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Canku Ota |
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(Many Paths) |
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An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America |
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November 16, 2002 - Issue 74 |
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USM, Choctaws Agree to Boost Indian Enrollment |
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by Janet Braswell American Senior
Writer Hattisburg American
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credits The Southern
Miss Administration Building
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"The Choctaws in Mississippi are making a lot of progress in a short time," Chief Phillip Martin said. "We are interested in working with anybody who will work with us for social and economic improvement opportunities." Martin gave USM President Shelby Thames a hand-made, double-weave Choctaw basket after accepting a signed print of a Golden Eagle by artist Sharon Vanek from Thames. Seventeen Choctaws attend USM through a program Martin started. The tribe picks up the cost of post-high school education, from vocational school to doctoral degree, for any Choctaw student who maintains a C average, said Nan Stamper, scholarship officer. Since the program began in 1994, 258 students have obtained a degree or certificate. "We pointed out to the chief the number of world-class programs we have on campus," Thames said. Details of how to recruit more Choctaw students to USM haven't been worked out. "We'll have to get together and work with more people than just us," Martin said. "We need to make more information available to them." About 80 students graduate annually from Choctaw Central High School. Development of gaming on the reservation near Philadelphia provides job opportunities that require a college education, said Choctaw graduate student Jason Grisham. He cited the hospitality management and other tourism-related fields as examples of USM programs that would benefit Choctaw students, many of whom will work at the tribe's Pearl River Resort. "We can get so many people qualified through here," he said. After earning a business degree from Belhaven College, Grisham is working on a master's degree in sports administration at USM.
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The
leaders of the University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians exchanged gifts Wednesday to mark the beginning
of an effort to bring more Choctaw students to USM. 
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| Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. | ||
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Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. |
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The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the |
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Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 of Paul C. Barry. |
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All Rights Reserved. |
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