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THE AMERICAN INDIAN RESURGENCE INITIATIVE:
NATIVE WAYS 2 COLLEGE

In October 2020, Tzicatl Community Development Corporation, a 501c3 Autonomous Indigenous Peoples Organization, was awarded the U.S. Department of Education Accessing Choices in Education (ACE) Grant by the Office of Indian Education to fund the American Indian Resurgence Initiative. The Initiative launches the Native Ways 2 College project to establish an ecosystem of education and wellness centered on Native knowledge, accessible to students during this critical time and carry with them into the future. By empowering Los Angeles County Native American students to succeed in school, college and community, the AIR Initiative design disrupts the historic failures of government schooling 

Tzicatl Community Development Corporation (Tzicatl CDC) was founded in Los Angeles in 2002. Our mission is to advance the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the reparation of community and advocacy for healthy ecosystems to cultivate Indigenous education and culture in relation with ancestral lands. With the support from the U.S. Department of Education and our partners, we are able to provide the direct services and assessment necessary to achieve this mission.  

Tzicatl cultivates and supports Indigenous education as a key partner and sister organization to Semillas Sociedad Civil (Semillas), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Indigenous educational organization, which operates the Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America charter school. Also founded in 2002, Anahuacalmecac is a community-based K-12 charter school serving 300 students and their families and is the only public school in Los Angeles that is dedicated to the academic and cultural needs of Indigenous children. Anahuacalmecac uses an International Baccalaureate model and is dedicated to student-centered schooling that includes a language-rich, culturally meaningful, and academically-rigorous environment rooted in principles of sovereign knowledge particular to Indigenous Peoples.

NW2C ECOSYSTEM

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WATER

Nation to Nation Community Building Objective: Cultivate a sustainable Indigenous educational service ecosystem supporting Native student and family choice that reaches up to 1000 middle and high school students and their families in LA County during the 5-year granting period.

FIRE

Redefining College Preparation and Access for Indigenous Communities Objective: Increased graduation rates, college enrollment, and student comfort with college processes for up to 530 LA County students through the IndigeNations and NY2C programs and serve 685 with tutoring and testing prep supports over 4-year implementation period.

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LAND

Transformational Learning Through Heritage and Healing Objective Increase student knowledge and experience of land-based traditions with intergenerational Indigenous ecological and wellness educational programs for 450 and counseling services for up to 500 LA County students during the grant period (over 4-year implementation period).

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