For students at tribal colleges, online courses provide access to college coursework, particularly for non-traditional students and students who live in rural communities. In addition, online courses provide unique opportunities for Indigenous students to connect with their tribal communities and to participate in cultural revitalization and…

This study investigates the associations between institutional and labor market contexts and first-time community college enrollment patterns across racial and gender lines from 2017 to 2021. The findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing racial and gendered disparities in community college access, particularly affecting…

According to the American Council on Education, only 30% of all college and university presidents are women, and only 5% are women of color. However, 43% of presidents at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are women, and 100% of those women presidents are Native. Tribal colleges have always led the nation in appointing women presidents. But…

This brief examines the continued underrepresentation of African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields; explains the benefits of collaboration around broadening participation; and offers guidance on building partnerships as a strategy…

Over the past 10 years, Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) in Belcourt, North Dakota, has developed a formula for sustainable infrastructure development. The college does not take natural resources, use them, and then dump chemicals, carbon monoxide, or other toxic waste back into the ecosystem. Instead, the college has invested in…

Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) in North Dakota recognized the need for health education access and the benefits of training American Indian healthcare professionals in a rural setting, thus leading the college to pursue Health Profession Opportunity grants (HPOG) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Education…

On the shores of Lake Superior, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), a small cluster of Ojibwa (also known as Chippewa), keep their fires alive in the face of daunting pressures to let go of their ways. After the ravages of war, colonization, and territorial loss, KBIC continues to make a stand for their people and future generations. Their…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the highest unemployment that the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression, with particularly heavy job losses for Black, Hispanic, and Native American workers. In this set of studies commissioned by Lumina Foundation, the authors examine actions that states and community colleges can take to address the needs of…

The purpose of this research project was to understand the food environment of the Fort Totten community on the Spirit Lake reservation in east-central North Dakota, as perceived by tribal members and employees at Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC). According to a 2010 report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the food…

This article seeks to trace the cartography of truth-telling through a posthuamanist predicament of ritual culture in higher education and critical inquiry. Ritual culture in higher education such as graduation ceremony produces and reflects the realities of becoming subjects. These spaces are proliferating grounds for truth telling and practical…

The concept of a community college implies some connection to the community beyond mere setting. A tribal community college suggests even more--a college which maintains its roots in traditional Native culture and serves the tribal community in a unique way. Located in northwest Wisconsin within the traditional homelands of the Ojibwe people, the…

Wild Food Summits is a program initiated by Steve Dahlberg, the White Earth Tribal & Community College Extension director. Dahlberg began Wild Food Summits to teach people about identifying and gathering wild greens, mushrooms, and other edible plant life. The whole community comes together to cook and eat the foods. The tribal college has…

This article examines a vocational education and training partnership occurring in the Canadian oil sands mining industry. The case study involves a corporate-sponsored pre-apprenticeship training programme designed to procure aboriginal labour in the province of Alberta. Interviews with members of key partner groups and stakeholders occurred…

Total associate degrees conferred by U.S. institutions increased by 11 percent between academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 to a record high of close to 950,000. Among students of color, the percentage increase was even higher: 13 percent. Students of color received nearly 300,000 associate degrees or about one-third of the 2010-11 total. Among…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to analyze how tribal colleges and Universities have transitioned from two-year associate degree granting institutions to offering four-year bachelor degree granting institutions. This case study includes three tribal colleges: Sitting Bull College, Salish Kootenai College and Turtle Mountain…