Room for everyone: Tribal college expands its reach
| TOHONO O鈥橭DHAM NATION, Ariz.
Deep in the Sonoran Desert, near the Arizona and Mexico border, picnic tables under ramadas at Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College sit empty. A new amphitheater for songs, prayers, and ceremonies is silent under a November sun.
But the college, located on the Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation, about an hour west of Tucson, has more students than ever 鈥� just not on campus.聽
During the pandemic, the college, founded in 1998 to serve its tribe, moved all its courses online and offered them without charge to any Native student. Enrollment nearly doubled to more than 900 students. Tohono O鈥檕dham had the largest increase of any tribal college 鈥� 96% in 2020.
Why We Wrote This
Can a tribal college support its own community鈥檚 culture while also enrolling students from many other Native American groups? One school in Arizona is committed to trying.
Students liked online courses and free tuition so much that when the college reopened this fall, they didn鈥檛 return to campus. And the college grew more diverse. There are now 55聽tribal nations represented among students where there used to be eight or nine, says Paul Robertson, president of the college. The increasing diversity is changing the composition of a campus rooted in serving the Tohono O鈥檕dham people, prompting concern聽about聽the small college鈥檚 identity and the best way for it to contribute to Native education.聽
College deans, faculty, and employees have met together in recent weeks to address what initially Dr. Robertson says was 鈥渁n existential crisis鈥� that raised the question: 鈥淲hat are we?鈥�
The question echoes throughout Indian Country, as tribal colleges and universities, largely federally funded and founded to serve their specific communities, strive to meet a vast need among Native students for higher education.
The colleges 鈥渃ounter some really negative forces in our culture in terms of giving up your background,鈥� says Jon Reyhner, professor of education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and co-author of 鈥淎merican Indian Education: A History.鈥� 鈥淜nowing your history breeds resilience.鈥�
The Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation founded its college, one of about 35 tribal colleges聽nationwide, with the aim of preserving the culture and traditions of a people whose ties to the region date back thousands of years. But Dr. Robertson, the college president, says the immense need among all Native students suggests the college has a purpose beyond its tribe. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of students out there,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e starting to see that.鈥�
Josie Pete of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah says she likely would not have been able to enroll at Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College a year ago without the availability of online classes and free tuition since she was working from her home on the Utah reservation.聽
鈥淚t was something that was convenient,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really have to wonder, 鈥楬ow am I going to pay for school? How am I going to pay for books?鈥欌�澛�
Ms. Pete wanted to study art and the college sent her supplies, including sketchbooks, pencils, paints, and charcoal.聽鈥淭he school believed in me enough to send me the supplies,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was just really special.鈥澛�
Though she is from another tribe, Ms. Pete says she has enjoyed taking the required Tohono O鈥檕dham language and history classes. 鈥淚鈥檓 actually all for it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unique to learn about another culture that is similar to my own.鈥�
When she finishes in about a year, she intends to go to a four-year institution where she also can study online for a bachelor鈥檚 degree in art, and eventually become an illustrator.聽
Feeding a hunger for education
Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College has been able to accommodate additional students, like Ms. Pete, through a combination of聽federal funds and support from the Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation, which聽provides聽about 42% of聽the college鈥檚聽annual budget, according to Dr. Robertson. Federal funding to tribal colleges and universities is only given for Native American students, who make up 95% of students at Tohono O鈥檕dham.
The school is a model for what other tribal colleges and universities can achieve through developing a strong online presence, says Carrie Billy, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly how we want to serve Native people, wherever they are,鈥� Ms. Billy says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a hunger for culturally grounded education.鈥�
Drawing Native students from all over online can only bolster college attainment among American Indians, says Ofelia Zepeda, chair of Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College鈥檚 Board of Trustees and Regents鈥� professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona in Tucson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just great to see because it has been so long in coming.鈥�
American Indian graduation rates have long been a struggle: 15% of American Indians and Alaska Natives聽age聽25 and older have a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher compared with 32% of Americans in that age group, according to census figures. In Arizona, home to one of the nation鈥檚 largest Indigenous populations, the numbers for both groups lag even more, with 11% of American Indians and Alaska Natives聽age聽25 and older holding a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher compared with 29% of Arizonans in that age group.
Studies have shown that the culturally enriched experience at tribal colleges feeds students鈥� success. Native language, culture, and history courses about their tribes are key to the curriculum. That鈥檚 the point of a tribal college or university 鈥� to build and reclaim community. Schools are evaluated based on their tribe-specific relationships. The tribal college movement of the late 1960s and 1970s grew out of the oppression and frustration many American Indian children experienced after decades of forced assimilation to Western customs in boarding schools. Most tribal college graduates stay on or return to their reservation.
The Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation, one of the nation鈥檚 largest in land area at nearly 3 million acres, has about 34,000 enrolled members, including those who live in Mexico, says Bernard Siquieros, vice chair of the college鈥檚 board of trustees.
The tribe founded the college to 鈥減rovide an opportunity for our young people to have a good starting place in their higher education journey,鈥� Mr. Siquieros says. The teaching of the nation鈥檚 language, history, and culture 鈥� known as 鈥� is a key part of the curriculum. But welcoming students from other tribes helps all Native students and the college, he says.
Still, the college balances that with its original mandate. Some students from other tribes ask about taking a class in their own tribal language, but that鈥檚 not what Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College is, says Alberta Espinoza, college counselor.聽Students understand, she says, when she tells them, 鈥楾his is Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College,鈥� and they don鈥檛 have to pay any tuition as a Native student, she says.
鈥淭he universal Indigenous world view is like, 鈥楾his is a gift,鈥欌�� Ms. Espinoza says. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 look a gift horse in the mouth. And so, you be respectful. You take what is given to you and then you move on from there.鈥�
鈥淚t felt like a family鈥�
Officials want students back at the physical campus, offering incentives like free meals and gas vouchers. And there are plans for a completed wellness center and a four-year degree in Tohono O鈥檕dham studies.聽
Caralina Antone, now working toward her bachelor鈥檚 degree at Arizona State University, credits the college鈥檚 supportive atmosphere with helping her get back on the college path.
鈥淭hey continued to encourage me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t felt like a family. 鈥� You鈥檙e not alone.鈥�
Many Native people, like Ms. Antone, live in urban areas but want to attend tribal colleges, which are often in rural and remote places. Ms. Antone, an orphan raised by her grandmother, wanted to go to Tohono O鈥檕dham鈥檚聽college because that was her grandmother鈥檚 tribe. At first, she commuted nearly six hours daily from the Phoenix area to the college and back. 鈥淚 got up at 3 a.m. to be out the door by 4:30,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to honor her and complete school.鈥澛�
She missed having in-person classes after the pandemic started, but adapted to the online work. She was the college鈥檚 student of the year when she graduated in 2020. She hopes to become a social worker and help adolescents.
鈥淵ou need to finish what you start,鈥� she聽says. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I got through it.鈥�
Tohono O鈥檕dham Community College officials met last week and are 鈥渦nited鈥� that the college鈥檚 鈥渕ission will continue to be the same鈥� as the college faces a future rooted in serving students from many more tribes, Dr. Robertson explains in an email.
鈥淭hrough much discussion we have reached a consensus聽that we can accommodate the changes,鈥� he notes, 鈥渁nd still maintain our identity.鈥�
