RAPID CITY, S.D. — Donna Joseph-Smallwood may attend Oglala Lakota College
with her granddaughter; that’s the advantage of tribal colleges.

The He Sapa College Center, part of the Oglala Lakota College system, is
the largest of the 10 centers and is proud to be a family oriented learning
center.

Krystal Grey Eagle is a fifth-generation student majoring in education. She
admires her aunt, who was a teacher, and knew she would follow. She said
her 3-year-old son could be destined for the same career.

Joseph-Smallwood has a degree in nursing and works in a Head Start program.
She is now majoring in early childhood development, and will receive an
associate degree at He Sapa. Her future includes continued education at
another institution, as does Grey Eagle’s.

Joseph-Smallwood said He Sapa offers a positive identification for her as
an American Indian. She admitted she was not always proud to be American
Indian because she grew up in a era when denial was encouraged.

“Here, they incorporate the culture into the curriculum and make us proud,”
she said.

Joseph – Smallwood is attending OLC as a requirement to upgrade her
credentials for the Head Start program, but said she would attend without
that requirement.

The style of learning at OLC is compatible with the culture.
Joseph-Smallwood said she is a visual, more hands-on learner, and that the
faculty and other students of varying ages work together to help and
support each other.

“This college takes care of the whole. Spirituality is nurtured as well,”
she said.

That doesn’t mean the entire curriculum is Lakota culture and language. The
basic curriculum does not take a back seat. He Sapa is one of two community
colleges in Rapid City, and many of the students are non-Indian. Many of
those students, however, work with American Indians or are somewhat
familiar with the culture. Grey Eagle and Joseph-Smallwood learn more about
their own culture along with the non-Indian students. That learning
perpetuates a better understanding for everyone and reduces the risk of
racism.

“The faculty makes sure you leave with more than you came in with,”
Joseph-Smallwood said.

“Our role models are the Native American faculty. They take the whole
family into consideration, they teach us how to do for ourselves; the role
models give us self-esteem,” she said.

Students and faculty alike agreed that the work done at the He Sapa College
Center would go a long way toward reducing racism against American Indians.

“It changes the perspective of the non-Indian student. Others ask us about
the culture,” Grey Eagle said.

Grey Eagle will acquire an Associate of Arts degree next spring and will
move on to another college or university to complete her degree.

She agreed that role models and cultural sensitivity make the difference in
education. “I see myself everywhere and will be prepared to teach anywhere.
The culture is in every course.”

The buffalo, a sacred animal to the Lakota, was the focus of a science
project completed by Grey Eagle. She learned more about buffalo, or
American bison, which sustained her ancestors for centuries. She used that
project as an example of what OLC allows and encourages.

Many students are learning new technology, learning how to build homes and
start businesses, she said. “The buffalo is taking a different form.”

The main campus of OLC, located near Kyle on the Pine Ridge Reservation, is
unique among tribal colleges. It takes the programs to the people with 10
centers located in various communities. All other tribal colleges are
centrally located. OLC, according to the administration, is the
second-largest tribal college in the country.

The He Sapa campus is near capacity, with 371 students who filled 11
classrooms in the spring 2005 semester. Shirley Lewis, director of He Sapa,
said 400 students is pretty much the maximum for the current facility. Four
additional classrooms will be opened in the spring of 2006. A projected
student increase of possibly 60 more students for the fall 2005 semester
will put added pressure on existing space until the new classrooms are
completed.

The center schedules three sections of classes — morning, afternoon and
evening — with the largest number of students attending the afternoon and
evening classes.

The He Sapa College Center has grown from 79 students in 1990. The first
class in 1983 drew 30 students. Classes were held in a community center,
moved to the local IHS facility and back to the community center before
finally settling in the present building.

Now the college offers Master of Science degrees in education and Lakota
studies.

Business, family services and education courses are the most attended of
the departments. Lakota studies also has a large enrollment, said Lewis.

Student testing is required so that each student can be placed in classes
that will best benefit them. Some students may need remedial classes or
some additional help. Lewis said the college is there to help the students.

“The instructors work well with the students,” Lewis said.

Early entry students, who are still in high school, attend classes at OLC
at no cost to the student. Scholarships are also available for books and
materials. Lewis said all of the students who have gone through the program
graduated.

The He Sapa College Center has 15 full-time and 30 adjunct faculty members,
and a large pool of potential instructors is available. Adjunct faculty
comes from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Black Hills
State University and local high schools. Many elders and cultural and
language experts are incorporated into the teaching process as well.

The majority of students at He Sapa are non-traditional students, but in
the past three years more traditional students have enrolled, according to
Brenda McGlynn, He Sapa counselor. Many young people are moving from the
reservations to attend the college center because jobs and housing are more
available in Rapid City, even though the cost of living may be higher than
on the reservation.

One of the drawbacks to attending college for many students is child care.
The He Sapa College Center does not yet have a location for child care, but
many students bring their children to class with them. That is the Lakota
way and it is not discouraged, though at times it can be distracting, the
two students said.

He Sapa plans to eventually open a child care facility so that students
without the benefit of family nearby in Rapid City won’t have to rely on
state-run child care.

Transportation is also an issue. Traveling to school from Pine Ridge means
a long-distance commute, and there is no public transportation to date.
Many families attend OLC and He Sapa, both full and part time. A number of
mothers and daughters are enrolled; women make up the majority of students.
The oldest student currently enrolled is 65 years old; the youngest, 18.
The oldest student ever to attend He Sapa was 80 years old, two semesters
ago.

“A lot of former students are now teaching here,” Lewis said. It’s a thrill
for all of us to see that happen.”

Lewis and McGlynn attended the first class held at He Sapa — proving, they
said, that students are prepared for higher levels.

Tribal colleges provide a basis for positive change in Indian country.
American Indians are more educated because they now see the value of
education, Lewis said.

“That’s why we are seeing an increase,” she said.

The He Sapa center has the best information technology setup compared to
other centers. Many of the students had never had any Information
Technology instruction and are incorporating it into all of their classes.

Even IT is fused with the Lakota language, culture and philosophy — a
major emphasis within the entire curriculum. “We don’t want to lose that,”
Lewis said.

OLC does not sit on its laurels and maintain the status quo in its
curriculum or programming. The college added a nursing program and
graduated the first students this spring. Plans are on-target to transform
the college into a university by 2011, Lewis said.

Grey Eagle attended an area state college for a year, but experienced what
she called subtle racism. She never felt comfortable or part of the group
of students in her dormitory, she said.

OLC has provided a much different atmosphere. Grey Eagle attends the campus
at Kyle, where she lives, but is also welcome at the He Sapa Center in
Rapid City. Joseph-Smallwood said she visits the Kyle campus frequently
because she is made to feel part of the family.

“More Native Americans are going the college for an education to get better
jobs to help their families,” Grey Eagle said.

With a more educated Indian country because of the tribal colleges,
attention must be paid to those educated people — from Washington down to
the local non-tribal governments.

“If you don’t keep an open heart and mind, you can’t heal. At OLC we keep
our hearts and minds open,” Joseph-Smallwood said.