United Tribes Technical College launches video series to recruit Native educators

Funded by the American Indian College Fund, the initiative is part of the Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi Native Teacher Education pilot program. The program aims to find solutions to the ongoing Native teacher shortage and supports tribal colleges and universities with grants ranging from $200,000 to $275,000 over two years. The goal is to explore and share effective teaching practices that resonate with Native cultural values and help students successfully complete teacher education programs and state licensing requirements.

The video series is one aspect of UTTC’s Dragonfly Project, which operates under the Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi initiative. The project enhances access to the teaching profession for Native students through online courses, Indigenous pedagogy, and preparatory materials for required Praxis and certification exams. Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi translates from Dakota as “teaching teachers.”