BY: SHANNON BURNS
INDIAN TIME - Vol. 23 #34 - Seskeha / August 25, 2005 Edition - Page 1 & 2
Syracuse University, one of New York's most expensive post-secondary institutions, announced earlier this month that beginning next Fall it would offer free tuition and room and board to all admitted Haudenosaunee.
The Haudenosaunee Promise Scholarship Program is the University's way of showing their dedication to improving the lives of Haudenosaunee. Beginning in the 2006 Fall semester, admitted Natives registered with any of the Haudenosaunee Tribes - Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, Tuscarora, and Cayuga - will have tuition waived, room and board paid, and hopefully will find a newly expanded population of fellow Haudenosaunee students.
"Education at its best is a two-way process," says S.U. Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. "I am delighted that we will be building - and expanding - upon our historical relationship with the Haudenosaunee. The benefits and opportunities to be created are truly exciting."
The monetary value of the scholarship is over $35,000 a year. Each qualifying student will continue to receive the scholarship until they've earned their Bachelor's Degree. They will be required to maintain a full-time status and must also maintain a 2.5 grade point average.
According to recent New York State findings, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has more college-enrolled members than any other Tribe in the State.
"Syracuse University is providing a tremendous service for Akwesasne and other Native communities," said the Tribe's spokesperson Brendan White. "Their commitment of a Native scholarship program will enable Mohawk students to receive free undergraduate instruction. It's a great way to honor the contributions Native peoples have made and strengthens relationships with a leading academic institution."
The private university is often too expensive for minorities to attend without the assistance of scholarship programs. S.U. is the first to offer such a generous program to Natives, and they've promised not to limit the number of Haudenosaunee scholarships that will be awarded.
"I see the Promise opening new doors for Haudenosaunee people in ways that can't be imagined," said Robert Odawi Porter, director of the College of Law's Center for Indigenous Law, Governance and Citizenship and a member of the Seneca Nation. "For too long, we have struggled to resist Western efforts to de-culture our people through education. Now, through Chancellor Cantor's leadership,S.U. is creating an opportunity for us to achieve a Haudenosaunee intellectual renaissance."
"This is different from any other scholarship initiative in that it supports helping the Haudenosaunee sustain themselves by educating some of their people who will live and work within their Nations," said Odie Brant Porter, assistant provost at S.U.. "We have turned the corner in the education process, where education can be used to sustain our distinct culture and values, rather than being used to destroy it." Porter is an organizer of Native Student Outreach Day and is also a member of the Seneca Nation.
