Achein Center for Lifelong Education, Research and Cultural Exchange

The Achein: Center for Lifelong Education (CLE) is the newest organizational development within IAIA and represents the tribal outreach, technical services, extended education and cultural exchange component of the institute. The CLE provides a multi-faceted range of high quality outreach education, training, technical assistance and capacity development opportunities for Indigenous people and tribes. Organizational & programming priorities designed to strengthen IAIA-CLE services include: educational extension and tribal outreach, partnership development, international cultural exchanges and collaboration with the Center for Arts and Cultural Studies (CACS) and the IAIA Museum to sponsor exceptional learning opportunities for the students and community. The CLE is funded by a multi-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Multi-dimensional programs and services in nine priority areas support the IAIA mission and provide assistance to tribes and Native communities to exercise self-determination and sovereignty in major areas of governance and community development. These include: 1) arts and humanities, 2) culturally based economic development, 3) culture, language and land, 4) education and youth, 5) family, community and world development, 6) health and wellness, 7) law and justice, 8) leadership and tribal governance and 9) technology.

The Center’s focus on Indigenous ways of learning and knowing are evident in the educational offerings, technical assistance and learning opportunities provided to tribes, Indigenous partners, students and tribal communities. This priority reflects a long-term strategic commitment and relationship with tribes and indigenous communities that will serve to promote individual and tribal self-sufficiency strengthen families and support tribal capacity.

Programmatic Need and Approach

Indian tribes and people on reservations and in urban areas continue to face persistent economic, educational, social and health challenges with fragmented approaches to foster community change. At the same time, local resources and expanded opportunities to develop community based systemic solutions to appropriately address and impact these realities and needs are extremely limited. The Center for Lifelong Education represents the application of cultural based values, ideas, perspectives and Indigenous based approaches that emphasize self-determination, self-empowerment and community development through the services, assistance and activities of the project. The CLE will support individual and collective efforts in developing systemic, culturally derived solutions through custom designed programming to address tribal and community needs in nine priority areas of service. The culturally derived approaches and outreach services that foster the strengthening of individuals, families, tribes and communities in the manner described is integral to the IAIA mission. In addition, the CLE partners with individuals and organizations in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities throughout the United States and world willing to collaborate in ways that lead to appropriate, sustainable, productive social and community change.

Target Geographic Area

The CLE serves a diverse constituency locally, nationally and internationally. The CLE serves the city of Santa Fe and the immediately surrounding Pueblos of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblo Council, Inc. and the All Indian Pueblo Council. Regionally, the CLE serves the highly-concentrated Four Corners Region and tribes throughout the state of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Nationally, the CLE is dedicated to providing tribal outreach services to many of the 563 federally recognized tribes – including Hawaiian Natives and Alaskan Native Corporations – and urban-based Native individuals. Internationally, the CLE currently partners with W. K. Kellogg/SA to serve indigenous peoples in seven countries in Southern Africa, and strives to develop programming to expand its overall international geographic scope to include Central and South American indigenous communities and the Maori people of New Zealand.

CLE Schedule of Programming

The following programs are scheduled for implementation between May and December 2007. The majority of these events will be held on the IAIA campus.

1. CLE hosting All Indian Pueblo Council meeting on campus: April 19
2. SA Economic & Cultural Exchange-orientation on Campus: April 28/May 5
3. Tribal Health, Wellness & Nutrition Conference: May 3 & 4
4. Tribal Leaders Training in Governance, Ethics & Policy: May-December
5. Host planning meeting w/Navajo Nation Speaker & staff-Tourism: May 11 & 16

6. Tribal Law Enforcement & Domestic Violence Conference: May 25
7. Film & Television Workshop-Writers Intensive - six weeks: June 18-July 27
8. Film & Television Workshop-Production & filmmaking - six weeks: June 18-July 27
9. SA Cultural & Economic Exchange: June 25-July 10
10. Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference: August 23 & 24
11. NM Elders Conference: September 13
12. Indigenous Women’s Wellness & Leadership Conference: October 18 & 19
13. Cultural Tourism Conference: November TBA
14. Tribal Education & Advocacy Summit: November 22 & 23

Other areas of programming being actively planned for implementation in 2007- 08 include:

• Emerging leader’s model for tribal leadership- students and community responsibility.'
• Indigenous Youth Leadership & Civic Activism Project-student development.
• Tribal capacity building for social & economic change-tribal empowerment.
• CLE conference facility landscaping-student & tribal involvement w/ Native plants.
• Student internships with tribal organizations-student empowerment & relationships.
• Intellectual and cultural property rights of Artists-training, knowledge building & awareness.
• Indigenous Cosmologies: Chaco to Chichen Itza-Indigenous scientific knowledge conference in collaboration with Incan, Mayan and American Indian traditional knowledge scholars.
• Museum Studies Institute: technical training to tribal museum personnel in collaboration with IAIA Museum Studies Faculty.
  

The CLE has forged many partnerships that enhance the availability of resources to Indian tribes, IAIA students and the Institute. A representative list is provided below:

For information about the Achein: Center for Lifelong Education Research & Cultural Exchange Contact:

Hayes A. Lewis, Director @ 505.424.5701

Judi Suina, Office Manager @ 505.424.2387

Ramus Suina, Tribal Relations Specialist @ 505.424.2308

Jaime Kathleen Gaskin Eyrich , Program Development Officer at 505.424.5711

Contractors include:
Leatrice Lewis, Sr. Associate, CACS/CLE-USDA Outreach Project at 505.424.5739

For a full listing of the Center for Lifelong Education staff, Click here