In recognition of National American Indian Heritage Month, celebrated throughout the month of November, Partnership With Native Americans, a nonprofit committed to championing hope for a brighter future for Native Americans living on remote and often impoverished reservations, is awarding five additional laptops to Native American students pursuing their freshman year in college.
That adds to the half a million students previously aided through its American Indian Education Fund program, a press release stated. Only 13 percent of Native students hold college degrees.
“By assisting Native students through our laptop giveaway– and our scholarship program – we hope to give more American Indians and Alaskan Natives the resources and encouragement they need to complete college and succeed as future leaders,” stated Robbi Rice Dietrich, president/CEO of PWNA, in a press release. “It is my great pleasure to work with more than 300 Native communities throughout the Plains and Southwest, and to experience first-hand the rich traditions, welcoming hospitality and generosity of Native culture.”
Throughout the month, Addison-based PWNA welcomes the public to expand its knowledge and appreciation of Native history and heritage by participating in PWNA’s Native education quiz and random daily drawings. With 567 federally recognized Indian tribes, reservations and pueblos in more than 30 states and nearly 35 state-recognized tribes, Native history and culture is as diverse as it is expansive.
PWNA supports year-round education, nutrition and other immediate needs, and long-term solutions such as scholarships, emerging leader training and community investment projects to help end the cycle of poverty. PWNA staff collaborate with reservation-based programs to deliver supplies and services based on the tribes’ self-identified initiatives for building their communities – a culturally relevant and respectful approach proven effective for more than 25 years.
For more information, go to www.pwna4hope.org.
