A Tribal College Land Grant Perspective: Changing the Conversation

Abstract

With the passing of The Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994, Tribal Colleges and Universities joined an ongoing land grant conversation that has been taking place since 1862. This paper proposes a framework of guiding principles for a tribal college land grant perspective that begins to shift the 140-year-old conversation to one of cultural sensitivity and mutual understanding. The author draws upon six years of tribal college land grant experience to suggest a new discourse centered on culture that incorporates tribal concepts of holism, sacredness, cultural identity, and cultural viability. The author argues that a fundamental shift in the land grant dialog is vital before the full potential of a tribal college land grant vision can be realized.