Capturing Education ― Envisioning and Building the First Tribal Colleges

Capturing Education examines the founding of the first Indian tribally controlled colleges in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and follows their subsequent growth and development, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Based on oral histories recorded over a twenty year period, it documents the motivations of the movement’s founders and the challenges they faced while working to establish colleges on isolated and impoverished Indian reservations. Early leaders discuss the opposition they faced from both Indians and non-Indians at a time when few people believed Indians could or should start their own colleges. However, their eventual success is attributed to the development of degree programs relevant to the practical needs of their reservation communities. Continuing efforts to define and implement a culturally-based philosophy of education are also discussed.

Paul Boyer is founding editor of Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education and authored two reports about the tribal college movement for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He holds a doctorate in educational theory and policy from The Pennsylvania State University.