Little Priest Tribal College receives $1.7M grant to establish a native language resource center

POSTED ON Nov 16, 2023

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium is showcasing tribal colleges and universities on social media.

As per the recent post shared by AIHEC, Little Priest Tribal College, established in 1996, is named after Chief Little Priest, who was the last war chief of the Winnebago Tribe.

Little Priest Tribal College announced that it had received a grant of $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education during the last week of October to establish a native language resource center.

According to the press release, the Midwest Native Language Resource Center at Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) is the only tribal college and one of four institutions nationwide to receive the grant for five years.

The grant will provide online programs, resources, technical assistance, and other services to support preserving, developing, and promoting Native American languages within tribal communities and educational systems.

The tribal college aims to increase the number of Native American language learners in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota through virtual language education programming for the center.

The federal grant for the center is $1,748,294 over five years, as stated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Little Priest Tribal College is also celebrating Native American Heritage Month by organizing various events on campus. Students can participate in a raffle for a backpack or movie certificate, open to both full-time/part-time and dual credit students.

On Monday, a scavenger hunt was held on campus, and students visited the Angel De Cora Museum to learn about the history of the Ho-Chunk people.

Tuesday was Rock Your Moc’s Day, and students dressed in their best ribbon shirts, ribbon skirts, necklaces, turquoise, and belts.

The Moccasin Game was held on Thursday, and beginners were encouraged to learn traditional games.

Finally, on November 16, Little Priest will have a “Truthsgiving” in the Elk Building Auditorium.

This event highlights the fact that for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning and protest, as it commemorates centuries of oppression and genocide that followed the arrival of migrants from Europe.