Post by Okwes on May 24, 2007 13:52:10 GMT -5
Native American Researcher Applauds Tribal Colleges and Students
BISMARCK, ND: Pretty Paint told students and staff at United
Tribes Technical College in Bismarck that tribal college students have
three main circles of support from family, academia, and community.
And our job is to take the time to recognize what it is that we need. So
young students that are coming here the reason tribal colleges are so
powerful for us today is that they are able to create a balance between
cultural integrity and academic excellence and they don't let go of
either one.
Pretty Paint says tribal college students carry many roles in the
community and the balance they try to discover is an everyday challenge.
They call it living in two worlds or having one foot here and one foot
over there. I am trying to walk this bridge and trying to understand how
to hold on to who I am but I still want to go in the lab and I still
want to study molecules and I want to go over here and learn how to do
this carpentry skill but I want to come back here and be recognized and
I want people to still know that I know the meaning of our way of life.
Pretty Paint says students should not give up and take the time to
recognize what it is that they want for themselves. She says they need
to acquire a sense of hope and hold on to it and never let it go.
Because some of the people that have walked through these institutions
are people that others gave up on. And now they are working in our
institutions they are writing the grants, doing the supervision, and
teaching. They are miracles to us.
BISMARCK, ND: Pretty Paint told students and staff at United
Tribes Technical College in Bismarck that tribal college students have
three main circles of support from family, academia, and community.
And our job is to take the time to recognize what it is that we need. So
young students that are coming here the reason tribal colleges are so
powerful for us today is that they are able to create a balance between
cultural integrity and academic excellence and they don't let go of
either one.
Pretty Paint says tribal college students carry many roles in the
community and the balance they try to discover is an everyday challenge.
They call it living in two worlds or having one foot here and one foot
over there. I am trying to walk this bridge and trying to understand how
to hold on to who I am but I still want to go in the lab and I still
want to study molecules and I want to go over here and learn how to do
this carpentry skill but I want to come back here and be recognized and
I want people to still know that I know the meaning of our way of life.
Pretty Paint says students should not give up and take the time to
recognize what it is that they want for themselves. She says they need
to acquire a sense of hope and hold on to it and never let it go.
Because some of the people that have walked through these institutions
are people that others gave up on. And now they are working in our
institutions they are writing the grants, doing the supervision, and
teaching. They are miracles to us.