Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

A Newsletter Celebrating Native America

December 16, 2000 - Issue 25

School News

gathered by Vicki Lockard

The information here will include items of interest for and about Native American schools. If you have news to share, please let us know! I can be reached by emailing: Vlockard@aol.com

Hopi Tribe sets up $10 Million Scholarship Fund KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. — This holiday season, the Hopi people will have 10 million more reasons to celebrate. In unprecedented action, the Hopi Tribal Council unanimously passed Ordinance 54 establishing the Hopi Tribe Education Endowment Fund. In its action, the council transferred $10 million into the fund which will be kept separately from other funds. In his opening statement to the council, Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor spoke about the fund as a form of community investment. "The future of the tribe depends on the future successes of our children. We must do all we can to help our children succeed. The fund can help make that success more likely. Ten million dollars speaks loudly about our commitment to our children," he said...

Kanehsatake gets Immersion School By: Ross Montour Approximately 100 community members gathered at Kanehsatake in the Pines to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new school building. That state of the art building will be the new home for Kanehsatake’s Rotwennekehe Mohawk Immersion School. The 10:30 am ceremony held this past Monday, was attended by Kanehsatake Grand Chief James Gabriel, Project Coordinator Rodney Hill, along with the head of educational services there, Wahtine Nicholas. Gabriel gave the opening remarks at the ceremony and sank the first shovel. Gabriel spoke of the long process of negotiations it had taken to get to this point. According to Hill, the cost of construction remains undisclosed at this time. However, he stated that the architects, Edmonds-Kozima-Mulbey have designed a state-of-the-art education complex. The school which will be nestled in the Pines will provide 15,600 square feet of space for the immersion program. It will also perform as a community focal point, being open to various community activities and groups. Hill stated that the amount of work which has gone into the design of the building is phenomenal, using the latest technology in radiant heat and will provide the best in healthy air quality. He also said that the school will be ideally focused to present both the language and culture of the Mohawk people at Kanehsatake. Said Hill, “This is truly going to be a school for the new millennium.” A pot luck was held at the federal school, Ohenton Kari Wahtekwen, where the immersion program has been temporarily housed. Hill said that construction will begin soon as long as the contract bids are selected. He did say that the Mohawk Council of Kanehsatake is going for as total a Mohawk involvement as possible in the construction phase. The projected date of readiness is August 2001.

New Diné College campus spells sovereignty, opportunity for Tuba City residents TUBA CITY— "Change is an element in social life.” Edward Little, Sr., is a big supporter of higher education for Native American people. He also recognizes that the Tuba City community has a desperate need for modernization. He joined other friends including Harold Joseph, Loretta Nez and Marilyn Etcitty to drive the first nails into a beautiful 1,300 square foot hogan which will house a cultural center which will become the first building of the Diné College Tuba City campus. This project celebrates the 19th Cultural Learning Center to across the country and is born of the a partnership between the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the National Association of Home Builders Log Homes’ Council and the American Indian College Fund. The logs for the project have been donated by Air-Lock Log Homes of Las Vegas, NM; the company has donated the logs for three earlier structures.

Marble City Youth Win Cherokee Challenge Bowl TAHLEQUAH -- The Marble City Raiders won first place in the Kindergarten through 2nd grade competition of the Cherokee Challenge Bowl held Nov. 30 at the Cherokee Nation Complex in Tahlequah. Students answered questions about Cherokee history, culture and vocabulary. The competition is held annually for local Cherokee students by the Cherokee Nation Johnson-O’Malley Program in an effort to preserve Cherokee history, language and culture.

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