in this regard, too, as more Amerdo business.”
ican
Indians
and
Alaska
Natives are eligible or participate
Roubideaux calls this “Internal IHS Reform.” She
in
insurance
that
opens
up
new billing options for IHS.
began the business case by gathering data, listening to
Consider the story of contract health services. This
tribes and IHS employees. She said that means “to look
pool
of appropriated money runs dry every year. “It’s a
at what we do well and also to look at what we don’t do
program
that we know people aren’t satisfied with because,
well.” And then figure out where the tribes and the staff
in
general,
American Indian and Alaskan Native people
want to start with internal agency reform.
believe
that
health care is owed to them. Unfortunately,
Roubideaux said the tribes focused on big picture
with
the
contract
health services program, we’re struggling
issues: more funding, improvements in contract health
to
meet
the
needs
with available resources,” Roubideaux
program and better consultation networks.
said.
“So
the
Indian
Health Service has policies and regu“From the staff we received very few comments
lations in place to help prioritize what referrals are paid for
about improving health care services and most of the
and that, unfortunately, results in some denials and defercomments were about improving how we do business,”
ments of services. We know the patients don’t like that.
42
The American Indian Graduate
We know the tribes don’t like that, but it’s the reality of
providing health care with a limited budget.”
The bottom line for contract health is the difference
between appropriations – IHS must live within a budget – versus an entitlement program – Medicare pays for
every eligible participant. That’s a decision that Congress
made, not the Indian Health Service.
Roubideaux said you could think of many ways to
decide which referrals to pay for, “but the only fair way is
to look at the medical priorities.”
She said one thing IHS can do is to learn from best
practices in contract health. That could mean better case
management, patient education or billing alternative
insurance resources.
Indeed, if health reform passes, that could open up
more third-party billing options, again, reducing the
stress on contract health funding.
Then new insurance dollars are part of the new business model for IHS. ✦
(Mark Trahant is a Kaiser Media Fellow examining the Indian Health Service and its relevance to the national health care
reform debate. He is a member of Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock
Tribes. Comment at www.marktrahant.com.)
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
www.diversity.utah.edu
• Doctoral and master’s degree programs in more than 90 areas
• Programs that unite disciplines & cross departmental and
college lines
• Graduate degree programs in the colleges of Architecture
& Planning, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Health, Humanities,
Law, Mines & Earth Sciences, Nursing,
Pharmacy, Science, Social & Behavioral Science, Social Work, and in the
schools of Business and Medicine
• An American Indian Resource Center
serving the Rocky Mountain Region
to support student outreach, retention, and successful scholarship
• An Office for Diversity, under the
Associate V.P. for Diversity, dedicated
to the vision and success of a diverse
student body, faculty & staff
For more information contact:
Sweeney Windchief
Assistant Dean for Diversity
Graduate School,
The University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
(801) 581-6233
[email protected]
http://www.gradschool.utah.edu/diversity/
or www.sa.utah.edu/admiss/
“Have You Considered…?”
Continued from page 25
for example, Webster University offers New Mexico’s only
non-clinical Master of Arts degree in gerontology. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 21 percent (21%)
increase in employment for careers related to aging. Without a doubt, gerontology is a growing field and will continue to be such for the next quarter century or more.
Unlike becoming a medical doctor or mental health
counselor, currently, the title gerontologist is an unprotected
term. This means there is no licensure test for the budding
professional to take. Generally, those working somewhere
in the vast field of aging, typically refer to themselves as
gerontologists. As in the case of all professionals, earning
the degree is not the end of road for your education and
training. Gerontologists belong to professional networking
groups, attend frequent seminars to update their skills and
knowledge, read professional journals and literature and
maintain membership in professional associations. Those
who seek to enter the field of gerontology see this as their
life’s calling and willingly undertake the commitment to
becoming advocates, not only for their chosen field, but
also for those who might not be able to advocate or champion the cause for themselves.
So, the next time someone asks you what you are
going to do with the rest of your life, reply that you are
considering a career in gerontology. As a gerontologist,
you will always be connected to your heritage, while
building new pathways. It is a wonderful way to honor
your ancestors, your desires and to be part of shaping a
better life for those yet to come. ✦
American Indian Well-Being Model
Continued from page 18
program. These skills contributed to my professional wellbeing. In the final stage, I developed my cultural and spiritual well-being. As part of my cultural well-being, I learned
about our tribal history and learned how to pray in the
Native way. In this stage, a corn tassel marks its life stage of
maturity. The tassel of the corn is a primary source of corn
pollen that is used for prayer. During each morning, Navajo
people pray with corn pollen, which is a strong symbol of
walking the beauty way in life.
– Shawn Secatero, Ph.D. ✦
Resource: Washington State Well-being Site (retrieved
11/9/09). WSU Wellbeing, PO Box 641830, Washington State
University, Pullman WA. [email protected]
The American Indian Graduate
43
40th Anniversary Celebration
AIGC’s 40th Anniversary –
A Huge Success
2009 has been an incredible year!
