Sacramento State a step closer to partnership with local tribal college
Sacramento State is partnering with California Tribal College in an effort to increase Native American student enrollment and success in higher education.
The university’s Faculty Senate approved for California State University, Sacramento to start having conversations about assisting the tribal college with accreditation, the body agreed in a vote Thursday.
After receiving accreditation, California Tribal College will have the authority to award degrees to its students independently, since it cannot on its own.
Thomas Lozano, the deputy executive director of California Tribal College, said this partnership is momentous. He said this collaboration will be an important pathway for Native students to be successful.
“It’s a very joyous event for us,” said Lozano, who is also a member of the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of Enterprise Rancheria.
As a Sacramento State alum, Lozano said as undergraduate students, him and his peers did recruitment efforts for other Native students. Now, with this partnership, a pathway into higher education is more attainable.
What is a tribal college?
A tribal college is a minority-institution centered on Native communities. Tribal colleges offer curriculum based in cultural knowledge and degrees that aims to support tribal sovereignty and Native communities, said Juliet Maestas, the executive director of California Tribal College.
“The way our college operates is not only by offering culturally relevant degrees that really help Native students get the skills and knowledge to work in tribal government, but a range of jobs all over the place,” said Maestas, who is Hupa and Yurok.
“We have the cultural understanding. We know the needs of our people,” said Mikela Jones, a board member of California Tribal College. “But we need the support of an institution like Sac State, who has the ability to run a college, to be able to go hand in hand and partner.”
Jones, who is also a member of the Little River Band of Pomo Indians, said this collaboration will be a positive change for Native students, who already face academic obstacles.
Systematically, Native students struggle with graduation and degree attainment. Out of any ethnic group in the state, Native students have lowest high school graduation and college-going rate. Sacramento State currently has 201 students who identify as American Indian said Rena Horse, the Native Success Program coordinator for the Esak’timá Center, the university’s Native student center which opened Friday.
This partnership could also support Native student retention. Native students who transfer from tribal college are also more likely to earn a degree from a four-year institution.
California Tribal College is among one of three emerging tribal colleges in California. Originally based in Woodland, the college has been an initiative 13 years in the making, said Lozano.
At Sacramento State, Native students are among one of the populations who felt least welcomed and served in their university’s campus survey, said Annette Reed, the chair of the Ethnic Studies Department. Through collaborating with California Tribal College, she said it helps Native students feel like they belong.
“It’s about time Sac State steps up and looks around at our California Native communities,” said Reed, who is a member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.
These institutions have shown to be beneficial for Native communities, with 88% of Native students saying they feel represented at tribal college, according to the Center of Community College Engagement.
At mainstream institutions, Native students often lack of sense of belonging on campus and don’t feel represented by their faculty. Sacramento State, for example, currently has 17 faculty members who identify as American Indian according to the university’s employee demographics. That’s about 0.9% of the university’s entire faculty population.
“Having that sense of belonging (at tribal colleges) makes students feel that they’re recognized on that campus and within the institution,” Maestas said. “There’s teachers, staff administration, that represents that culture, that looks like them, that understand that student’s existence.”
Tribal leaders are also involved with this collaboration, said Marilyn Delgado, the president of California Tribal College. There are currently 66 tribal governments and organizations who support California Tribal College.
