Degrees of Excellence: A Celebration of Native Students
Graduation season is more than cap and gown. It's about community, identity, and resilience. It's about what it means to earn a degree while staying true to who you are.
That's why ICT is proud to present Degrees of Excellence, a brand-new education special issue dedicated to Native students and higher education. Every story in this collection is fresh, deeply-reported, and told by Indigenous journalists.
Inside, you'll meet young changemakers like Evelyn Enos and Kiara Tanta-Quidgeon — both named to UNITY's 25 Under 25 list — who are blending cultural preservation, storytelling, and wellness to impact their communities.
You'll discover how more Native students are wearing regalia with pride at spring graduations, and what it took to get here.
You'll find an interactive map of every tribal college and university in the U.S., plus a user-friendly guide to FAFSA deadlines and financial aid questions for 2025.
And you'll go behind the scenes of the Wisconsin Tribal Education Promise Program with ICT's shared reporter Erica Ayisi, who explores how tuition coverage at UW-Madison is more than a financial story. It's about history, healing, and justice.
Whether you're a student, parent, educator, or just proud of the next generation, these are the stories to read right now.
Degrees of Excellence is live. Explore the full issue here.
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
This Alaska Native fishing village was trying to power their town. Then came Trump's funding cuts.
For the fewer than a hundred people that make up the entire population of Port Heiden, Alaska, fishing provides both a paycheck and a full dinner plate. Every summer, residents of the Alutiiq village set out on commercial boats to catch salmon swimming upstream in the nearby rivers of Bristol Bay. John Christensen, Port Heiden's tribal president, is currently making preparations for the annual trek. In a week's time, he and his 17-year-old son will charter Queen Ann, the family's 32-foot boat, eight hours north to brave some of the planet's highest tides, extreme weather risks, and other treacherous conditions. The two will keep at it until August, hauling in thousands of pounds of fish each day that they later sell to seafood processing companies. It's grueling work that burns a considerable amount of costly fossil fuel energy, and there are scarcely any other options. Because of their location, diesel costs almost four times the national average — the Alaska Native community spent $900,000 on fuel in 2024 alone. Even Port Heiden's diesel storage tanks are posing challenges. Coastal erosion has created a growing threat of leaks in the structures, which are damaging to the environment and expensive to repair, and forced the tribe to relocate them further inland. On top of it all, of course, diesel generators contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and are notoriously noisy. 'Everything costs more. Electricity goes up, diesel goes up, every year. And wages don't,' Christensen said. 'We live on the edge of the world. And it's just tough.' In 2015, the community built a fish processing plant that the tribe collectively owns; they envisioned a scenario in which tribal members would not need to share revenue with processing companies, would bring home considerably more money, and wouldn't have to spend months at a time away from their families. But the building has remained nonoperational for an entire decade, because they simply can't afford to power it. Enormous amounts of diesel are needed, says Christensen, to run the filleting and gutting machines, separators and grinders, washing and scaling equipment, and even to store the sheer amount of fish the village catches every summer in freezers and refrigerators. They can already barely scrape together the budget needed to pay for the diesel that powers their boats, institutions, homes, and airport. The onslaught of energy challenges that Port Heiden is facing, Christensen says, is linked to a corresponding population decline. Their fight for energy independence is a byproduct of colonial policies that have limited the resources and recourse that Alaska Native tribes like theirs have. 'Power is 90 percent of the problem,' said Christensen. 'Lack of people is the rest. But cheaper power would bring in more people.' In 2023, Climate United, a national investment fund and coalition, submitted a proposal to participate in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, or GGRF — a $27 billion investment from the Inflation Reduction Act and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency to 'mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis.' Last April, the EPA announced it had chosen three organizations to disseminate the program's funding; $6.97 billion was designated to go to Climate United. Then, in the course of President Donald Trump's sweeping federal disinvestment campaign, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was singled out as a poster child for what Trump's EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claimed was 'criminal.' 