Northern Michigan University is among the top 200 colleges for Indigenous students for 2019-20. The list will appear in November's special college issue of Winds of Change, a magazine published quarterly by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES).
The annual college issue is the only resource of its kind for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians focusing on the science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) disciplines. The 2019 edition will contain more than 20 pages of statistical information and survey and research data tailored to Indigenous students who are eager to find the right college based on their budgets, anticipated majors and other criteria.
The magazine compiles information on 200 four-year colleges and universities “where American Indians are going to school in significant numbers and where the community, Native programs and support system are strong enough for these students to enjoy college and stay on to graduation.”
NMU was the first and remains the only university in the State of Michigan to offer a bachelor's degree in Native American Studies. It also offers certification in American Indian education and a master's degree in American Indian education administration.
"I believe in Native American Studies because, as a discipline, it raises our critical consciousness of how individually and collectively we identify ourselves, how we treat one another, how we recognize our relationship with our environment, and how we create policy in relation to all of these things," said April Lindala, professor of Native American studies at NMU. "I believe in Native American Studies because it forces me as an author, an educator and lifelong learner to think outside of the conventional academic box; a system that has previously excluded Indigenous voices. It is time for these voices to be heard, to be discussed and to be honored."
Other attributes designed to enhance the Native American academic experience include a resource room with printed and audio/visual materials and two student groups: the Native American Student Association, which hosts the annual First Nations Food Taster and campus pow wow; and the Native American Language and Culture Club.
For more information, visit nmu.edu/cnas.