Julie Garza

March 12, 2010

Dartmouth College: The Native American Indian Lives

     After presenting my report over Dartmouth College and Louise Erdrich, I decided to continue my research on the American Indian culture at Dartmouth.  Although Congregational minister Wheelock started the college in 1769, the funds were raised mostly by the Native American preacher Samson Occom, a Mohegan Indian.  The charter created for the college entails that the college was intended “for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land…and also of English Youth and any others” (NAP).  My interest in Dartmouth College is based solely on the Native American Indian Organization called NAP.  My questions are as follows:

1.     From past to present, how has the percentage of Native American Indians enrolled at Dartmouth changed?

2.     What does NAP offer to the Native American Indians of Dartmouth College?

a.      Guidance

b.     Financial aid

c.      Scholarships

d.     Grants

     NAP, Native American Program, is a support services organization at Dartmouth established for Native students.  The program works with tribal communities to help students with their “personal, social, intellectual and ethical development” (NAP).  Problems occurred at Dartmouth during its first 200 years when only 19 Native American students graduated.  President John Kemeny, the 13^th President of Dartmouth College, made Dartmouth active in its educational goals towards Native American students.  Kemeny established NAP during his presidency, and advised “the Admissions Office to begin actively recruiting Indian students for the very first time” (NAP).  Although Dartmouth fell short of its Native American Indian goals in its first 200 years, the 39 years that passed since President Kemeny’s establishment of NAP have been a success.  “Nearly 700 Native Americans from over 200 different tribes have attended Dartmouth, more than at all the other Ivy League institutions combined” (NAP).  Therefore, NAP is an effective program in recruiting Native American students, because the attendance of Native Americans increased from 19 to 700.  The priorities for Dartmouth’s Native American Program are as follows:      

·       We support institutional recognition of Native forms of knowledge and work to help students, faculty and staff understand the ways Native forms of knowledge can interact with academia.

·       We assist students in building their scholarly and leadership capacity by affirming and strengthening the forms of leadership Native students provide to Dartmouth, tribal communities and the world.

·       We strive to make Dartmouth a respectful and welcoming environment where all cultural identities are celebrated (NAP).

     NAP provides 10 different student organizations, which assist not only Native American students, but any student who desires to learn more about the Native American culture:

·       Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD)

·       Pow-Wow Committee

·       First Voices

·       American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) [Dartmouth Chapter]

·        Native Dancing Society, Occom Pond Singers

·        Native Women’s Group

·        Alpha Pi Omega [Sorority Inc.]

·        Christian Native Americans at Dartmouth (CNAD)

·        Indigenous Living Languages at Dartmouth                (NAP).

Also, NAP provides a Native American House, which is dedicated to the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual life of Native Americans. 

     Dartmouth College provides a program called Occom Scholars, created by the Native American Program and its affiliates.  The Occom Scholars program is a one-year program, (Fall, Spring, and Summer).  Its mission is to provide scholarship aide to the Indigenous first-year students.  Occam Scholars primarily uses Native knowledge in their creative curriculum, which “demonstrates how the Indigenous perspective can contribute to Dartmouth and beyond” (NAP).  The purpose of the Occam Scholars Program is to combine first-year students and student mentors of different cultural and academic experiences.  Dartmouth College believes that globally the “Indigenous education” of students has created an economical shift; a shift that Dartmouth is proud to be apart of.  Occom Scholars strive to be proud and dependable Indigenous citizens, in which they “support Dartmouth College with their commitment to Indian Education directly stated in the Charter of 1769” (NAP).  Occam Scholars Students will “benefit from faculty and peer mentoring, social and academic programming, and funding for the summer research projects” (NAP).  Dartmouth College provides financial aid, scholarships, and grants for its students.  The scholarships are need-based and range from “$1,000 to over $40,000” (Grants).  Federal Pell Grants are offered and typically range from, “$400 to $5,350” and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) are offered, but “cannot exceed $4,000 a year” (Grants). 

     To conclude, I could not locate a specific scholarship or grant for the sole purpose of Native American Indians.  The Occam Scholars Program is the only program where the Native student can receive summer funding for research projects.  The grants and scholarships offered at Dartmouth College are intended for every race, culture, and ethnicity group.  Therefore, Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity institution.  The “diversity” within Dartmouth College, might have been the more appropriate question than the two questions stated above, because the answer to both questions could be an equal opportunity institution.  Some questions that I plan to research in my second research posting are:

·       Does Dartmouth College have American Indian Murals?

o   If so, what does the college do to honor the Murals?

o   What is the significance of the Indian Murals to the college itself?        

Works Cited

Dartmouth at a Glance. Dartmouth College. HomeTeam, Aug. 2006. 

<http://www.dartmouth.edu/home/about/facts.html>. 12 March 2010.

Dartmouth College. HomeTeam, Aug. 2006. <www.dartmouth.edu>. 9 March 2010.

Dartmouth History. Dartmouth College. HomeTeam, Aug. 2006.

<http://www.dartmouth.edu/home/about/history.html>. 12 March 2010.

Grants & Scholarships. Financial Aid Office. Dartmouth College, 26 Jan. 2010.    

<http://www.dartmouth.edu/~finaid/award/grants/>. 12 March 2010.

Native American Program (NAP). Dartmouth College. HomeTeam, Aug. 2006.

< http://www.dartmouth.edu/~nap/about/>. 9 March 2010.