[ti:Obama Announces Initiative to Lift Up Young Native Americans] [ar:Jeri Watson] [al:Education Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Learning English Education Report. [00:05.29]Getting a good education and good jobs have long been issues [00:11.39]for Native Americans, many of whom live in poverty. [00:16.06]Now president Barack Obama has announced a plan [00:21.40]to better prepare young American Indians for colleges and careers. [00:27.06]The announcement came as part of the recent [00:30.99]White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington. [00:34.85]In June, [00:36.65]Mr. Obama and his wife Michelle [00:39.43]visited the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. [00:44.90]The new plan is called the Generation Indigenous initiative. [00:50.80]It calls for the Department of the Interior [00:54.28]to provide $1.2 million [00:57.52]to help six more tribes establish school systems [01:02.20]run by the tribes. [01:03.89]It also increases programs for teaching science, [01:08.47]technology, engineering and mathematics, [01:12.50]and efforts to keep native languages from dying out. [01:16.89]More than 30 percent of Americans have graduated from college. [01:22.16]At the same time, [01:24.20]only about 10 percent of American Indians are college graduates. [01:30.42]Louis Walking Elk, however, is studying for a master degree [01:35.65]in environmental science at Sitting Bull College in North Dakota. [01:40.47]He wants to use the degree to help people [01:44.31]who live on his reservation. [01:46.22]He is one of the first in his family to go to college. [01:50.90]"My dad especially. He didn't finish high school [01:54.83]and he was always like, [01:56.82]'you have to do something,'" said Walking Elk. [01:58.17]Sitting Bull College is one of more than 30 tribal colleges [02:03.79]in the United States. [02:05.53]About 300 students are completing [02:08.91]their higher education at the school. [02:11.24]The federal government provides support for the program. [02:15.94]Sitting Bull College president Laurel Vermillion says [02:20.22]the goal of making sure students [02:22.41]finish their college studies is all important to her. [02:26.59]"A huge majority are first generation students, [02:30.32]college students, [02:31.93]who don't have a lot of experience. [02:34.66]They don't have parents [02:36.05]who can tell them or talk about college. [02:38.88]And so when they leave the reservation [02:41.58]and go onto these big, mainstream campuses, [02:45.16]they are lost," said Vermillion. [02:46.62]Ms. Vermillion says many young Native Americans, [02:50.80]especially men, [02:52.39]are looking for direction and a sense of purpose. [02:56.28]Today, 30 percent of students are male, [03:00.41]and 70 percent are female. [03:02.90]Sitting Bull College is trying to appeal [03:06.19]to more men by offering a technical program. [03:09.67]Classes include welding and oil drilling. [03:14.30]Scott Davis leads the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission. [03:19.17]He also works to gain more male college students. [03:23.85]He helps tribal colleges to get millions of dollars [03:28.29]to start programs that develop young men for the workforce. [03:32.92]Mr. Davis calls tribal colleges [03:36.25]a shining beacon on reservations, [03:39.54]giving hope to young Native Americans [03:42.37]of a life of possibilities, [03:44.46]and an escape from poverty. [03:46.81]And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report for today. [03:52.34]I'm Jeri Watson. [03:53.88]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com