Tribal College Journal
by Vicki Urquhart
The Tribal College Journal of
American Indian Higher Education4 issues per year
Institutional subscription: $30 per year;
Individual subscription: $22 per year
1 P.O. Box 720, Mancos, CO 80328
WHEN YOU PICK up a professional journal, you expect it to be worth your time, and Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education (TCJ) does not disappoint. It has everything you expect in a readable, visually appealing format:
- research about timely issues
- compelling personal stories
- information about available resources (both electronic and print)
on related topics - suggestions and “how tos” to apply in the classroom
- advertisements from publishers, organizations, and affiliates.
Furthermore, both print and electronic versions work together to provide the reader/Web user with helpful information in both formats. TCJ is not quirky, offbeat, shocking, or cutting edge; instead, it is informative. The mission of TCJ is to “provide information for everyone interested in American Indian higher education,” and that’s exactly what it does.
This culture-based publication uses both scholarly and informal
articles to address subjects that are important to the American
Indian and Alaska Native communities and has received several
awards from the Native American Journalists Association for
general excellence. Now in its tenth year, it is broadening its appeal to include an international audience, informing readers about tribal colleges and the American Indian College Fund, which provides student scholarships.
The Journal: Two Issues
In the Summer 2001 issue, editor Marjane Ambler explores the role of the colleges in the tribal community, writing that, “The community’s problems are impossible for the colleges to ignore. . . Created of the community, by the community, and for the community, the tribal colleges and universities’ fate and that of their students is intertwined with the tribe’s fate. . . . They are committed to transforming their communities, one graduate at a time” (9).
Underscoring her point is a student success story which portrays
the struggles of a tribal college student, a single mother of three who lives on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. Similarly, the Fall 2001 issue contains a student profile of a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe in Belcourt, North Dakota, who is now in the doctoral program at Penn State University. These features give the journal a human face. Since such profiles are just one regular feature of a journal that offers much more, the pieces don’t run the danger of being maudlin.
TCJ deserves credit for facing head on issues unique to tribal communities and colleges. For instance, “Full Recovery: education helps heal a community from alcoholism” is a forthright article about substance abuse, a major concern for tribal communities throughout the country. Elden Lawrence, president of Sisseton Wahpeton Community College in South Dakota, writes plainly, and looks squarely to tribal communities to acknowledge that education changes everything. In a very readable article, he asserts that education has been and continues to make a difference in tribal communities. Overall, the writing throughout the journal is solid.
The photography, mostly black and white, is adequate. Illustration
is an area where the journal could improve. TCJ would benefit from fewer standard headshots and line-ups, and more photographs that are powerfully and creatively used to impact
the reader.
High-interest, easy-to-read articles on traditional foods and gardening are sprinkled throughout the journal. An adjunct instructor might find basic writing models here that could
easily translate into classroom writing activities. Although
the summer issue does not contain an actual research paper,
as do the fall and Web site issues, it does offer an extensive
resource guide for families, communities, and schools to help
Native students. Placed toward the back of the journal, it
provides closure to the theme of community.
The larger Fall 2001 issue is somewhat different, as it is
the annual “Tribal College Student” edition, containing
students’ poetry, short stories, and essays. This is yet another
creative, effective way to use the journal-as a forum for
tribal students–that helps explain TCJ’s decade of
steady growth. Writing instructors who use writing-for-publication
methods will find validation here. This issue also shows its
heart, opening with a tribute story to Jack Barden, one of
the founders and initial staff of Standing Rock Community
College, now known as Sitting Bull College. Barden died recently,
at the age of sixty-one, and the journal posted tributes that
flooded in.
Balancing the personal with the academic, the Fall 2001 issue
also highlights research on the contentious issue of accreditation,
asking the question, “Can tribal colleges maintain identity
while seeking legitimacy?” An abstract, graphics, recommendations, and summary are included on the subject of how and whether changes in accreditation in the tribal colleges since 1982 have affected current attitudes and perceptions. Other related questions can be explored in full at the Web site, where a
more complete version of the research is posted. TCJ’s use of a print-electronic connection is effective.
The Web Site
This appealing Web site is easy to navigate and, like the print version of the journal, provides access to plenty of information. Rather than finding a PDF version of the latest issue, there are several interesting links. “About TCJ,” for instance, leads to a history of the journal, recounting its inauspicious beginnings: twenty-four black-and-white pages designed on an early Macintosh computer; no major university sponsors; no financial backers, a print run of 1,000.
In contrast, we learn that the current print run is 11,000, and subscribers now include the international community. Other
links include:
- a resources link profiling the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and supplying further links to reports, initiatives, and alliances
- a current issue link providing a table of contents and selected
articles from features, departments, and resources - a jobs link for job seekers.
I like this journal and this Web site. Who should subscribe?
Anyone interested in American Indian higher education, especially
anyone teaching in an American Indian Studies program, but
also instructors in ethnic studies or humanities programs.
How prolific are American Indian Studies programs? A Guide
to Native American Studies Programs in the United States and
Canada is available on-line at www.richmond.edu/faculty/ASAIL/guide/guide1html.
