Welcome to the Tribal College and University Research Journal by Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO American Indian College Fund

WELCOME TO THE TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RESEARCH JOURNAL

Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO American Indian College Fund

Colleagues:

For this edition of the TCURJ, I reflected on what it means for us to support community-based research at TCUs. This past August, I commemorated 40 years of working in the tribally controlled education movement and, thankfully, I am still able to recall early experiences with Tribal faculty, community informants, students, and Tribal leaders where we worked on our understanding of what it means to be tribally controlled. Integrating Native knowledge and pedagogy came naturally to us while we were also in the position of having to navigate western institutions and practices. It created tension about the role of education and how TCUs could impact family and individual identity and prosperity. The tension was about how we could remain true to our identities while using the tools of western society to improve lives. We didn’t think much about research – often, in those days, research was driven by external institutions and researchers. While there were places where TCUs engaged in research, it was limited.

The rise of research resources particularly through land-grant programming, environmental and sustainability funding, and an increased desire to support faculty and students voice and skills has dramatically shifted the emphasis on research. The tensions associated with research evolved as we shifted from responsiveness to externalities toward responding to internal (tribal and community) priorities and needs.

There are many pillars of community-based research – one pillar is credibility, another is relevance. Through the College Fund’s support of faculty and student research and through our publication of the TCURJ, we are increasing the credibility of place-based, culturally, and tribally relevant research. We are showing our adaptability by using modern tools (peer review, publication) to honor and strengthen Indigenous narratives and solutions.

Your support of our research is important, you are supporting Tribal self-determination and our prosperity. Wopila, thank you.

Cheryl