List of Illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Entering the Turquoise Gates: The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute; 2. Thinking and Talking About SIPI: Narratives and Metaphors; 3. "A Standing Army of School Teachers": Ameri can Indian Education, Assimilation, and the BIA; 4. Taking a New Path: The Decision to Attend SIPI; 5. Life Within the Eagle's Head; 6. SIPI Is a Reservation: Family, Friends, and Mentors; 7. SIPI Is What You Make It: Academics, Administration, and Working Around the System; 8. SIPI Is an Opportunity: Giving Students the Chance to Dream
Appendix. Studying the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic InstituteWorks Cited; Index
Summary
The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) is a selfdescribed National American Indian Community College in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SIPI is operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an agency of the U.S. government that has overseen and managed the relationship between the government and American Indian tribes for almost two hundred years. Students at SIPI are registered members of federally recognized American Indian tribes from throughout the contiguous United States and Alaska. A fascinatingly hybridized institution, SIPI attempts to meld two conflicting institutional models