'The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,' Zeldin said in February. He then endeavored on a crusade to get the money back. As the financial manager for GGRF, Citibank, the country's third-largest financial institution, got caught in the middle. The New York Times reported that investigations into Biden officials' actions in creating the program and disbursing the funds had not found any 'meaningful evidence' of criminal wrongdoing. On March 4, Zeldin announced that the GGRF funding intended to go to Climate United and seven other organizations had been frozen. The following week, Climate United filed a joint lawsuit against the EPA, which they followed with a motion for a temporary restraining order against Zeldin, the EPA and Citibank from taking actions to implement the termination of the grants. On March 11, the EPA sent Climate United a letter of funding termination. In April, a federal D.C. district judge ruled that the EPA had terminated the grants unlawfully and blocked the EPA from clawing them back. The Trump administration then appealed the decision. Climate United is still awaiting the outcome of that appeal. While they do, the $6.97 billion remains inaccessible. Climate United's money was intended to support a range of projects from Hawai'i to the East Coast, everything from utility-scale solar to energy-efficient community centers — and a renewable energy initiative in Port Heiden. The coalition had earmarked $6 million for the first round of a pre-development grant program aimed at nearly two dozen Native communities looking to adopt or expand renewable energy power sources. 'We made investments in those communities, and we don't have the capital to support those projects,' said Climate United's Chief Community Officer Krystal Langholz. In response to an inquiry from Grist, an EPA spokesperson noted that 'Unlike the Biden-Haris administration, this EPA is committed to being an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars.' The spokesperson said that Zeldin had terminated $20 billion in grant agreements because of 'substantial concerns regarding the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program integrity, the award process, and programmatic waste and abuse, which collectively undermine the fundamental goals and statutory objectives of the award.' A representative of Citibank declined to comment. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service did not respond to requests for comment. Long before most others recognized climate change as an urgent existential crisis, the Alutiiq peoples of what is now known as Port Heiden, but was once called Meshik, were forced to relocate because of rising seawater. With its pumice-rich volcanic soils and exposed location on the peninsula that divides Bristol Bay from the Gulf of Alaska, the area is unusually vulnerable to tidal forces that erode land rapidly during storms. Beginning in 1981, disappearing sea ice engulfed buildings and homes. The community eventually moved their village about a ten-minute drive further inland. No one lives at the old site anymore, but important structures still remain, including safe harbor for fishing boats. The seas, of course, are still rising, creeping up to steal the land from right below the community's feet. In a region that's warming faster than just about any other place on the planet, much of the land is on the precipice of being swallowed by water. From 2017 to 2018, the old site lost between 35 and 65 feet of shoreline, as reported by the Bristol Bay Times. Even the local school situated on the newer site is affected by the shrinking shoreline — the institution and surrounding Alutiiq village, increasingly threatened by the encroaching sea. Before the Trump administration moved to terminate their funding, Christensen's dream of transitioning the Port Heiden community to renewable sources of energy, consequential for both maintaining its traditional lifestyle and ensuring its future, had briefly seemed within reach. He also saw it as a way to contribute to global solutions to the climate crisis. 'I don't think [we are] the biggest contributor to global pollution, but if we could do our part and not pollute, maybe we won't erode as fast,' he said. 'I know we're not very many people, but to us, that's our community.' The tribe planned to use a $300,000 grant from Climate United to pay for the topographic and waterway studies needed to design two run-of-the-river hydropower plants. In theory, the systems, which divert a portion of flowing water through turbines, would generate enough clean energy to power the entirety of Port Heiden, including the idle fish-processing facility. The community also envisioned channeling hydropower to run a local greenhouse, where they could expand what crops they raise and the growing season, further boosting local food access and sovereignty. In even that short period of whiplash — from being awarded the grant to watching it vanish — the village's needs have become increasingly urgent. Meeting the skyrocketing cost of diesel, according to Christensen, is no longer feasible. The community's energy crisis and ensuing cost of living struggle have already started prompting an exodus, with the population declining at a rate of little over 3 percent every year — a noticeable loss when the town's number rarely exceeds a hundred residents to begin with. 