04 04 25 The American Indian College Fund CMO Nancy Jo Houk talks Denver EATSS

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The American Indian College Fund works to increase the number
of American Indians who hold college degrees, and this upcoming weekend,
Denver Eats will be providing a culinary and artisan showcase
with every ticket supporting Native students in their futures.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
On the Kaway Commas Bird of Health hotline to join
us and tell us and share with us more about
it is the CMO of that College Fund, It's Nancy Joe.
How can Nancy Joe appreciate you coming on with us
this morning talk about what the fund does and why
it's important to support this initiative.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Good morning, first of all, and thanks so much for
having us. The American Indian College Fund provides both financial
and other supports to Native American students, and we really
want to help them earn a college or vocational degree.
But we also do a lot more than that. So
we work with students while they're in high school to
chart their path to college. We even help them fill

(00:52):
out the FASTA form and navigate financial aid. We provide
mentoring and coaching the students as they go through their
higher education experience for the first time. We're here to
support our scholars through graduation and career pathing. And interestingly enough,
in the past ten years, the number of Native Americans
with a college degree has increased from less than eleven

(01:14):
percent to sixteen point eight percent. However, that's still less
than half the national average. And we support about five
thousand students across the country every year, but we receive
thousands more applications, and so in Colorado alone we receive
about two hundred to three hundred applications every year. And

(01:35):
we also support the thirty five tribal colleges and universities
across the country.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
And s Joe, what are some of the testimonials or
success stories that you've heard from this fund?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Oh, my gosh, we have so many. About eighty percent
of our students also work in their communities, and so
they've done such amazing things in their communities with their
degrees in agricultural spaces, in business and strengthening their their

(02:07):
nations and really strengthening their communities, addressing food insecurity. We
have a lot of scientists and so they're just doing
amazing things both within their community and also across you know,
across the whole United States and contributing in ways bringing

(02:27):
that indigenous perspective and ancestral knowledge to the work that
they do wherever they are.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
What can people expect to see and experience at Denver Eats,
of course, and to raise awareness for this, but what
can people anticipate with this event.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
It's a really fun event. We start with a culinary
experience and we have four indigenous chefs who create dishes
specifically using their ancestral ancestral ingredients, and they create them
with a model and twist of course, and so they

(03:01):
create them and serve them at the event. We have
other food as well, so nobody leaves hungary, and we
have students who are there to talk with people, and
we have students from the Institute of American Indian Arts,
which is one of our tribal colleges in the Santa

(03:23):
Fe area, and they sell their artwork. So just a
really fun culinary part of the evening. And then we
move into a musical portion of the evening and we
are partnering with Nathaniel Rightlift in the Colorado Symphony this
year for a concert and.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
That's a really cool, exciting experience for some Denver Natives
as well. Can you tell us a little bit about
how Nathaniel became involved in this event.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, we met Nathaniel about five years ago when we
were connected with his foundation, the Marigold Project, and that
was right before the pandemic, and during the pandemic, we,
like a lot of organizations, decided to do something virtual,
so we did a concert and we reached out to
Nathaniel and asked if he would provide a video and

(04:12):
he recorded just this amazingly incredible solo performance video for us.
And what I understand is that since he was a
young man, he's been very interested in Native American culture
and religion and the effects of American expansion on tribal
people and communities. And because he sees us as a

(04:35):
pathway to the future of Indigenous Americans throughout Colorado and
across our country having positive impact, that's how we got connected.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Fancy Joe. Where can people go if they want to
find out more about the College Fund about Denver Eetz.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
You can go to our website. It is the specific
website to purchase tickets and learn more about EATS is
stand with S T A N D W I T
H dot College Fund dot org, slash Denver Dash Eats
e A T S S, or you can call our

(05:13):
offices at three zero, three, four, two six eight.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Nine zero zero and Denver Eats is taking place this
Friday and Saturday at the Bector Concert Hall again. You
can find more information at that website. There a the
CMO of the American Indian College Fund. It's Nancy Joe Helk.
Nancy Joe, thank you so much for your time this
morning