Tribal colleges employ elders to impart a higher level of learning that cannot be found in traditional classrooms and textbooks.
Sustaining and strengthening tribal cultures, languages and traditions is at the core of every tribal college’s mission statement. To help attain these goals, many colleges use one of Indian Country’s greatest assets – its elders.
Traditionally, elders hold a place of honor in American Indian society. In describing the American Indian College Fund’s “Honoring our Elders” feast, President Richard Williams (Oglala Lakota) says, “Our elders teach us who our ancestors were. Our elders are our connection to everything in our past. It is with their knowledge that we understand how we fit into the world.”
Without cultural input from elders, particularly with spoken languages, tribal colleges would just be another option in the list of academic choices for American Indians, says Carrie Billy, executive director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and a member of the Navajo tribe.
“Although we may have tape recordings of indigenous languages, we need elders to interpret the meaning of the songs and stories,” she says.
Elders must pass along the true meaning of culture, tradition and language in real time. “Without our elders, the languages alone lose their meanings,” Billy says.
Giving Life to Language
