The White House Conference on Indian Education's National Advisory Committee announces the appointment of Lionel Bordeaux (Rosebud Sioux), President of Sinte Gleska College in Rosebud, South Dakota, and Nora Garcia (Fort Mojave), Chairperson of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe which is headquartered in Needles, California, as Co-Chairs of their conference.
Mr. Bordeaux has been President of Sinte Gleska College since 1973. Under his leadership the college became the first fully accredited reservation based institution of higher education at the bachelor's degree level. He has since instituted the first master's degree program on a reservation, which is in Elementary Education. He serves on numerous boards and is currently President of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. His contributions to the field of Indian education are widely known. In 1983 the National Congress of American Indians chose him "Outstanding Educator of the Year," and in 1988 the National Indian Education Association chose him "Outstanding Indian Educator of the Year". Mr. Bordeaux has a Bachelor of Science degree from Black Hills state College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of South Dakota and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota.
Ms. Garcia has been Chairperson of the Fort Mojave Tribe since 1985, and served on their Tribal Council since 1981, and has worked for the tribe since 1975. The Fort Mojave Reservation is located in California, Nevada and Arizona. She has been active on both the regional and national levels and represents a new generation of Indian leadership. Currently she serves as President of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, and is involved with the National Indian Policy Center and the American Indian Resources Institute's National Tribal Leadership Forums, just to name a few.
Buck Martin (Stockbridge-Munsee), Director of the White House conference on Indian Education, Said "The combination of these two talented individuals who represent Indian education and tribal government at its best will ensure the conference's success. The education of our Indian youth is critical and collectively, we must devise an education agenda to meet the challenges of tomorrow. President Bordeaux and Chairperson Garcia will assist us in mapping out a meaningful future."
The White House Conference on Indian Education was Congressionally mandated and is a collaborative effort between the White House, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Interior. It is to take place January 22-24, 1992, in Washington, D.C. at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel at Techworld. To inquire about hotel reservations, please call (202) 898-9000, space is limited and the $97.00 per night rate is only guaranteed through December 1, 1991.