'It's really expensive to live out here. And I don't plan on moving anytime soon. And my kids, they don't want to go either. So I have to make it better, make it easier to live here,' Christensen said. Janine Bloomfield, grants specialist at 10Power, the organization that Port Heiden partnered with to help write their grant application, said they are currently waiting for a decision to be made in the lawsuit 'that may lead to the money being unfrozen.' In the interim, she said, recipients have been asked to work with Climate United on paperwork 'to be able to react quickly in the event that the funds are released.' For its part, Climate United is also now exploring other funding strategies. The coalition is rehauling the structure of the money going to Port Heiden and other Native communities. Rather than awarding it as a grant, where recipients would have to pay the costs upfront and be reimbursed later, Climate United will now issue loans to the communities originally selected for the pre-development grants that don't require upfront costs and will be forgiven upon completion of the agreed-upon deliverables. Their reason for the transition, according to Langholz, was 'to increase security, decrease administrative burden on our partners, and create credit-building opportunities while still providing strong programmatic oversight.' Still, there are downsides to consider with any loan, including being stuck with debt. In many cases, said Chéri Smith, a Mi'Kmaq descendant who founded and leads the nonprofit Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, replacing a federal grant with a loan, even a forgivable one, 'adds complexity and risk for Tribal governments.' Forgivable loans 'become a better option' in later stages of development or for income-generating infrastructure, said Smith, who is on the advisory board of Climate United, but are 'rarely suitable for common pre-development needs.' That's because pre-feasibility work, such as Port Heiden's hydropower project, 'is inherently speculative, and Tribes should not be expected to risk even conditional debt to validate whether their own resources can be developed.' This is especially true in Alaska, she added, where costs and logistical challenges are exponentially higher for the 229 federally recognized tribes than in the lower 48, and outcomes much less predictable. Raina Thiele, Dena'ina Athabascan and Yup'ik, who formerly served in the Biden administration as senior adviser for Alaska affairs to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and former tribal liaison to President Obama, said the lending situation is particularly unique when it comes to Alaska Native communities, because of how Congress historically wrote legislation relating to a land claim settlement which saw tribes deprived of control over resources and land. Because of that, it's been incredibly difficult for communities to build capacity, she noted, making even a forgivable loan 'a bit of a high-risk endeavor.' The question of trust also shows up — the promise of loan forgiveness, in particular, is understandably difficult for communities who have long faced exploitation and discrimination in public and privatized lending programs. 'Grant programs are a lot more familiar,' she said. Even so, the loan from Climate United would only be possible if the court rules in its favor and compels the EPA to release the money. If the court rules against Climate United, Langholz told Grist, the organization plans to pursue damage claims in another court and may seek philanthropic fundraising to help Port Heiden come up with the $300,000, in addition to the rest of the $6 million promised to the nearly two dozen Native communities originally selected for the grant program. 'These cuts can be a matter of life or death for many of these communities being able to heat their homes, essentially,' said Thiele. While many different stakeholders wait to see how the federal funding crisis will play out, Christensen doesn't know what to make of the proposed grant-to-loan shift for Port Heiden's hydropower project. The landscape has changed so quickly and drastically, it has, however, prompted him to lose what little faith he had left in federal funding. He has already begun to brainstorm other ways to ditch diesel. 'We'll figure it out,' he said. 'I'll find the money, if I have to. I'll win the lottery, and spend the money on cheaper power.' This story was originally published by Grist with the headline This Alaska Native fishing village was trying to power their town. Then came Trump's funding cuts. on Jun 12, 2025.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Old Fort Niagara launches campaign to build Native American Education Center
