American Indian Services welcomes long-time educator Kevin Sekaquaptewa to the team as the new AIS PREP Director. Meet Kevin Sekaquaptewa Kevin Sekaquaptewa (Hopi) was born and raised in Orem, Utah. An American Indian Services scholarship recipient himself, he attended Utah Valley University and graduated with a bachelor of arts in History, with a Native American Studies Minor. In 2014, Kevin began teaching 6th grade at Tse’bii’nidzisgai Elementary, in Monument Valley, Utah o

American Indian Services welcomes Tishna Campbell to the team as the new Administrative Assistant. Meet Tishna Campbell Tishna Campbell was born in upstate New York near the Cattaraugus reservation until she was twelve years old. Her family of eight then made a new home in the heart of the Utah, where she lives today. In 2001, Tishna's parents formed a multicultural group called "Remembering our Culture" that she says she has been blessed to participate in since she was eight

This #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth we are featuring indigenous language advocate Candice Tallsalt, the creator of the Navajo Children's Coloring and Activity Book series. Her books focus on teaching Diné Bazaad (Navajo language) in parallel with English; an effort in preserving the Navajo language by teaching the children who will carry the traditions forward. You can purchase the Navajo Children's Color and Activity Books on amazon. Tell us a little about yourself. “My name i

This #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth we would like to feature renowned Native American culinary artist and caterer, Chef Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart (Oglala Lakota Sioux). She shares some of her favorite heritage recipes with us in hopes that this year you may gather together to create a feast that celebrates the flavors of a traditional Indigenous diet. You can learn more about Chef Brave Heart by visiting www.chefbraveheart.com or @chefbraveheart on Instagram. Tell us a little

October 20, 2021—One of the nation's longest-running scholarship non-profit organizations, American Indian Services, is pleased to announce it has selected Chauma Kee-Jansen as its new Executive Director. Meet Chauma Kee-Jansen Chauma is Navajo and an enrolled member of the Assiniboine-Sioux Tribe of Fort Peck Montana. She was raised in Kamas, Utah, located at the base of the Uintah Mountain Range. As an AIS alumni scholarship recipient herself, she was able to receive her As

Nadine Fonseca is the co-founder of Mighty Kind, a educational anti-bias publication for kids ages 5 and up. Mighty Kind aims to inspire a global community of kids who care to celebrate diversity & feel empowered to take action towards a kinder world. Each magazine issue is full of illustrated stories, fun activities and actionable volunteer opportunities to empower kids to tap into their natural capacity to love and learn while having fun. The series celebrates world culture

American Indian Services welcomes long-time American Indian/Alaska Native education champion Meredith Lam to the team as the new Project & Program Manager. Meet Meredith Lam Meredith Lam grew up in Page and Prescott, Arizona. She is a proud member of the Diné (Navajo) tribe and mother of three. She and her family have happily resided in Provo, Utah for over a decade. Serving fourteen years within the educational realm of Utah, Meredith comes to AIS with a wealth of experienc

On July 14-16, the University of Utah welcomed 113 middle-schoolers from the American Indian Services Pre-Freshman Engineering Program (AIS PREP) to celebrate the completion of their 2021 course. AIS PREP is a free educational program for Native American youth to take science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses for three consecutive summers. At the end of the program, students are ready to pursue advanced high school courses and are offered AIS scholarship

In November and December, American Indian Services created two special projects to provide for some of the emergency needs of our constituents. The first was a coat donation, where we distributed brand new, heavy duty King’s Camo coats to tribes throughout the Rocky Mountain region. The second was a drive in partnership with Christkindlmarkt SLC and Navajo Strong for COVID-19 and education supplies that were distributed on the Navajo Nation. With COVID hitting tribes so hard,

Ya’at’eeh, I am Erika Yellowhair from the Navajo Nation. I am currently studying Elementary Education and hope to return home to my school district with my PhD in Educational Leadership to become the superintendent and a member of the Navajo Nation Board of Education. I’m from Sonastee, New Mexico. I lived in a one-bedroom house with seven of my relatives. There wasn’t cell phone service. I didn’t have any drawers and kept my clothes in a tote and drove an hour to get back an

The importance of STEM education in middle school is tough to overstate. Our nation’s top leaders and researchers have repeatedly emphasized that if America wishes to remain competitive in the global economy it must produce more professionals with college degrees in STEM. We are woefully behind China and India in the amount of STEM students we currently have, and the reason for that is partially to do with poor STEM education in middle school. STEM Education In Middle School

My name is Cauy Nelson and I am currently attending Northern Arizona University on the main campus in Flagstaff. The official title for my major is Visual Communication, with an emphasis in Graphic Design. My perseverance to receive this degree from NAU will mean a lot, not only to me, but my mother. She is the one who supported me throughout the years, being a single parent, her lessons of discipline and hard-work ethic have been embedded in my lifestyle. I am Navajo from Mo

Former Executive Director Jay Brasher and Board President Keith Buswell have announced that Mr. Brasher has officially stepped down as Executive Director. The American Indian Services board members have chosen to name Dr. Sylvia McMillan as his successor. Dr. McMillan has an impressive pedigree in education and non-profit work. She served as Assistant Director for 6 years before being named as Executive Director, a period during which she accomplished great things. One of her

Christina Haswood is a member of the Navajo tribe, an AIS scholarship alumni, a public health specialist with an M.S. from the University of Kansas, and at the age of 26 she is running uncontested to represent the Kansas 10th district. Ms. Haswood is soon to be the youngest current member of the Kansas state legislature. We’re so proud of her accomplishments and the way she is utilizing her education to give back to her community. We spoke to Christina about what it was like

American Indian Services PREP program opened a campus in Idaho this last summer and we were lucky enough to find a great partner in Idaho National Laboratory. The Beginning of a Beautiful Partnership Idaho National Laboratory recently wrote an article about their involvement in the AIS PREP program and we want to share what an enormous help they were in getting the Idaho campus up and running. Here’s a snippet from the article: ”How many of you like explosions?” Clark asked.