Wazhazhe State? Osage College? It could be named just about anything and everyone’s got ideas about what it should and should not be. Everything from where it should be located to what kind of classes it should offer.
Currently a bill sponsored by Mark Simms known as ONCA 08-35 sits, tabled, practically neutered in the Education Committee. An idea that seemed to have all the political capital and inertia you would want, simply stalled out like a ‘91 Ford Tempo. I don’t know the exact reasons but it might have something to do with people trying to divide up the pie before a recipe was even decided on. If anyone is privy to this information please share, as I’m left to only speculate from afar.
Regardless, the idea remains, just as much as the faint smell of a STALEmate lingers. (Get it? play on words..) Anyways… A College could do many things. It could teach me proper grammar for one, and how not to write either run-on sentences or sentence fragments. However, a college has the potential to do more. Much more. It could provide continued training here on the reservation for employees. A college can capture some of the scholarship money being dolled out by the education department, so that those dollars remain in our community. A college could develop our own Osage language teacher certification program or a possible immersion and research degree. A college could do…could do.. about anything we would want it to.
So I kick this question out to the community. Is an Osage College something that the community still wants? And if so, what form should it take? Where should it be located? And most importantly what should the mascot be?
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The benefit to the people wanting to get educated young or old is huge.
Keeping the dollars local is right thing to do.
Locating the school in a renovated existing building(s) is great for community.
Creating a need for housing to support the families it will take to operate a local Osage college is economically stimulating.
Where is anything worng with this getting accomlished?
The Conservative Estimate: $15.5 million in salaries and $15 + million in MDE advertising budget a year not to mention the millions in costs and fees for attorneys. There’s the money or should I say was. Three casinos on fee land at risk generating 40-75% of current income to the Osage Nation depending on who you talk to. You Betcha! Go for it. Good luck. Till then, will you consider as a candidate for mascot a dead possum by the side of the road?
The best thing for Osage people would be to use the money to send Osages to good reputable schools that have been educating people for decades and know what they are doing. Having qualified Osages with good educations and qualifications that can come back to help the tribe is the only way we can move forward in the long run. I hate to say it, but it would be a second rate school giving out relatively worthless degrees. It isn’t practical to build this place for graduates who will only work in the local area. Don’t kid yourselves by thinking a graduate from this college would have any credit finding jobs or doing business out in the real world. If we are going to spend money on education, let’s spend it the right way.
I agree with Joseph S. on this issue. There’s just so much that has to go into a college, faculty, the actual buildings themselves, administration, etc. It would be smarter to just use our money and let the Osages decide for themselves where they want to go. Now a community college or something like that might work, let students get their basics out of the way at little or not cost and then go to a 4 year university. A real university is just not feasible though, too many variables.
As to whether we should have a Wah-zah-zhe Uni or college at all, this is to me a no brainer: yes of course we should. What Joseph and Joe are privy to however is that we must first create a generation of Osages trained at the best schools around the country so they can create and implement an effective strategy to gradually construct Osage U.
There is something to be said for the fact that an Osage university would have little credibility at first. So the question is how to do you build it up? Vo-techs are an option, especially if we can specialize the degrees/ train students to fill positions already existing or in anticipated demand within the nation. In this way, whether the student body is comprised of Osages or outsiders, we can be sure to train people for jobs that already exist or will be created upon their graduation. Similar to promoting or hiring from within a corporation, the nation could at once create a way to ensure the caliber of its employees and begin the process of creating an institution of higher education. Just a thought.
Another possibility is partnering with an existing college or university to create a satellite facility of theirs that is affiliated with the Osage nation, and create a plan of gradual transition of control and financial responsibility once certain over a period of time/once certain benchmarks have been reached.
I tend to agree with Wolfman in most aspects. To piggyback on his comments:
If we don’t want to wait a generation to begin the process, we need to determine how many current Osages we have that possess the varying degrees and experience necessary to begin the foundation of an Education Program: how many possess teaching certifications and specific degrees (for whatever the Osage Uni will offer) for college-level and/or Vo-Tech education, how many have the education to work within administration, finance, etc., and how many of these individuals would be willing to take an offer and move to whatever area the Uni will be located? Next: to meet the needs of those Osages who want to go to the Osage Uni or Vo-Tech, are there enough Osages who possess and are willing to accept a position and, if not, will hiring be a completely ‘equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, etc.” for the life of the Uni or only until there are enough Osages or members of other nations who apply and meet established standards? In other words, the question isn’t just about who comprises the student body, but also who comprises the faculty and administration.
It is illogical to think/believe we can start at the top. We must step forward and begin establishing our education program as a competent program. Wolfman’s idea of collaborating with an existing college/university is an excellent way to do this. Our people can learn from an established organization while building a strong network for a future goal of a stand-alone university.
One thing is for sure: we must begin now with creating a positive relationship with the universities our youth presently attend. We can’t and shouldn’t wait until we decided on what and how we will get into the upper-level educational programs. Example: my son is in college and was billed a late fee because our Education Department did not get funding out by the deadline. When he went to find out if the scholarship money had been received and that he didn’t have the money to pay out-right, the comment he received was that the university understood. It was normal for our nation and other nations to always be late in paying the bills, but he was still responsible for the late fee. Our current education program cannot (or should not) set poor examples if we are wanting to collaborate on a satellite facility with a university/college. We either didn’t have a good estimate on the amount of students who would be attending college this year, we didn’t have the funds to pay for their education, or we didn’t manage our time effectively so that we could meet the universities’ deadlines. We can’t expect another university to offer open arms to what is an excellent idea if we are not making sure we currently meet standards for the programs we do have.
Obviously, we need to create an Osage Nation University, but it shouldn’t come in the form of bricks and mortar. There are several on-line univerisities that are very successful–and we may be able to ride their rails. 30% of college students are non-traditional. By giving money straight to students, we exclude single parents or working parents that can’t leave home to attend.
By dropping a free internet bubble over the Rez, students could work from home (we may also consider setting up three study hall labs with enough computers to service the students) on the Rez.
I propose a partnership (creating the Osage Nation University) with a university such as University of Phoenix or Nova Southeastern University. Osage students from all over the US would attend tuition free and receive a free laptop every two years–assuming a minimum GPA. This would also solve the problem of Osages that are seeking a Masters.
When you think of the savings in buildings and admin costs, this appears to be a viable option. I believe the Osage Nation would educate more Osages faster and at a reduced expense.
My thoughts are that an institution offering any more than a vo-tech certificate or an AA would have problems with rigor, and would produce students who are not well prepared for the next level of education at a well established institution. Continuing to fund the educations of Osages attending accredited and well established Universities/colleges (and then hiring those qualified people) will prove more beneficial in the long run.
Wolfman, Kelly M, and Monte have very good ideas. Why not start out small, build relationships with other universities and offer online classes? Give people opportunities to attend other Universities of their choice, but enourage people to attend the Osage Univ. I would jump on that opportunity in a minute! I’ve always wondered why we don’t groom more of our tribal members to be leaders for the enterprize/tribe. Mentor them and suport them through their education endeavors!