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, Old Fort Niagara announced plans Tuesday to construct a replica 18th century Native American dwelling to serve as a Native American Education Center. The center will vividly represent the living conditions for Native Americans at the Fort during the Revolution and serve as a focal point for the Fort's Native living history programming. 'As one of the most historic sites on the Great Lakes, Old Fort Niagara has endured for nearly 300 years,' Robert Emerson, executive director, Old Fort Niagara, said. 'An integral part of that long history is the Fort's connection with local Native American nations — and it's important that we elevate that story.' Fort Niagara has already secured $200,000 toward the cost of the building and aims to raise another $50,000. The center's design reflects a little-known piece of local history. During the American Revolution, thousands of Native Americans fled to Fort Niagara to flee the ravages of war. Hewn log dwellings were constructed right outside the walls of the fort to house the Native allies of the British. The interior of the recreated log structure will include sleeping, dining and storage spaces — each incorporating period Native American clothing, weapons, trade goods, lighting and other historic pieces. Native interpreters will share with visitors the role of the Native peoples at the Fort, Native history and culture, trade, military alliances, diplomacy and survival. 'This facility and our enhanced Native programming will undoubtedly enrich the experience of thousands of school students, area residents and visitors to our region, who will have the opportunity to engage fully in both the military history of the Fort and its Native history,' said Jordan Smith, Mohawk, Bear Clan and head of Native education at Old Fort Niagara. In addition to educational living history experiences, the building will also serve as a hub for workshops for small groups to learn traditional Native skills such as moccasin making, beadwork, quillwork, finger weaving and even Native language classes. Old Fort Niagara also intends to invite local Native communities to use the building for social gatherings and small-group meetings. The public portion of the fundraising campaign, co-chaired by Chief Brennen Ferguson, Tuscarora, Turtle Clan and Michael McInerney, recently retired CEO of Modern Disposal Services, Inc., is underway with the goal of raising the remaining funds by early September. At a kick-off event attended by local Native American leaders and Old Fort Niagara supporters, Ferguson spoke to the importance of sharing the Haudenosaunee story. 'This cabin will stand not only as a window into the past, but as a doorway to greater understanding,' said Ferguson. 'The story of this land did not begin with the founding of Fort Niagara. Native Nations lived, traveled, and governed here long before European arrival. Today, Native staff at the Fort continue the vital work of educating the public about that deeper history. This structure will support their efforts, helping to share a fuller story; one that honors the presence, contributions and strength of Indigenous Peoples.' McInerney discussed the importance of supporting cultural sites like Old Fort Niagara and the imperative to attract new audiences. 'In addition to providing a new, engaging experience for all who visit the Fort, the Native American Education Center will draw new visitors and school groups, and help Old Fort Niagara broaden its reach,' said McInerney. 'The expanded draw will help ensure the Fort remains a vibrant educational resource in our community for generations to come.' The new building will be located adjacent to the Old Fort Niagara Visitor Center, with a planned opening in the spring. The facility will be open during regular operating hours, including for field trips, and can open for special events during the evening, lit by traditional lighting.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Historic Japanese triplexes restored at B.C.'s oldest surviving cannery
Japanese triplexes built in the 1960s at the last intact cannery on B.C.'s north coast have now been restored, preserving a vital piece of the region's multicultural fishing heritage. Built in 1889, the North Pacific Cannery in Port Edward played a key role in driving economic development on British Columbia's coast through salmon canning. It remained in active operation until 1980. Now the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site and Museum, the site consists of a cluster of wooden buildings, primarily single-storey, arranged along a wooden boardwalk. It includes the main cannery building, management and administrative offices, residences, and employee housing. 'Ethnically-segregated living and work areas divided Chinese, Japanese, Native and white labour,' stated Parks Canada. The set-up was designed to function as a self-sustaining community in an isolated location, generating significant profits for its owners. The main cannery structure, completed in 1895, remains largely unaltered to this day. The Port Edward Historical Society is the current steward of the site. They are a registered charity dedicated to preserving, restoring, interpreting, and expanding the legacy of the North Pacific Cannery. With funding from the Japanese Canadian Legacies initiative, a non-profit organization supported by the Province, the local society received a grant that enabled the restoration of three units in one triplex to their original state. These restored units are now available as short-term rental accommodations. 