MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Xẹst Sx̣lx̣alt (Good Day)! Welcome to the Fall 2021 edition
of The American Indian Graduate Magazine. In this magazine, we focus our thoughts on Our Collective Story. For thousands of years, storytelling has been an intrinsic part of our identity as Native people. Oral tradition has served to pass our knowledge and history across generations and has empowered our communities. But for far too long, our stories have been erased and obscured. The Boarding School Era, which began as a result of the Civilization Fund Act in 1819, attempted to assimilate our communities under the directive, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” Today many of our relatives are facing the impossible task and emotional responsibility of identifying and bringing home over 6,000 of our children who were left in unmarked and mass graves at these institutions. As a granddaughter of survivors of these, I recognize this is only the beginning of this difficult journey. I send my love and prayers to all our communities, as we face this traumatic time together.
ANGELIQUE ALBERT, CEO CONFEDERATED SALISH & KOOTENAI TRIBES
These institutions were our first interactions with western education systems, which has resulted in a traumatic and oppressive relationship with the U.S. education system. Inaccurate portrayals and false narratives of our history continue to be taught across K-12 and higher education. American Indian Graduate Center, among other Native organizations, was created to address these false narratives. Our organization specifically advocates for substantive changes in higher education to promote inclusion, visibility, and achievement of Native scholars. For the first time in U.S. history, we are beginning to witness a critical narrative shift for our communities. Madame Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), American Indian Graduate Center Alumna, has inspired both Native and non-Native people across the United States and beyond. The production of series like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls are bringing authentic representation of our people to national television. The Washington Football Team and the Cleveland Guardians have changed their names. Each of these narrative shifts are paving the way for Native voices and creating seats at the table for our people to share our knowledge, stories, and tradition. Our stories have the power to fuel a movement and create an immense impact. American Indian Graduate Center is proud to contribute to this movement as the largest national Native scholarship provider in the U.S. For more than 50 years, American Indian Graduate Center has empowered the next generation of Native leaders through national scholarship funding and student services. When we support our students in their pursuit of higher education, not only are we empowering them to achieve their educational goals, we are empowering them to contribute to our collective story as cabinet level political leaders, film makers, educators and so much more. Thank you for joining us as we continue elevating our stories for future generations. Lemlmtš (Thank You),
Angelique Albert CEO
the american indian graduate | fall 2021 | aigcs.org
5
