ASU Commitment to American Indian Tribes
Arizona State University is located in Indian Country; there are 22 tribal nations in Arizona. The Tempe campus sits on the ancestral homelands of those American Indian tribes that have inhabited this place for centuries, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) peoples.
In keeping with the design aspirations of the New American University, ASU seeks to embrace our place, connect with tribal communities, and enable the success of each American Indian student. We reaffirm the university’s commitment to these goals and acknowledge that everyone, the entire ASU community, is responsible for their achievement.
ASU continues to develop an impressive cohort of scholars engaged in American Indian cultural, social, educational, legal, and economic issues. We have built world-class programs in American Indian Studies, American Indian Legal Studies, and Indigenous conceptions of justice. Our work, however, is not complete. We must further enhance our capacity to leverage place, transform society, conduct use-inspired research, enable student success, work across disciplines, integrate Indigenous knowledge and engage Indigenous issues globally. We are committed to providing access, retaining and graduating American Indian students in a climate that is welcoming and respectful of their languages and cultures. Foundational to these goals, we commit to creating an environment of success and possibility for American Indian students at ASU.
We are dedicated to supporting tribal nations in achieving futures of their own making. We will partner with tribal nations to: address the ravages of paternalism; improve educational achievement of American Indian children, youth, and adults; create innovative and appropriate use and development of natural resources; conceptualize and implement responses to physical and mental health challenges; and build and strengthen leadership capacities to address challenges for Native nations in the 21st Century and beyond. And we will enhance and foster an environment of success and unlimited possibilities for American Indians at ASU.
This work acknowledges our indisputable recognition of place and reinforces our mission as the New American University.
Michael M. Crow
President
Arizona State University
August 31, 2015