7TH GEN.® Summer Program
The 7TH GEN.® Summer Program is a partnership between The Indian University of North America® of Crazy Horse Memorial and Black Hills State University.
About The University
Chief Henry Standing Bear was a strong, proud, and progressive leader who believed that education was instrumental in preserving the culture and living heritage of the American Indian peoples. He was an eloquent writer and learned at an early age that he would be able to advance his ideals much more effectively using the mighty pen. This is evidenced in his invitation to sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, when Standing Bear communicated that he and his fellow chiefs wanted the world to know that "the Red Man has great heroes also." Once Korczak accepted Standing Bear's invitation, he ensured education was an essential part of the mission at Crazy Horse Memorial®. The dream that started with Standing Bear's desire was the genesis of what has become an incredible vision and story that remains in a state of becoming.
As with any great dream, Crazy Horse Memorial's educational efforts started small. In 1978, the Crazy Horse Memorial® scholarship program began with a single college scholarship of $250 awarded to a college student studying in South Dakota. Korczak called it a "modest effort now toward the future, long-range educational goals of Crazy Horse." Today, the cumulative total awarded to American Indian students attending colleges or universities in South Dakota and other select colleges and universities including tribal colleges exceeds $2 million. Eligible recipients must be Native American Indian students who plan to attend or are attending a South Dakota college, university, vocational-technical school or tribal college. Crazy Horse Memorial® does not process scholarship applications. Funds are distributed to qualifying colleges, universities and technical institutions and recipients. Interested students should contact the financial aid office at their college.
In the last eleven years, nearly 400 students from over 40 Native Nations and 20 states have successfully completed an academic program of The Indian University of North America® of Crazy Horse Memorial® and continued their college studies at universities and colleges throughout the United States. Native students who start college at THE INDIAN UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA® are provided an unconventional level of student support from University Student Success Coaches, regardless of where students pursue their degrees. Each year, University leaders complete a college persistence/college completion research report involving summer program participants. In a recent survey attained a 81% response rate and confirmed that 72% of the respondents remained in college or had graduated. Alumni now in the workforce include teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses, and business professionals. Individual alumni have also reported that they found work as an assistant museum curator, a police officer, a bank examiner, and a dental hygienist. The list of occupations for our graduates is limitless. Typically, many college graduates return to the reservation to share their talents, or they are employed with a Native-led organization.”
