Amandaline Ecoffey, Oglala Lakota, served in the AmeriCorps at the Red Cloud Indian School in her own community.
AmeriCorps increases members to benefit tribal communities
By Karin Eagle
Native Sun News Staff Writer WASHINGTON—Beefing up the effort to service as many tribal communities as possible, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) have announced a 41 percent increase in AmeriCorps members. CNCS is awarding 17 grants totaling $3 million to tribal organizations in 13 states to use national service as a solution to tackle pressing social and economic challenges. The grants will support 255 AmeriCorps members serving in tribal communities -- the largest number of grants and AmeriCorps members supported through tribal grants in the past decade. A member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Amandaline Ecoffey, served at the Red Cloud Indian School during her time as an AmeriCorps member. “I think AmeriCorps was effective here at Red Cloud because it gives the opportunity to get classroom experience without a degree and it shows young Native children that all teachers aren't white,” explains Ecoffey,”It lets them see Native people in their classrooms as well. I think that is very important for young children.“ An added incentive was the money that went towards Ecoffey’s educational pursuits and her ability to utilize her degree when she graduates. “It also has helped me pay off most of my student debt which I would have never been able to do without it,” said Ecoffey. The AmeriCorps investment is part of the Administration’s larger commitment to create lasting change in Indian Country by strengthening tribal communities through education and economic development. AmeriCorps members address a range of challenges, including tutoring and mentoring Native American youth, teaching nutrition and physical activity, preserving language and cultural heritage, protecting the environment, connecting veterans and their families to workforce resources, preparing for disasters, and tackling substance abuse issues. In addition to the grant funding, CNCS is making available $1 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for AmeriCorps members funded by these grants. AmeriCorps members in these programs – most of who will come from Indian Country – will be eligible to earn the awards to pay for college or to repay student loans. “Service has always been central to Native American culture, and we are proud to partner with tribal communities across the country to support their efforts to improve lives and expand economic opportunity,” said Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer. “AmeriCorps members are an important resource for tribal communities. They make a positive and lasting difference in their communities and in their own lives, gaining skills and experience to jumpstart their careers. As we mark the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps, we salute AmeriCorps members for their dedication, and thank our outstanding tribal partners who make their service possible.” Locally, two South Dakota reservations will receive part of the influx of service members through the grants, including the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation where Sitting Bull College-supported AmeriCorps members will provide GED tutoring and testing services to students. AmeriCorps members will also help low-income adults on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation prepare for and obtain their GEDs. Tribal AmeriCorps members will engage in results-driven service to tackle a range of challenges, including in Arizona, the Gila River Indian Community, where they will engage 15 AmeriCorps members to provide services to Native veterans and military families on the Gila River Reservation. AmeriCorps members serving through a new program with the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California will restore lands, implement wildfire mitigation strategies, and lead an effort to remove and prevent illegal dumping of hazardous waste. Through the Hoopa AmeriCorps program, 12 AmeriCorps members will help those who are elderly or have a disability continue to live independently on the Hoopa Indian Reservation in California. Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps will enlist young people age 18-24 in short-term, high-impact service projects focused on disaster relief and conservation on the Hoopa Valley reservation and across the country. The San-Diego based American Indian Recruitment Programs will engage AmeriCorps members in providing education and service learning activities to native youth of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. The Inter-Tribal Long Term Recovery Foundation will recruit, train, and support AmeriCorps members to provide disaster planning, response, and recovery services in Tribal lands in Southern California. AmeriCorps members, serving with the San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians in California, will provide tribal students in grades K-12 with educational support and mentoring services. In Minnesota, AmeriCorps members will serve in preschools on the Red Lake Reservation to prepare children for Kindergarten and a successful academic career. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will use AmeriCorps members, all aged 55 and over, to teach Choctaw cultural literacy activities to preschoolers and lead Choctaw language preservation activities in Tribal Early Childhood Education centers. AmeriCorps members serving the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska will support education at all stages of life, promoting early childhood literacy, providing GED tutoring, and leading parent education classes. The Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Nation will use AmeriCorps members to provide support workforce development and education outreach to the veterans and military family community. Additional AmeriCorps members will be responsible for conservation efforts. Through an AmeriCorps Tribal Planning Grant, the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York will lay the groundwork for a disaster preparedness-focused AmeriCorps program. To combat childhood obesity, AmeriCorps members will serve as healthy lifestyle coaches to at-risk youth, teaching nutrition and physical activity within the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. On the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo reservation in Texas, AmeriCorps members will lead financial literacy and cultural language education efforts. Working with the Lummi Nation National Resources Department, AmeriCorps members will protect and restore at-risk ecosystems across the Lummi Nation tribal lands in Washington. Led by the Northwood’s NiiJii Enterprise Community, AmeriCorps members will address substance abuse issues in the 11 federally recognized tribal nations of Wisconsin. AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 members in intensive service annually to serve through nonprofit, faith-based, and community groups at 25,000 locations across the country. This year marks the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps. Since 1994, more than 830,000 Americans have provided more than 1 billion hours of service addressing critical challenges from poverty and hunger to disasters and the dropout crisis. The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service and developing community solutions through its AmeriCorps, including VISTA and NCCC, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and other programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov. (Contact Karin Eagle at staffwriter@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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