Native American Education Conference to be Held at IUPUI

INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI will hold the first statewide Native American Education Conference in Indiana.

Representatives of Indian tribes, Indian organizations and members of the Indiana educational community will attend the conference, September 28-29, to examine the past, present and future direction of Native American education in the state, according to Johnny P. Flynn, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at IUPUI, a conference organizer and a Native American.

Among those addressing the conference will be National Collegiate Athletic Association President Myles Brand and Indiana University Basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson. Brand will review his efforts to resolve the controversial use by colleges and universities of Indian mascots.

Flynn said there are three priorities in Native American Education and these points will be the themes of the conference. They are:

• The need to develop Indian Education programs in K-12 schools throughout the state. Although there are more than fifteen thousand Indian students statewide, there is only one program operating with limited funding by the Pokagon Potawatomi in northern Indiana. The state of Indiana is eligible for federal funding for Native American students, but they are a hidden minority, without a voice in the educational process. That needs to change.
• The need to develop recruitment programs for Indian students in higher education here in Indiana. The Indiana University system has close to 100,000 students, and less than three Native American students system-wide. But it is not really known if that number is accurate, since there are no comprehensive programs to recruit, identify, and monitor the academic progress of Native American students. Those programs need to be developed in higher education in Indiana.
• Studies have shown that recruiting Native American faculty and students, developing programs in American Indian studies, is not just a benefit to Indian people, but is a vital part of higher education for all students. The Department of Religious Studies at IUPUI has agreed to serve as the home for the first Native American studies minor in Indiana. Indiana; a state named after Indian people and one of the only states without comprehensive programs in Native American studies, or recruitment of Native American students at the undergraduate level.

Other conference speakers include Sally Tuttle, history of Indian education in Indiana; Tom Topash, Pokagon Potawatomi educational program; Rebecca Riall, Native American programs and activities at Indiana University Bloomington; Aleeah Livengood, recruiting Indian students to graduate programs at Purdue University; and Flynn, recruiting Native American students from tribes once native to Indiana to graduate programs at IUPUI.

The conference will conclude with a special meeting of the Native American Indian Commission of Indiana regarding Native American education in the state.

(Editors note: The Native American Education Conference will begin at 3 p.m. September 28 in Room 115 of the University College, 815 W. Michigan Street. IU Coach Sampson will speak at 5 p.m. Myles Brand will address the conference at 1 p.m. September 29 in the Lilly Auditorium of University Library, 755 W. Michigan Street. The Native American Indiana Commission will meet at 3 p.m. in the Lilly Auditorium.)