Reviewed Ideas
Higher Education options are obviously lacking in Arizona. Sadly, they're also very lacking Nation wide in the American Indian community. The City of Phoenix should take a bold step & buy the undeveloped parcels near Central & Indian School and donate the land to the Indian Tribes of Arizona/the Country to build a university there. There is already one Indian college in the U.S., Haskell, but its in the small town of Lawrence, Kansas. What I'm proposing is a larger, more urban college. I'm not proposing that the City pays to build this college, just donates the land. The funding could come from the BIA and from the Tribes themselves. Perhaps a deal could be worked out in Arizona to allow the Tribes to (slightly!) expand their casino's if they agreed to fund the University. And of course, I'm not proposing anything where only Indians can attend. Non natives could attend as well, just like white folks can attend Historically Black Colleges (HBC's). Perhaps Tribe members would receive a subsidized rate and non tribe members would pay more of a market rate, those details can all be worked out... This is the ideal location because of its proximity to the LRT. It promotes urban living, creates more density in PHX, etc. It's also the perfect spot because of a critical mass of Native American resources nearby. The Heard Museum is just down the street (students in the arts at the school could get involved there), the Indian Medical Center is just down on 16th (Nursing & Medical students could intern there), the historic Indian School is right there (those buildings could be re-used for classes/events), the Native American Health Center & the Divine Legacy apartments are nearby, etc.
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