Recognizing Tribally Centered Cultures (fwd)

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Noteworthy News
Recognizing Tribally Centered Cultures
 By Mark Anthony Rolo
 Mar 22, 2007, 14:10

When Native students transfer to mainstream institutions, the biggest
obstaclesto overcome often involve the admissions office.

By Mark Anthony Rolo
http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_7135.shtml

MADISON, Wis. - The drive from the Menominee Indian reservation to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison may only be three and a half hours, but
for American Indian students like Fawn Youngbear-Tibbitts, the journey
towards completing a college degree cant be measured in mere miles.

Youngbear-Tibbitts is one of a growing number of tribal college
graduates pursuing a four-year degree. After earning her associate
degree from the College of Menominee Nation, Youngbear-Tibbitts  who is
a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe  set her sights on
UW-Madison.

Transferring from a two-year institution to a four-year one can be
stressful under the best of circumstances, but for Youngbear-Tibbitts
and three other Menominee students, the road to UW came with its share
of challenges. Fortunately for Youngbear-Tibbitts, adjusting to a more
diverse cultural community was not one of the obstacles. Its pretty
hard for me to get culture shock, she says. Ive lived in New Zealand
and other places. I didnt have the problems that many Native students
experience when they move away from home.

Youngbear-Tibbitts says she knew going to UW-Madison full time would
create more financial hardships for her family. But the single mother
of two-year-old twin boys says the most challenging aspect of her
transfer was convincing UW that the coursework she completed at
Menominee was rigorous enough to prepare her for the four-year
institution.

I knew I was academically prepared.

I know how to write a research paper, she says. But I still had to take
some courses over.

Fawn Youngbear-Tibbitts now has her hands full with classes and twins
Jessie James and William Alexander.
 Youngbear-Tibbitts chose not to argue with the university over those
few base-level science courses, especially since she believes she would
never have been accepted at all if it werent for a unique transfer
agreement between Menominee and UW. In an effort to recruit Menominee
students, UW-Madison now recognizes courses based on indigenous
knowledge. Youngbear-Tibbitts academic focus  sustainable development 
was one of the disciplines specifically targeted by UW.

Like all of the nations 34 tribal colleges, the College of Menominee
Nation promotes broad higher education within the context of a tribal
culture. Language, history and ceremony are among the foundations on
which the colleges education programs are built.

Menominees articulation agreement with UW-Madison has been four years in
the making. Though the college has transfer agreements with other UW
campuses in the areas of education, nursing and social work, many
thought the sustainable development program couldnt
co-exist with UW-Madisons natural resources program.

We had to have a meeting of the minds that was based on respect, says
Dr. Kevin McSweeney, a professor of soil science and director of UWs
arboretum. McSweeney was instrumental in helping negotiate the
articulation agreement. He says the idea to explore an agreement
between the two institutions first came up four years ago, when he was
working with the tribal college on natural resource management issues.
But before any agreement could be seriously discussed, McSweeney says
Menominee and UW-Madison had to come to terms with some basic cultural
differences.

This relationship required a fair amount of getting to understand each
other, developing an appreciation of different worldviews, he says. 

But finding common ground between the institutions wouldnt be enough, he
says. Menominee students would also need help adjusting to a
non-reservation environment, especially on a campus of more than 30,000
students.

Youngbear-Tibbitts says the head of the life sciences communication
department played a significant role in her transition from the
reservation to UW-Madison.

Dr. Jacqueline Hitchon McSweeney, Kevin McSweeneys wife, helped
Youngbear-Tibbitts locate an apartment in Madison and advocated for her
to receive course credit for speaking her native language of Ojibwe.
Youngbear-Tibbitts, who grew up around Ojibwe speakers and took formal
classes, says she was surprised to discover that UW didnt accept Ojibwe
as a valid non-English language. But with Hitchon McSweeneys help, she
managed to convince admissions officials to change their requirement.
Instead of sitting down to take a written exam, Youngbear-Tibbitts
tested out of her language requirement via a phone conversation with a
UW faculty member who spoke Ojibwe.

It made perfect sense to test over the phone, she says. Ojibwe is an
oral language.


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