In February, the American Indian Graduate Center
kicked off our 40th Anniversary by hosting a celebratory event with many of our supporters and friends. Part
of the kickoff included an Executive Order from Albuquerque’s Mayor, Martin Chavez, and a certificate sponsored by the New Mexico Speaker of the House, both
recognizing AIGC for exemplary service over the past
40 years.
In April, we partnered with Gathering of Nations
for a reception and silent auction prior to the Miss Indian World pageant. The generosity from silent auction
donors was amazing. Event attendees clearly supported
the importance of higher education for American Indian
and Alaska Native students.
This past October, AIGC hosted an exhibit space at
the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, celebrating
and honoring the 22 tribes in New Mexico and promoting the history of Indian education nationwide. AIGC
had the privilege of hosting the world renowned Navajo
Code Talkers, who were eager to share the incredible and
inspirational story of their significant role on behalf of
the United States during World War II. Other highlights
included the Walatowa (Jemez Pueblo) Head Start dancers and a variety of demonstrations conducted by talented local artists.
Thanks to all our friends and supporters who helped
make AIGC’s 40th anniversary a year to remember! ✦
Images from the 2009 Albuquerque International
Balloon Fiesta, where AIGC hosted an exhibit.
44
The American Indian Graduate
Opportunities
2010-2011 Academic Year
BIE Loan For Service Program
Deadline: June 1st, 2010
2010-2011 Academic Year Graduate Fellowship
Deadline: June 1st, 2010
The Loan For Service program is a Bureau of Indian
Education funded financial aid opportunity, administered by AIGC, for American Indian and Alaska Native
graduate and professional candidates. This program is
offered in an effort to promote opportunities for careers
with tribal governments, Bureau of Indian Affairs and
Bureau of Indian Affairs’ funded organizations, on and
off the reservations. To be considered for the AIGC Loan
For Service program, the applicant must:
The American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announces the availability of
graduate fellowships for the 2010-2011 Academic Year,
for American Indian and Alaska Native students from
U.S. federally recognized tribes.
AIGC was established in 1969 to assist American
Indian college graduates, desiring to continue their education at the master’s, doctorate and professional degree
level, who need financial support. American Indians continue to be the least represented of all minority groups in
the country in medicine, business, law, science and other
fields requiring advanced degrees.
• Be an enrolled member of a United States federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native group; or possess ¼ degree federally recognized Indian blood and;
• Have a 3.0 GPA and;
• Be pursuing a master’s, doctorate or professional degree as
a full-time student at an accredited graduate or professional
institute in the United States.
Accenture American Indian Scholarship
Deadline: June 1st, 2010
The scholarship fund selects the very brightest American
Indian and Alaska Native students seeking graduate or
professional degree or careers in fields of study including:
various engineering, computer science, operations management, management, finance, marketing and other
business oriented fields. To be eligible you must:
• Be an enrolled member of a United States federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native group; or possess ¼ degree federally recognized Indian blood and;
• UNDERGRADUATES: Be entering a U.S. accredited
college or university as a full-time, degree seeking 1st year
college freshman. Have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or
greater, on a 4.0 scale, at the end of the seventh semester of
high school.
• GRADUATES: Be entering a U.S. accredited college or
university as full-time degree-seeking first-year graduate or
professional student. Have a cumulative average GPA of a
3.25, on a 4.0 scale, at the time of application.
• Have demonstrated character, personal merit and commitment. Merit is demonstrated through leadership in school,
civic and extracurricular activities, academic achievement and
motivation to serve and succeed.
Accenture LLP will provide summer internships for students
who will be selected.
Fellowship Eligibility
To be considered for an AIGC fellowship, the applicant
must be:
• An enrolled member of a U.S. federally recognized
American Indian tribe or Alaska Native group, or possess one
fourth degree (federally recognized) Indian blood;
• Pursuing a master’s, professional or doctorate degree, as a
full-time graduate student, at an accredited graduate school in
the United States and
• In need of financial aid. Applicants must apply for federal
financial aid, in January or February, for the coming year.
If you meet the eligibility criteria above, please take the
following steps:
• Contact AIGC for an application packet or download the
packet from our website. AIGC’s website may be found at
www.aigcs.org, these packets will be available beginning in
January 2010.
• Applicants do not need to be accepted into a graduate
degree program to fill out the AIGC application.
• Begin the financial aid process at your university financial
aid office for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Please visit the AIGC website
www.aigcs.org for more
to request an applications or find out
more information on these programs.
The American Indian Graduate
45
AIGC Fellows Update
Alumni Connection
Class of 1991
Cynthia A. Cartwright (Lummi) J.D,
University of Florida
“I am very appreciative of the support your office gave
me through law school.”
Class of 1992
Gordon D. Henry, Jr. (White Earth Chippewa)
Ph.D., University of North Dakota
“I am currently an Associate Professor at Michigan State
University, where I teach American Indian Literature,
Fiction Writing and American Literature. I have published poetry, fiction and essay in numerous anthologies and journals, both nationally and internationally.
In 1995 I was a Fulbright Lecturer in Spain. My novel,
The Light People, received an American Book Award in
1995.”
