Spent the day doing research at the wonderful little library at Bay Mills Community College on the Bay Mills Reservation in northern Michigan. Of particular interest - and once again proving the oppression of privilege (mine) - I learned that the college is a part of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. Founded in 1972 by six tribally controlled community colleges to mobilize a concerted effort to deal with common challenges, AIHEC is now a cooperatively sponsored effort on the part of 36 member institutions in the United States and Canada. Today, tribal colleges and universities, also known as TCU's, serve over 30,000 students from more than 250 tribal nations.
The place was packed the entire time I was there. It is a large log building with confortable chairs and an interesting collection of native artifacts on the upper level. Beautiful bead and quill work, tools, and carvings. I was able to look at some contemporary work that is being done by young artists - If you are interested, check out the Institute for American Indian Arts.
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