'The Japanese Canadian Legacy Society was set up by the provincial government [in 2022] because the provincial government finally owned up to the fact that they had a role to play when the Japanese Canadians were interned [in camps] during World War Two. So to make up for that horrible time, they set aside some funding,' said Mona Izumi, North Pacific Cannery Historical Society's president. Additionally, the society transformed a fourth unit in the second triplex into an interpretive exhibit showcasing the history of Japanese Canadians at the cannery. This display features archival recreations of the homes and everyday objects used by past residents, offering visitors an immersive glimpse into their lives. The society organized the grand opening of the triplexes on May 24, drawing a turnout of more than 150 attendees. The afternoon featured a special interactive performance by the Lax Kw'alaams Dancers, guided tours of the site, and a delicious salmon bake and sushi relished by all. Japanese Triplexes A significant number of Japanese Canadians worked at the cannery before the Second Wolrd War. They were fishermen, skilled boat builders, net menders and cannery workers. In 1941, Canada declared war on Japan. After that, 1,200 fishing boats owned by Japanese Canadians were impounded, states the exhibit panels at the triplex. 'All persons of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast and moved to internment camps in the interior of B.C. Able-bodied men were sent to work on farms and road crews in communities east of the Rockies,' said the text on the exhibit. Ichitaro Miki was born in Japan and moved to northwest B.C. to join his father and uncles to build boats before the war. 'On February 19, 1942, my parents were forced to evacuate Arrandale [north of Prince Rupert] for the last time. Father [Ichitaro Miki] 's relationship with the First Nation's people was so close. With his departure, he was abandoning years of hard work and everything he had built up was virtually lost. As the catala steamed past familiar landmarks, father took a final glance up Portland Inlet not knowing when he would ever see this land again,' shared Miki's family. In 1945, Japan surrendered after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All internment camps in B.C. were then closed and bulldozed. Japanese Canadians were made to relocate east of the Rocky Mountains or 'repatriate' to Japan. By 1949, the federal government lifted the restrictions it imposed under the War Measures Act, and Japanese Canadians were finally allowed to return to British Columbia's coast. Following the news, fishing companies in B.C. started actively recruiting these fishermen and tried to attract them with boat rentals and housing. After the war, the Japanese were mainly fishermen, no longer boat builders and cannery workers. Old housing at the cannery withered and fell apart, so the owners constructed new ones for the returning fishermen between 1964 and 1965. Some of the original residents were Robert and Fumiko Nishimura, Katsuki and Misao Kadowaki, and Frank and Yoshiko Yoshida. These families made every effort to make the most of the salmon season. According to the interpretive text, men typically fished while women took on responsibilities both at home and in the cannery. Life was busy, especially during peak season, as they worked hard to preserve enough seafood to last the entire year. They canned sockeye salmon, crab, abalone, and sea urchin, and also dried seaweed. Salmon was often salted and shipped to family members in other parts of Canada. In addition to their work, women also maintained the communal bath, a vital part of daily life and community hygiene. For the first time in the triplexes' record, they are now open to the public. The restored spaces offer an immersive look into daily life in these historic homes. The kitchens display traditional cooking items, while the living rooms are set up with vintage radios, pianos, and traditional Japanese games and snacks. The bedrooms feature old beds and side tables filled with personal items from the era, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia for visitors. Heather Hadland-Dudoward, the historical society's general manager, invites visitors to rent the three new, refurbished units. She says while the exterior maintains the old, rustic look, the interior is equipped with modern furniture, heating and lighting systems. The bathroom, however, includes an antique clawfoot bathtub and a cast-iron sink, both salvaged from the original cannery. Modern amenities such as TVs and Wi-Fi have not yet been added. 'You really get to unplug and just enjoy the environment. It is really neat, and people who like trains will especially love staying here,' said Dudoward. Travellers will wake up to an ultra-tranquil setting, surrounded by lush greenery, a serene river, and the majestic mountains. The only regular source of funding the cannery gets is from the North Coast Regional District, without which operations would not be possible. Young Canada Works provides some additional support for tour guides. However, as Dudoward noted, maintaining the various museum spaces, artifacts, and facilities, along with supporting staff and events, requires an immense amount of ongoing effort. The upkeep of this historic site involves considerable work, from guided tours to daily maintenance and administrative operations. With the addition of new rental units, the society hopes to advance its mission to preserve and enhance the site for years to come. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
