Record Number Of Students Attend UI's Summer Upward Bound, HOIST, NW Nations Programs
Monday, July 9 2001
July 9, 2001^MOSCOW – Nearly 200 high school students representing four states and 10 Native American Tribes are immersed in college preparation at the University of Idaho this summer. This is about 20 more students than in prior years, most of whom are Native Americans.^State and federal programs, through HOIST (Helping Orient Indian Students and Teachers to Math and Science), Upward Bound, and Northwest Nations, support their preparation to enter and graduate from college. During their six weeks on campus, students study English and writing with Janet Hale Campbell, published author from the Coeur d’Alene tribe; work as paid interns with math and science professionals; visit tribal and local governments; join in powwow dances in Washington and Montana, study traditional beading and porcupine quill arts, raft on the Selway River and ride horses with the Nez Perce tribe.^HOIST, which offers paid internships, enrolled 20 participants. Upward Bound attacted 63 students from the Nez Perce and Coeur d’Alene tribes in Idaho, plus the mining towns of Orofino, Kellogg and Wallace. And, Northwest Nations brought 70 students from seven different reservations. ^“Our goal is to introduce these students to a whole range of experiences, to increase their academic skills in math, reading, English, history and languages, and help broaden their view of options for college and careers,” says Isabel Bond, executive director of these programs for the UI College of Education for more than 30 years. ^“We also want to show our Native American students they can find a balance between preserving their cultural identities and completing higher education,” said Tona TreeTop, Hunkpapa Lakota from North Dakota, director of the newest program, Northwest Nations.^“We had lots of people from other reservations asking if they could send their children, so a grant was written aimed at seven additional reservations in four states,” says Bond of the Northwest Nations federal program, now in its second year. Students invited under that grant come mainly from the Kootenai and Shoshone-Bannock reservations in Idaho, the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon, the Yakama, Colville and Spokane reservations in Washington and the Shoshone-Paiute Reservation in Idaho and Nevada.^Students from other cultural groups who live in the target areas also are welcome if they show academic promise, be aged 14-19, and come from families with limited resources with parents who haven't graduated from a four-year college.^Students selected for the program spend at least six hours a day in academic work, with an hour in the evening devoted to study, followed by a planned activity including career development, crafts, athletic events, or social events such as dancing, talent shows, field and board games.^Contacts: Mary Ann Reese, UI College of Education, (208) 885-2841, mreese@uidaho.edu; Isabel Bond, TRIO Programs Executive Director, (208) 885-6206, ibond@uidaho.edu; Tona TreeTop, Northwest Nations program director (208) 885-2992, ttreetop@uidaho.edu^^Note: Reporters interested in additional stories may attend classes or special events (see accompanying Tip Sheet)^30-^(mar) 7/9/01 ED/TRIO ^^
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