Affirming its stance as a national leader in Native American studies, Dartmouth is offering a new student internship at the Wind River Reservation -- the third largest reservation in the country -- starting this spring.
The internship, sponsored by the Tucker Foundation, the Native American Studies Department and the Native American Program, will be available to Native and non-Native Dartmouth undergraduate students.
The goal of the internship is to "develop reciprocal relationships between Dartmouth students and Native American communities, whereby students learn from them and in return share their skills," Director of Tucker Fellowships Mary Comeau said.
Both the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Nations reside within the Wind River Reservation. Dartmouth will send four to 10 student-interns every Spring and Fall terms to collaborate on educational projects within both communities.
Initially, students will work for the reservation's two schools on projects such as internet training, developing children's cultural heritage and coaching sports teams.
"Supervisors of the community will be working with students by matching student skills with internship positions," Comeau said. "As the program develops, students will work with community organizations and social services on the reservation."
The internship's purpose is to highlight the College's long-time commitment to Indian education. The program will also serve to complement Dartmouth's strong recruitment of Native Americans, Comeau said.
The Tucker Foundation offered a similar internship to Montana in the 1970s, but no similar program has existed since.
Not only is the Wind River Reservation the third largest in America, it is also home to two unique systems of autonomous government. Both the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho Nations operate their own independent governing council.
While any student can apply to the program, background, interest and courses in Native American studies are required. Selected applicants will undergo a four-session orientation before they leave campus.
The Tucker Foundation will host an open house on Wednesday to answer questions about the program.
