Building Tribal Communities: Defining the Mission and Measuring the Outcomes of Tribal Colleges

The first tribal colleges represented something entirely new in American higher education. Few people knew they even existed, and those who did—some federal bureaucrats and state education officials, among others—were not always supportive. In their early years, some colleges also faced opposition within their own communities, from tribal members who distrusted higher education or doubted that Indians could create a “real” college.