[Sdpg] March, rally held in support of California's only tribal university (Permaculture News)

[Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

March, rally held in support of California's only tribal university

http://media.www.californiaaggie.com/media/storage/paper981/news/2008/01/07/CityNews/March.Rally.Held.In.Support.Of.Californias.Only.Tribal.University-3146664.shtml


Participants want to see revitalization




By: ANNA OPALKA

Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: 
<http://www.californiaaggie.com//news/2008/01/07/CityNews/>City News

Calling for more progress in the revitalization 
of California's only tribal college, 
approximately 40 students and community members 
marched from the Marketplace in North Davis to 
D-Q University's campus on the morning of Dec. 
15. The march, which spanned seven miles on 
County Road 31, was in anticipation of the D-Q 
board of trustees monthly meeting scheduled for later that morning.

The marchers, carrying signs reading, "Unity! 
Strength! Education!" and "Keep DQU Alive," 
arrived at D-Q about 10:20 a.m. and proceeded 
down the long driveway to gather on the campus 
grounds for a rally. They then attended the D-Q 
University open board of trustees meeting.

"We're here to show our support for students and 
faculty," said Mike Raccoon Eyes Kinney, a march 
participant. "We're here to show Native America is alive and well."

"We want them to start teaching again," said 
Lupita Torres, a D-Q University student in the 
(non-accredited) indigenous permaculture program, 
which she describes as a method of putting the 
spiritual aspect into growing food.

"The school has been stagnant for two years," she added.

Torres said although D-Q University still has 
activities going on and a limited number of 
non-accredited classes, it is not enough. "We are 
telling the board that the school needs to be up and running," she said.

In 2005 the Western Association of Schools and 
Colleges revoked D-Q's accreditation due in part 
to inadequate funding and mismanagement of the previous administration.

Participants in the march expressed their feelings about D-Q.

"I'm a former student - my father [Lehman 
Brightman, founder of United Native Americans] 
used to teach here for 25 years. That's why I 
hold D-Q in my heart," said Quanah Brightman, 
vice president of UNA. Lehman Brightman was 
involved in many famous Native American 
movements, including the 1969 occupation of 
Alcatraz and the 1978 Longest Walk, a movement 
that D-Q University was involved in.

Other participants included current and former 
D-Q students, members from organizations such as 
the American Indian Movement-West, United Native 
Americans, UC Davis group Natives Empowered 
through Unity and Education, Movimiento 
Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan, and other members of the community.

"We're here [at the rally] in a good way." said 
Phillip Mi-She-Kae, an ambassador for United Native Americans.

After the rally, Greg Iron, a student at D-Q, 
said he felt the event was successful in bringing 
awareness to the issue, but felt that the board could have been more receptive.

New chair of the D-Q University Board of Trustees 
Calvin Hedrick said after the rally that the 
board is working on re-accreditation, although it is a rather slow process.

"We [the board of trustees] are currently trying 
to straighten out some of the problems we've had 
there for quite some time. Most board members got 
on the board after accreditation was lost. We've 
been working on trying to get it back," Hedrick said.

"We're trying to work off debt, which is quite 
substantial," he continued. "[We're] trying to 
clean the place up. That's where we are right 
now. There's a long list of things we have to do 
for accreditation. We're slowly but surely checking things off.

"I feel that at the rally people were asking us 
to do the very things we are doing," said 
Hedrick. "We've been working very steadily with 
gaming tribes 
 to try to get some funding."

Hedrick said he hopes D-Q can offer accredited 
classes within a year. In the meantime, the board 
is working on a couple of programs that do not 
need accreditation that he hopes will bring people back to D-Q.



ANNA OPALKA can be reached at campus at californiaaggie.com.



Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in 
new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous

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