Tribal College Journal.<\/em> \u201cIn these pre-internet days, the colleges didn\u2019t even sponsor a newsletter. When Lionel Bordeaux, president of Sinte Gleska University, acknowledged that they needed a magazine but didn\u2019t have the people or funding to create one, I sensed an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\nThe first editions of the magazine were somewhat rough, Boyer recalled, and perhaps reflective of the formative years of the tribal colleges themselves. He designed the initial versions on an early Macintosh computer and mailed black-and-white copies from his Sacramento home.<\/p>\n
The Journal<\/em> was well-received, though, leading the AIHEC and American Indian College Fund to provide funding. The magazine was and is diverse in content, containing news about the tribal college movement and institutions, but also academic articles and creative writings from students attending the colleges.<\/p>\nThe Tribal College Journal has a small staff, although its writers and artists come from tribal colleges across the nation. Pictured here from left to right are publisher Rachael Marchbanks and Marvene Tom, advertising coordinator and subscriptions manager.<\/span>Photo courtesy of Bradley Shreve<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\u201cWe publish research that has been generated either from the tribal colleges or about the tribal colleges,\u201d Marchbanks said. \u201cIt\u2019s more of an academic tone but also journalistic-style articles and some news items about the tribal colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n
In summer 1991, Boyer moved the office to Chestertown, Maryland, much closer to the AIHEC office in Washington, D.C. But it would migrate again when in 1995 Boyer announced his resignation as editor, passing the baton to Marjane Ambler, who had moved to Mancos.<\/p>\n
Mancos proved an ideal spot for the magazine, because it was close to several reservations and indigenous communities, along with some tribal colleges in northern New Mexico and Arizona .<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re well-positioned as far as in the southwestern United States as being closer to those tribal colleges,\u201d Marchbanks said.<\/p>\n
The Journal<\/em> has continued to grow, although its staff remains small. Editors and managers have come and gone, and official positions have changed as well. The publication is now essentially a three-person operation \u2013 Shreve, Marchbanks and Marvene Tom, advertising coordinator and subscriptions manager, who is Navajo (or Din\u00e9) herself. Writers come mostly from the colleges.<\/p>\nFor the Journal\u2019s<\/em> layout, they settled on Nakota Designs, founded by Walt Pourier. Art has become a crucial component of the magazine for many subscribers.<\/p>\n\u201cThey like the covers that we pick for each of the magazines,\u201d Tom said. \u201cSometimes they would ask us if we have notecards or postcards of some of the covers that we have on the magazines that we\u2019re selling.\u201d<\/p>\n
When figuring out cover designs, they try to embody the issue\u2019s theme while highlighting the voices and work coming out of tribal colleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, this last issue was on indigenous STEM,\u201d Shreve said. \u201cSo our cover was an image of a petroglyph of a supernova remnant from Chaco Canyon.\u201d For a recent edition on tribal college women, they featured a painting by Charlene Teters, dean at the Institute of American Indian Arts.<\/p>\n
All the tribal colleges receive copies, along with other mainstream institutions and individuals interested in Native American issues \u2013 not just in the U.S., but also in Norway, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.<\/p>\n
Bradley Shreve, a Din\u00e9 College professor and author, took over as Tribal College Journal editor in 2013.<\/span>Photo courtesy of Bradley Shreve<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\u201cTribal colleges in the grand scheme of things are part of this larger, global indigenous movement,\u201d Shreve said. AIHEC was instrumental in forming the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium in 2002.<\/p>\n
Famed activist Leonard Peltier is another subscriber. Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted for the 1975 deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine River Reservation in South Dakota. He is being held in the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have about three subscribers that actually buy his subscriptions for him,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve found a \u201cniche\u201d for advertisers looking to reach Native communities, although they face challenges of a digital media world. But has a niche publication, they attract advertisers who have trouble reaching their desired audience any other way, Marchbanks said.<\/p>\n
And although they have a strong online presence, print is still crucial for many of their readers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFolks in the broader world may not realize that there are still internet connectivity issues in rural areas, like where reservations are located, and up in Barrow, Alaska, where one of our tribal colleges is,\u201d Marchbanks said. \u201cOur print magazine is still a welcome resource there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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