FLC Elder-in-Residence program welcomes Alyce Spotted Bear to campus

DURANGO, CO - The Fort Lewis College Native American Center welcomes Alyce Spotted Bear to campus as part of the Center's Elder-in-Residence program. Dr. Spotted Bear will be on campus throughout the week of February 13 meeting with classes and individual students.

On Wednesday, February 15, the public is invited to a presentation by Dr. Spotted Bear entitled “Introducing the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations: Change and Continuity in Governance and Culture.” The talk will be held in the Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum at 5:30 p.m. A reception with Dr. Spotted Bear will immediately precede the presentation at 4:45 p.m. Both the reception and presentation are free and open to the public.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara have a rich and interesting history among the Plains Tribes. In terms of U.S. history they are best known for their contribution to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Esteemed ethno-historian Colin Calloway sees the Mandan as being one of the most important merchant tribes of the plains. Early neighbors of the Mandan-the Hidatsa and Arikara-were also at the heart of a great trade network within the USA and beyond. Today, the Three Affiliated Tribes are experiencing unprecedented economic growth from oil and gas development on their reservation.

Alyce Spotted Bear is a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Dr. Spotted Bear is a former tribal chairwoman with extensive experience at all levels of public and private education. Most recently she was appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Indian Education. She earned her BS in Education at Dickinson State College and her M.Ed. at Penn State. While serving as a graduate teaching assistant, she completed the coursework for a Ph.D. (ABD) in Education at Cornell University. At Dartmouth College, Dr. Spotted Bear served as visiting faculty for the Native American Studies Program.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Spotted Bear is the principle investigator for a National Science Foundation-Documenting Endangered Languages grant. She attended an Indian mission school on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation in South Dakota for 12 years. Her research interests lie in the Boarding School Era.

Each year the FLC Native American Center Elder-in-Residence program brings prominent figures from the Native American community to campus to meet with the College community in an effort to increase knowledge and understanding. The program is sponsored by the FLC Native American Center and the John & Sophie Ottens Foundation.

For more information, contact the FLC Native American Center at 247-7292 or 247-7222.