Pueblo Community College Southwest and Colorado State University are launching the Native American Friday Academy on April 11 to enhance educational opportunities for Natives in Southwest Colorado.
Classes will be held April 18, April 25, and May 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and locations will alternate between Mancos and Durango based on the day's subject matter. Participants will receive a schedule for each class, focusing on career opportunities in health care, environment, and STEM.
The academy is free and provides materials, snacks, lunch, and a transportation stipend. It is expected to fill up quickly, with a capacity for 10 to 12 students.
“We’re looking at it through an Indigenous lens, and want each of the Friday academy sessions to be grounded in our culture and our resilience, connecting and reassuring students and checking on them and supporting them through this,” Sherrell Lang, PCCSW Native American success coach, told The Journal.
The Economic Achievement for Rural Native Students grant, received by both PCC Southwest and CSU, will fund the academy. The planning involved education stakeholders from the region, who attended a luncheon to provide insight into how the academy should be structured.
“We had education stakeholders join us for a luncheon to get their thoughts on how we can best support Indigenous and Native students,” Gregory Felsen, CSU accessible education, said.
Listening sessions will continue in Towaoc, Cortez, Durango, and Ignacio over the next month and a half to two months, Felsen added.
“We’re looking to make these culturally relevant programs with a lens on topics that students can use to explore careers and potentially higher education, either at our local PCC or a four-year institution,” Felsen said.
The first day, April 11, will be an orientation and a history of Native American education before diving into other classes. The April 18 class will focus on health, followed by environment and STEM.
The health/nutrition class will include a cooking class in collaboration with Southwest Area Health Education Center.
“This is exciting and it’s a great opportunity, not only for the college communities to learn more about and have a better understanding of our tribal communities, but also for our tribal communities to grow and share the way they see challenges and successes as they’re navigating their higher educational journey,” Lang said.
May 2, the STEM class day, will also include a graduation, complete with a drum group or honor song.
Through the academy’s five classes, Lang and Felsen hope students gain confidence in their abilities.
“I think building confidence in themselves. Having that confidence to be comfortable in these different types of learning spaces and getting to where they’re like, ‘I can do this,’” Lang said. “It’s not scary. … Whatever their academic skill is like, they’re going to be able to come in and be like, ‘I can contribute. I can participate and I can learn.’ To me, that is the biggest thing.”
For information and registration, contact Lang at sherrell.lang@pueblocc.edu or Felsen at gregory.felsen@colostate.edu.
