Educating His People

by Tanya Lee

Vernon Masayesva is a man on a mission to educate American Indian children.

Raised in Hotevilla, Ariz. (pop. 767), on the Hopi Indian Reservation and educated at Arizona State University and Central Michigan University, he returned home in the early 1970s and helped found the Hotevilla-Bacavi Community School, the first Indian-controlled school on Hopi land.

Masayesva was the school’s first principal, inspiring talented teachers, artists and musicians to come to his remote village. Among his students were his own daughters. Among his teachers were world-renowned katsina carver Brian Honyouti and painter Ed Mell.

Running a small school in rural Arizona wasn’t just about filling out forms. It was about meeting with teachers and parents, politicians and government agencies, about building playground equipment and helping out the entire community.

"We also turned the school into a community school," says Masayesva, 64. "We allowed people to come in and use the gymnasium, we had art classes, GED classes, and we even trained teachers to help people with their tax returns."

In 1984, Masayesva was elected to the Hopi Tribal Council. In 1989, he began a four-year-term as tribal chairman. By the early 1990s, he had a distinguished career—school principal, tribal councilman and chairman—complemented by a busy family life. Masayesva and his wife, Becky, had raised four daughters and were looking forward to grandchildren.

It might have been time to retire from public life. But when the University of Arizona identified American Indian student retention as a high priority, they wisely contacted Masayesva.

In response, he helped create the Arizona Native Scholastic and Enrichment Resources (ANSER) program in 1994, which became a collaborative effort of the university’s American Indian Studies Program, tribal leaders, businesses and several independent college-preparatory day schools in Arizona.

"When I was a school principal, there was always a lot of money for students who needed remedial academic help," he says. "But the kids that were not having any problems were always left out and not being challenged. This whole program was to address that segment of the Native American school kids who have academic potential and want to go on to college. I try to get them into the best college prep schools, which is something that is much needed among Native American students."

The ANSER program provides partial scholarships to academically gifted American Indian students so they can attend college. It also provides tutoring, counseling and mentoring.

The program, which is funded by private foundations, corporate sponsorships and gifts from individuals, has helped 30 students attend college. "None of them have dropped out of college," he says.

"College is a lot of work," says Taavi Honahnie, a Hopi and student at the University of Arizona. "I was overwhelmed at first, but my education at Saint Gregory (College Preparatory School) really helped me. After a while what I learned about time management and responsibility kicked in, and I figured out how to schedule my college work."

Today, Masayesva still supports the ANSER program but has gone on to start an environmental organization, called Black Mesa Trust, to protect the land and waters of the Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Once again, Masayesva wants to educate students. "Next year, we’re going to start a program called PLEDGE," he says. "We’re going to bring about 13 students and use environmental issues as a theme to help kids with their academic work.

"The more kids we can reach and help, the better," he says. "These are the kids that are going to be the future leaders in our tribal communities."

Tanya Lee is a writer from Flagstaff, Ariz.

first appeared: 12/5/2004