As part of The Turkish Coalition of America’s (TCA) ongoing efforts to expand educational exchanges between the United States and universities in Turkey, TCA is sponsoring a Native American Lecture Tour in November. The tour coincides with the White House conference with the Native American Tribal Nations on November 5.
The tour will bring educators from Mandaree, Hopi, Isleta/San Juan Pueblo and Mohawk tribes from South Dakota State University, Northern Arizona University and Institute of American Indian Arts to 12 universities in four cities in Turkey and will conclude with a Native American Conference at Hacettepe University in Ankara.
Other participating Turkish universities include Ondokuz Mayis
University in Samsun, Abant Izzet Baysal University in Bolu,
Bahcesehir, Bogazici, Halic, Istanbul Technical University, Koc,
Ozyegin and Sabanci University in Istanbul and Bilkent and Middle East
Technical University in Ankara.
The tour aims to expose Turkish educators and students to different
Native American cultures and customs. The tour will also explore
opportunities to establish future collaboration between Tribal Colleges
and other institutions with Native American programs in the US and
institutions of higher education in Turkey.
TCA will be promoting its Study Abroad in Turkey Scholarship Program
for American Minority Students during the tour. TCA awards up to 100
scholarships per year for eligible American minority students,
including Native Americans, who have been accepted to a university in
Turkey or in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The Native American Conference, organized by the Department of American
Culture and Literature at Hacettepe University, will last two days.