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214 Chapter 8 looking outward to successful models of federally operated postsecondary educational institutions; and looking inward, at the suggestions and advice of those individuals at the school (students, faculty, and staff) who do not currently have a voice in its operation, yet are the reason for (students) and the backbone of (faculty, staff) the college. Students who are close to completing their schooling at SIPI, or who have graduated, take the time to reflect on the role the school has played in their lives. Whatever frustrations they might have wrestled with in their time at SIPI, completion means moving on to a brighter future, and taking several nostalgic glances backward. The opportunity to complete two years of their college education in an all-Indian environment was valuable and life-changing, and as Kira Thomas said, it is hard to turn one’s back on SIPI. Even the most frustrated student—like the bright, driven young Navajo woman who spent considerable time fighting against the school’s bureaucracy and infantilizing rules (many of her complaints were well founded)— told me as she was preparing to leave SIPI after graduation that she knew she would be hit with a wave of longing virtually as soon as she reached the intersection just past the school’s security gates. An older man from a Midwestern tribe is a passionate proponent of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. He had entered the school apprehensively , and been touched by the help and support he received.He knew some students focused on the negatives of the school: “I’ve seen a few students complaining.” Their complaints, he felt, were less about the school and more about their own attitudes. He explained that SIPI alleviates many of the pressures of daily life for students by offering virtually free classes, housing, food, and textbooks. Students are liberated from mundane concerns , and can focus exclusively on their education.“To me, SIPI was a valuable place to go to school. All your needs were met . . . It gave students the chance to dream.” What do students value? Certainly they appreciate the chance to fulfill basic college credits, but also they appreciate their exposure to new ideas and, most importantly for some, the chance to explore their cultural identity, gain confidence, and as several students said, be heard. After attending SIPI, Dallas Wicke found himself less interested in activities that did not help him move forward or grow. “I’m not as interested [in sports] as I get older. [I’m] trying to become more academic, wiser. And so I can really learn how to live in the world. And [by] living in the world, I think of just fighting the good fight. Just living my life. Just living it, you know? Yeah, not just passing time.” Academics and education at SIPI of- SIPI Is an Opportunity 215 fered him a chance to move far beyond simply killing time, and it made him realize that he had a larger and more satisfying role to play in the world. “There’s a purpose. And I just want to fulfill my purpose and make sure my life is getting better and better every day . . . Not because I got older, I guess just because—just the way I see things and do things in my life has changed. I came here to SIPI and I want to get better. And I want to be outspoken. I’m tired of being isolated in an area where I’m not going nowhere.” Exposure to new ideas and new people opened up the possibility of taking on a new worldview and approach, one in which he is willing to speak up. The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute offered students these opportunities for growth, for change, and for safety. Looking Forward: Students’ and SIPI’s Future The future of the school, at least in the eyes of many students, is unclear. Students who answered a 2002 survey question about how they saw themselves , and SIPI, in five and twenty years were quite optimistic for themselves , but in describing the school they veered between truly optimistic, cautiously hopeful, and darkly pessimistic. A typical response was that of a nineteen-year-old Navajo woman who had been raised on the reservation and was majoring in engineering. Her vision of her own future was quite positive, seeing herself going on to the University of New Mexico for a bachelor’s degree, and eventually earning a Ph.D. in physics. Her vision for the school...

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