Teach-In for Social Justice Take Away
In January, LaCher Pacheco, Native FEWS Ambassador, was invited to the 9th Annual EGTSS Summit’s Teach-In for Social Justice: Defending and Renewing Ethnic and Gender Studies. The event was sponsored by Pima Community College. The first speaker panel included Nolan Cabrera, PhD, Professor for the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona, who spoke about the laws and policies regarding the ban on Mexican American studies in the Tucson Unified School District.
Similar laws and policies are being implemented in colleges and universities across the southwest. The goal of the event was to address enrollment issues in American Indian Studies (AIS) and Mexican American Studies (MAS) as well as the development of curriculum for coursework in AIS and MAS majors and minors. The professors opened the discussion for students. As a Native FEWS ambassador, LaCher’s role is to support mentorship for undergraduate students. She asked the question: How many transfer students are enrolling in AIS and MAS at the University of Arizona? The faculty in the room responded by saying that enrollment for American Indian Studies and Mexican American Studies was low. Students are transferring to Arizona State University and enrollment in these courses at the UofA is low. Faculty for AIS and MIS have seen more Whites than people of color, yet these majors were initiated by people of color. Retention at the UofA for students of color is also low. The graduation rate is also lower than it has been in years.
LaCher was able to attend the curriculum development for AIS. Two Community College students were in attendance, and they were advocating for more hands-on work in the classroom. They wanted to learn about their Nation’s economic development and tribal sovereignty. LaCher encouraged the AIS program to include real-life court cases that are impacting our food, energy and water resources. LaCher also advocated for a class about Indigenous Identity and the policies impacting our Nation’s citizenship.
As your Native FEWS ambassador, LaCher encourages students, faculty and staff to take classes in AIS. Please help support our Indigenous Faculty. Our academic predecessors advocated for AIS and MAS. Don’t let the Universities and Colleges eliminate these courses because of low enrollment. The 1934 American Indian Relocation Act (IRA) changed how American Indians lived. The IRA impacts current social justice movements about Missing Murdered Indigenous People, Land grant policies and environmental issues. Presidential Acts have secretly changed the way American Indians exist in the United States. Prior to becoming a State, Arizona’s cavalry petitioned President Grant to forcefully remove two Apache Nations. They are removed from Land grant acknowledgements yet they were stewards of the Rincon and Santa Rita mountains.