Yesterday in the other Washington Evergreen’s smallest public baccalaureate institution shined as a national leader in the advancement of higher education for Native American students.
Invited by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, President Purce addressed members about the history and continuing efforts of the College to advance higher education for Native American students as part of the Senate’s work “Indian Education Series: Examining Higher Education for American Indian Students.”
Purce spoke to the College’s history and current work of Evergreen’s Native American academic and public service programs. And he shared with the Committee the future direction Evergreen as an evolving part of the College’s identity. He closed his remarks with,
The decisions we make today will have implications long into the future. Now is the time as we would say at Evergreen to “Dig Deep” and ensure that there is a national commitment to advancing higher education for American Indian students today and for generations to come, in partnership and collaboration with tribes. We must make an investment to ensure that American Indian students have access to higher education, have the resources necessary to be successful, and that they graduate with the skills and credentials they need to make a difference for their communities and their families.
The stakes are too high not to. We live in an increasingly complex world, and tribal leaders are challenged to respond to the very real impact of climate change and other threats to the environment, threats to tribal sovereignty, and other challenges. At the same time there are unprecedented opportunities through various kinds of economic development, changing technologies and the fastest growing demographic—Native youth. Well educated tribal members can help negotiate the changing terrain on behalf of their communities.
The landscape in higher education is changing quickly and dramatically. The students in higher education and those at the doorstep are more diverse racially, ethnically and financially. If the United States is to be competitive globally well into the twenty-first century we must make sure that no one is left behind and that each student is able to reach behind and pull the next generation through.
As stated by Vi Hilbert (1918-2008), Upper Skagit Elder and Daniel J. Evans Chair Scholar (1995), “When I first walked on that campus (Evergreen), the beautiful thing that I felt there was the Spirit. The Spirit said ‘Come. This is a place for people to hear what your ancestors wanted you to pass on.”
President Purce’s testimony can be viewed at the 1:45 mark.