News & Statements
Tribal Leadership news
July 25, 2011
Tribal Leadership
Come this fall, a new degree program at the University of Minnesota Duluth will help American Indians develop the skills they need to become effective administrators in tribal governments. Billed as a first-of-its-kind degree, UMD's Master of Tribal Administration and Governance program will offer coursework in such areas as tribal language, tribal accounting and finance, as well as federal Indian law. The two-year program is geared toward American Indians who already may work as tribal administrators; students would take classes online and on the weekends. The school partnered with several Indian tribes in developing the program. It has received support from the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, which represents 35 tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. "UMD was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the country to recognize that American Indian studies was a unique discipline," says Tadd Johnson, who heads UMD's Department of American Indian Studies and directs the new graduate program, in a news release announcing the program. "Now, we are taking another bold step."