Class of 1996
Deani K. Iverson (Tlingit and Haida) M.D.,
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
“Financial aid thru AIGC was much appreciated during
medical school. Every encounter I had with the center
was streamlined and professional and contributed to my
success in becoming a physician. Thank you.”
Class of 1996
Steffani A. Cochran (Chickasaw Nation) J.D, MPA,
American University
“I left New Mexico in the fall of 1999 to reside in Oregon. I worked for the State as an administrative Law
Judge until I accepted my current position as the Special
Counsel for Attorney General, Patricia Madrid, in June
of 2002. My son and I reside in Santa Fe and are glad to
be home.”
Class of 2001
Sarina Begay (Navajo Nation) M.S.W., Brigham
Young University
“The AIGC Fellowship made it possible for me to complete my degree. I feel that AIGC has supported me in
46
The American Indian Graduate
achieving my goals and having faith that I needed to
receive my graduate degree. Now that I have my degree,
I am now helping teenage girls from diverse backgrounds
regain some stability in their lives.”
Class of 2002
Casey Demmert (Central Council of the Tlingit
& Haida) M.A., Educational Leadership and
Administration, University of Alaska Anchorage
“Thank you for all of your support and contributions! I
couldn’t have done it without you.
Class of 2008
Rochelle L. N. Jim (Navajo) M.S., Civil Engineering,
University of New Mexico
“AIGC has done a wonderful job with their scholarship
program and I am grateful for their help in continuing
my education.”
Class of 2012
Marzha L. Fritzler (Crow/Laguna Pueblo)
University of Kansas
“I would like to thank your program for awarding me
with an American Indian Graduate Center Fellowship
for the 2009-2010 academic year. This funding will help
greatly, as I left my employment of eight years to pursue
my law degree full-time. I am honored to receive your
support. A-ho!” ✦
Note:
To ensure that we have all your current information,
please take a minute to visit our web site (aigcs.org)
or send an email to ([email protected]) to update your
information (be sure to include your previous address
so we know we have the right individual). As always,
feel free to let us know what path your life is taking.
UNM School of Medicine
Native American Enrollment
Doubles at UNM Medical School
by Luke Frank, UNM Media Relations Manager
A
ggressive recruitment and support programs for
underserved areas have paid off for the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine (SOM).
This fall, twice as many Native Americans were accepted into the SOM than in any previous class. “We have
nine Native American students prepared to matriculate into the School of Medicine this summer,” reports
David Bear, Ph.D., SOM Assistant Dean of Admissions.
“That’s more than double the number for any other year
and exceeds UNM SOM Native American enrollment
for the previous four years.”
Congratulations to the new SOM students: Missy
Begay, John Cox, Paul Dodge, Nizhoni Denipah, Shirlee
James-Johnson, Jeff Kellywood, Marsha Leaf (PA),
Allanceson Smith and Rae Zospah.
Although most are from the Southwest, including
the Navajo Nation and Santo Domingo Pueblo, there
are also Lakota Sioux and Choctaw students. Three of
the nine students attended UNM as undergraduates,
two have accepted full School of Medicine scholarships
and five graduated from New Mexico high schools.
More than half of the new SOM students had received
offers from other medical schools but selected UNM.
During the past four years, the SOM has aggressively developed programs to attract minority students
in medically underserved areas of New Mexico. Students in rural areas are more likely to return and practice
medicine in their communities, creating new points of
healthcare access where it is most needed. Special UNM
scholarships for students in underserved areas, programs
to prepare for and elevate MCAT scores and overall support for academic success were cited as reasons for this
year’s increase in Native American enrollment.
“Our recruiting of underserved-area minority students, through culturally sensitive outreach and strong
academic support, appears to be succeeding,” Bear adds.
“Under (SOM Dean) Dr. Paul Roth’s vision, the vital
work of Dr. Romero-Leggott’s Office of Diversity and
Dr. Dine’ Chacon’s Center for Native American Health,
Dr. Kevin Goodluck
we are better able to recruit and students who, historically, might not have had access to advanced mathematics or sophisticated academic laboratories during their
student careers.”
On September 26, 2009, Dr. Kevin Goodluck
(AIGC Alumnus) hosted a gathering at his home in
Albuquerque, welcoming the new SOM students. Other
guests included: Dr. Paul Roth, Executive Vice President
of the Health and Sciences Center; Dr. Ellen Cosgrove,
Senior Associate Dean of Education; Dr. David Bear,
Assistant Dean of Admissions; Dr. Michael Montoya,
Admissions Committee and Joaquin Baca of the UNM
Office of Diversity.
“There are far too few American Indian doctors.
We need to do all we can to create a strong support system for these students. I was in their shoes once and it is
critical for them to know that they have family, friends
and a medical school that supports them,” Dr. Goodluck
stated.
Dr. Goodluck is a physician at Presbyterian in Albuquerque and, in a 2009 issue of Albuquerque the Magazine, was named “Top Doc in Internal Medicine”. He
is also a UNM Medical School Admission Committee
Board Member. ✦
For more information on SOM admissions and special
programs, visit: http://hsc.unm.edu/som/admissions/
The American Indian Graduate
47
The American Indian Graduate Center
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AIGC’s 40th Anniversary — A Huge Success
See story on page 44