SANTA FE, N.M. -- President Bush's Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities was sworn in during a traditional ceremony that included an Indian blessing and traditional songs. The 13-member advisory board also held its first official meeting to begin gathering information on issues important to tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) across the country. The commission's work will help ensure that TCUs are fully recognized and have full access to federal and private programs and funds.

The swearing-in ceremony was hosted by the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe and conducted by Eric G. Andell, deputy under secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The president of IAIA and a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Della Warrior, was one of the members sworn-in as was the chairman of the new board, Ron S. McNeil of Fort Yates, N.D. McNeil is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and president of Sitting Bull College, and he is the great, great grandson of Chief Sitting Bull. The board included TCU presidents, educators, and community and business leaders.

The president authorized the advisory board in July 2002 in an Oval Office ceremony and charged it to make recommendations to the White House and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige on ways the federal government and the private sector can help tribal colleges strengthen and expand their resources, programs, facilities and use of technologies. The board will also provide advice regarding the progress made by federal agencies toward fulfilling the purposes and objectives of Executive Order 13270, which aims to improve Native American education.

"With No Child Left Behind, we will help ensure that more American Indian youngsters receive a quality education and are prepared to pursue and benefit from higher education," said Secretary Paige. "Our tribal colleges and universities are an important vehicle for making the promise of this bold new law a reality."

Victoria Vasques, acting executive director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, was also at the meeting.

"President Bush believes every child should have access to a quality education, and American Indian students are no exception," Vasques said. "It is imperative that tribal colleges and universities benefit from the same opportunities that other educational institutions have. We thank the members of this board for contributing to this goal."

The 13 members selected thus far are listed below. Two additional members will be appointed at a later date.

• Ron McNeil of Fort Yates, N.D., chairman of the board. McNeil is the president of Sitting Bull College and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

• David Anderson of Edina, Minn., chairman of Famous Dave's of America restaurant chain and a member of the Chippewa and Choctaw Tribes.

• Martha McLeod of Brimely, Mich., founding president of Bay Mills Community College.

• Carl Artman of Golden, Colo., attorney specializing in telecommunications and natural resources and a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

• Kathy Domenici of Albuquerque, N.M., owner of Communications Services, a mediation and facilitation training service and partner in Domenici Littlejohn, a communications consulting firm.

• Ann Marie Downes of Homer, Neb., president of Little Priest Tribal College and a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

• Mark Hatfield of Tillmook, Ore., former U.S. Senator from Oregon, currently an adjunct professor at Portland State University, Lewis and Clark College and George Fox University.

• Daniel Keating of Tulsa, Okla., president of Summit Consolidated Group, a financial consulting firm in Tulsa.

• David Matheson of Worley, Idaho, chief executive office of Coeur d'Alene Casino and a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

• Karen Swisher of Lawrence, Kan., president of Haskell Indian Nations University and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

• Della Warrior of Santa Fe, N.M., president of the Institute of American Indian Arts and a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe.

• Richard Williams of Broomfield, Colo., executive director of the American Indian College Fund and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

• Eddie Brown of Chesterfield, Mo., associate dean for community affairs and director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Tribal colleges and universities were created during the past 30 years in response to the higher education needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives and generally serve geographically isolated populations that have no other means of accessing education beyond the high school level. There are 32 TCUs located in 12 states that serve an estimated 30,000 students from more than 250 tribes. TCUs play a vital role in maintaining and preserving irreplaceable languages and cultural traditions, offering a high-quality college education to younger students, and providing job training and other career-building programs to adults and senior citizens.

President Bush's FY 2003 budget request includes $18 million dollars for programs to strengthen tribal colleges and universities -- an increase of 3.6 percent over current funding levels. The budget request includes support for the American Indian Teacher Corps Program, which would receive $7.2 million -- an eight percent increase. The funding would support training for 1,000 Indian teachers over a five-year period to take positions in schools that serve concentrations of Indian children.

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