March 24-26, 2011 Conference – Indian Education: Strengthening Our Future by Coming Together

The 34th Annual California Conference on American Indian Education, March 24-26, 2011, at the Westin LAX Hotel in Los Angeles, CA . The conference theme is “Indian Education: Strengthening Our Future by Coming Together .” The conference will showcase 34 years of success and growth of American Indian education in California and the impact the American Indian Education Centers have had in American Indian communities.
The Conference Goals are:
• To advocate academic excellence and educational opportunities for American Indian families, educators, tribal leaders, and board members;
• To provide opportunities for networking among American Indian families, elders, tribal leaders, students, and educators;
• To recognize achievements of distinguished educators parents, and students;
• To honor our elders, who are our most revered teachers
This year’s conference will again offer a youth track, with some great speakers and interactive activities.
Keynote speakers at the conference include Patricia Whitefoot, who was born and raised in the original homelands of the Yakama Nation, and now lives in White Swan, WA. Patricia Whitefoot obtained a B .A . with a Teaching Certificate in Education from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA and a M .A . from Ft . Wright College in Spokane, WA . For almost 40 years, she has been teaching and managing Indian Education programs from preschool to higher education at the local, tribal, and state level . Today, she is the Indian Education Director with the Toppenish School District on the Yakama Indian Reservation . Currently, she serves as the President of the National Indian Education Association and Washington State Indian Education Association . She also serves as the Chair of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Education Committee, which she has held for almost 20 years . Earlier this summer, President Obama appointed Ms . Whitefoot to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to work in collaboration with the U .S . Department of Education.
Another keynote speaker will be Amber Machamer, who is a California Indian living in the Bay Area . She is involved in both tribal communities and urban Indian communities . She has been involved in an effort to preserve her Native Language through a unique partnership with scholars at the UC Berkeley (Breath of Life program) . Amber Machamer is best known for her efforts to end the use of American Indians as Mascots in public schools . She earned her Ph .D . in Higher Educational/Organizational Change from UCLA . Her dissertation compared American Indian tribal college students to American Indian students who attended non-Indian colleges in the areas of: persistence, transfer rates, satisfaction, growth in specific talents, cultural identity, and cultural knowledge . In 1999 Amber accepted the position of Director of Research and Planning with Las Positas Community College in California . In 2007 she was appointed by the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction to serve on the American Indian Education Oversight Committee.
A 12-page Conference brochure, with registration forms and other information can be obtained from André Cramblit, Operations Director
Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) (http://www.ncidc.org) 707.445.8451
For more information about workshops contact: Judy Delgado at 916-319-0506 or by e-mail at [email protected], or Chavela Delp 916-319-0609 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
If you don’t have access to e-mail, you may fax completed form to Judy Delgado at 916-319-0139, or mail complete form to:
Judy Delgado, American Indian Education Consultant Migrant, Indian, and International Education Office 1430 N Street, Suite 4401 Sacramento, CA 95814

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