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American Indian Student Education Project

American Indian students and teachers engaged in hands-on activities in Crow Canyon experiential education programs.

I liked going behind the scenes at Mesa Verde. I felt privileged and very special being there among where my ancestors once lived.

High school student, Tesuque Pueblo
(Referring to special tour of Mesa Verde National Park
during a Crow Canyon program, 2009)

American Indian educators and community leaders have identified a pressing need for culturally relevant class content that addresses the needs of American Indian students. They are also interested in having young people from their communities participate in on-campus Crow Canyon programs, because they want their children to learn their history in the place where that history happened.

The American Indian Student Education Project is a collaboration between American Indian educators and the Crow Canyon staff that achieves both goals. At educator workshops on Crow Canyon's campus, teachers from American Indian communities in Arizona and New Mexico participate in Crow Canyon classes, develop lesson plans specifically for American Indian students, and share pedagogy.

The most interesting thing I learned yesterday is that there is still evidence of past Pueblo civilizations and many of them! That was hard for me to grasp because I never realized the extent to which H’isatsinom [the Hopi term for the ancestral Pueblo Indians] may have inhabited this area. Nor have I witnessed evidence or artifacts from my ancestors unearthed as I stood there and watched. . . . It remains unimaginable, so I offer my thanks that I was given the opportunity to come here and witness it for myself.

Hopi educator
Crow Canyon Pueblo Educator Workshop, 2008

The workshops also help build relationships between Crow Canyon staff and American Indian teachers, which in turn creates opportunities for American Indian students to participate in on-campus programs. Crow Canyon has an American Indian scholarship program, and it offers schools guidance on fund-raising strategies.

For more information about the American Indian Student Education Project, call the director of American Indian initiatives at 970.564.4353 (toll-free 800.422.8975, ext. 153).

The State Historical Fund of the Colorado Historical Society, the Mittler Family Foundation, and the Qwest Foundation have funded parts of this initiative.