Community Meeting for Enhancing Work with Native Americans in Riverton

A subcommittee of the University of Wyoming’s Native American Affairs Advisory Committee will hold a listening session Thursday, May 17, in Riverton to help UW enhance its work with Native Americans in the region.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Cottonwood Conference Room at the Wind River Casino. Following the listening session, a free roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy dinner will be provided.

The listening session is free and open to the public.

UW President Laurie Nichols has charged the subcommittee with generating a five-year strategic plan to boost the university’s work with Native Americans. The listening session is to gain input from the Wind River reservation community.

The Native American Affairs Strategic Plan will augment and support “Breaking Through 2017-2022: A Strategic Plan for the University of Wyoming.”

Some of the questions to be addressed at the session are:

-- What are the most important priorities for UW to build partnerships with Native American communities and tribes? Does UW do enough to engage these groups?

-- Does UW provide Native American students with an education that ultimately enables them to enrich the tribal communities of which they are a part? How might UW improve in this area?

-- What are the most important things UW should prioritize for recruiting and retaining Native American students?

-- How significant are financial constraints in preventing Native American students from attending UW? How might UW improve in this area?

-- What do other higher education institutions do better than UW in (a) building partnerships with Native American communities and tribes, and (b) recruiting and retaining Native American students?

-- What would it take for UW to become a national leader among higher education institutions in its relations with Native American communities and tribes?

The Native American Affairs Advisory strategic planning subcommittee community meeting will be led by UW students Colleen Friday, Taryn Jim and Christie Wildcat. The community meeting also will be an opportunity to thank past officers of Keepers of the Fire -- UW’s Native student group -- and introduce the newly elected officers to the community.

Individuals wishing to offer comments or suggestions, but unable to attend the listening session, are encouraged to email any subcommittee member. All comments will be considered anonymous unless the respondent requests association with the comment.

For more information, email James Trosper, the UW director of both the Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center and the High Plains American Indian Research Institute, at jtrosper@uwyo.edu.