The University of Arizona and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe are partnering to help tribal members reach their higher-education goals, including meeting studentsโ needs for degree programs, certificates or training.
This unprecedented agreement is for five years and will be automatically renewed for two additional five-year terms unless it is terminated by either the tribe or the university.
Tribal officials will iron out the goals and a dozen priorities over the next six months, and the UA will bring its resources and collaborate and assist the tribe in meeting its objectives, said N. Levi Esquerra, UA senior vice president for Native American advancement and tribal engagement. โThis is an unprecedented document. It is the first of its kind and it sets up the framework about how the university and the tribe will collaborate in the future,โ Esquerra said.
During a recent signing ceremony at Casino of the Sun, Pascua Yaqui Chairman Peter S. Yucupicio described it as a โhistoric dayโ for the tribe and said the partnership was an important step toward helping its members pursue higher education. He said the agreement will help in recruiting Yaqui students to the UA, and keeping students close to home.
โWe want to keep our students here,โ Yucupicio said. He said right now more Yaqui students are attending Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University then the UA. โWe send students all over the country and keeping students safe and at home during the pandemic would be ideal,โ said the chairman. He said the tribe has about 22,000 enrolled tribal members.
The agreement does not list a budget or funding sources for programs, services or any future construction. The document mentions finances will be negotiated and entered into by separate addendum agreements.ย
Among the goals are:
Online bachelorโs degree programs with concentration in tribal courts and justice administration; indigenous governance and economic and community development; tribal gaming and enterprise management; information technology, including a concentration or specialized track in cybersecurity.
A masterโs degree of professional studies in indigenous governance along with a specialized concentration track in tribal gaming and resort management.
Development of a micro-campus to be located on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation.
Articulating curricular offerings for continuing education, professional development and workforce training certificates, and undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in medicine, public health, nursing, pharmacy, traditional medicine and law and legal studies.
Developing scholarship and financial aid support for tribal members to participate in and take advantage of curricular offerings and programs.
Serina Preciado, the tribe's education director, said the Yaqui Education Division is comprised of 10 programs that support members from early childhood through doctoral programs, including 340 college and university students. โWe want to get technical assistance from the UA in areas of sustainability, health services, information technology and more,โ she said.
โWe need resources leveraged in these (goal) areas, mentorship programs and training that puts the UA in connection with our students as young as elementary school so they can see themselves as scholars and continue their education. It is really important to us to bring the face of the UA to tribal reservation children so they can have the confidence to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, arts and math fields,โ said the tribal education director.
A possibility is to turn a recreational vehicle into a mobile classroom and have Yaqui students attending the UA come and teach STEAM fields to youth in the eight Yaqui communities in Pima and Maricopa counties, said Preciado.
She said there are 4,000 tribally-enrolled students in K-12th grades and students primarily attend the Tucson Unified School District, but there are also Yaqui students attending Sunnyside, Tempe Elementary, Tempe Union High and Kyrene school districts. The tribe also has a strong working relationship with Maricopa Community Colleges.
โThe tribal government alone employs about 2,000 and higher-level positions are not filled by tribal members, and we want our youth to take over these positions. An area of need for training with the UA is gaming and hospitality. NAU has some programs, but specifically we are looking at Native Nations Institute and it is part of the UA. They have an Indigenous governance program that has gaming and hospitality pathways,โ Preciado said.
She said the tribe recognizes that โthe UA has a robust health-sciences program and we would like it on tribal grounds so Yaqui students can enroll in these programs and graduate and come back and mentor our youth.โ
Another priority for the tribe is to develop its own school district, a tribally-controlled school system K-12th grades. โThis requires us to have Native educators to be able to facilitate that system,โ said Preciado.
