American Indian Graduate

Spring 2009
40th Anniversary Edition
1969 - 2009

THE NINLHE Institute (article published in the American Indian Graduate 40th Anniversary Edition)

For those who work in higher education – as students, as staff or as faculty – both the opportunities as well as the challenges confronting Native students are well-known.

Several studies have shown that Native students – and students of color in general – can usually trace their persistence and success back to one person; one person at their chosen institution who took a vested interest in their lives and their well-being.  Yet, even for those colleges and universities that offer explicit support for Native students – be they tribal colleges or mainstream institutions, American or Canada – resources are often stretched precariously thin.  Campus resources for Native students are too often inadequate, while funding is limited and often fought for tooth-and-nail.

Native program staffs are small – often limited to one person.  Many of the professionals tasked with providing support to Native students have multiple responsibilities rolled into one job.  At various points throughout a given day they may serve as recruiters, event-planners, advisors, counselors, surrogate family members, retention strategists, financial aid specialists, housing officers, mediators, social activists and educators.  Many may not have even deliberately chosen the field as a career track.  Many may be the only Native person on their campus.  Many have moved seamlessly from rolls as students to roles as professionals or have done both simultaneously.  Many have simply stepped up because no one else was doing it.  As a result, most professionals can feel an intense isolation fighting battles on their respective campuses in their effort to support students, and some have received little formal training in the fields in which their institutions now expect them to be expert.

The National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education (NINLHE) was founded to address exactly this need among the constituency of those who serve Native students in higher education.

Legend has it that the idea for NINLHE first saw light around a holiday dinner table more than fifteen years ago.  Jim and Colleen Larimore (Comanche) – brother and sister and, at the time, working in the Native American Programs at Stanford University and Dartmouth College – were comparing notes on the challenges they faced at their respective institutions.  They both arrived at the conclusion that surely others in higher education must be dealing with similar issues and concerns.  They discussed the possibility of creating a place where all of those people could come together, share ideas and learn from one another.  An opportunity was born.

Since its official founding in 1993, NINLHE has offered an Institute every summer to bring together professionals from colleges, universities and tribal education programs across North America who are engaged in the work of supporting Native students in higher education.  The first and only organization of its kind, NINLHE’s goal for the Institute has always been two-fold: 1) to offer professional development and 2) to offer an opportunity for personal and spiritual renewal.

My own experience with NINLHE began more than ten years ago now.  My first experience with the group was so transformative and left such a lasting impression that I have not missed an Institute since.  Having attended many conferences and workshops prior to (and hundreds more since) my first NINLHE Institute, I was not sure what to expect.  What I found was much more than I could have imagined.

Rather than a rigid series of concurrent sessions that people might or might not attend, there was a genuine effort to create a community during the days of the NINLHE Institute.  People did everything together and at the same time.  There were no sessions to choose from and there was no ‘show-up-from-8-4’ attitude. Rather, everyone participated in the same workshops and shared their own experiences – both personal and professional.  There was no keynote speaker, but there was an Elder-in-Residence that helped put the events and discussions of the day into perspective.

At the time, I had reached a breaking point in my then-current position and was ready to leave. The encouragement, support and fresh perspective that I found at NINLHE allowed me to persevere and continue with new ideas and with new enthusiasm.

I have never forgotten the people I met during that first Institute and many of them, too, still come around every year.  The colleagues I have met and friends I have made at NINLHE have become a daily resource for me, a well.

NINLHE is always a blend of first-timers and old-timers, of research and culturally-based best practices and innovative ideas.  In its fifteen years, it has served almost a thousand representatives from more than one hundred different colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. Most importantly, though, the information and individuals involved with NINLHE have gone on to serve thousands of Native American students in higher education.

In a field where those who endeavor to support others often find themselves dramatically unsupported, NINLHE offers a unique opportunity to find new ideas, renewed dedication and an outstanding network of colleagues continent-wide.