POWER Teaching Conference
Fort Lewis College

Piloting a Reconciliation Curriculum Institute

Rosalinda Linares-Gray, Director of Reconciliation, Fort Lewis College

In this session, the Vice President for Diversity Affairs and faculty fellows will discuss the development of FLC’s first Reconciliation Curriculum Institute, held August 10–13, which brought together 30 faculty participants from across departments and disciplines. Participants will explore the importance of faculty-led course redesign centered on Native and Indigenous student experiences and needs. The presenters will also model at least one activity from the institute with audience participation.

Making the Hidden Curriculum Visible: Teaching Metacognition in Native Student Ready Classrooms

Renee Beeton, Senior Lecturer of Chemistry, Fort Lewis College

Students are often expected to arrive at college already knowing how to learn effectively, yet many have never been explicitly taught the strategies needed to succeed in higher education. This interactive session explores metacognitive instruction as a way to make the hidden curriculum visible, support student belonging, and promote academic success. Participants will learn about metacognition, review local student success data from Fort Lewis College, and discuss how metacognitive practices can be adapted to create more Native Student Ready classrooms.

What I Learned About Nonviolent Communication

Hannah Rankin, Associate Professor, School of Humanities, San Juan College

During this session, Hannah will share reflections on what she has learned about the principles, practices, and potential curriculum applications of nonviolent communication. Participants are encouraged to share their own insights and practices for maintaining strong relationships while navigating difficult conversations.

Undisclosed, Unsupported, and Already Behind: Rethinking Disability Support for Native Students in Higher Education

Dr. Mariana Ulibarri-Horan, Bilingual School Psychologist, Educational Diagnostician, Consultant, and Higher Education Educator

This session provides space for practical conversations about how Native students with known or unknown, disclosed or undisclosed learning disabilities may enter higher education without the support they need. Contributing factors may include stigma, generational mistrust of K–12 schooling, inconsistent special education experiences, and unintended institutional harm. The conversation will encourage Native student support partners to share what they are seeing, identify missing or overlooked supports, and consider how to develop systems that reach students before they fail.

Good Medicine of Learning: Culture, Connection, and Student Success

April Sandman, Regional Health Connector, SWCAHEC; and Tarenina Max, Indigenous Health Program Associate, SWCAHEC

Southwestern Colorado AHEC, a nonprofit organization, will present an overview of its initiatives to improve healthcare access for rural and medically underserved communities across the region. The session will highlight efforts in primary care, community health, and workforce development, including support for current providers and the development of a strong pipeline of future health professionals.

The presentation will then transition to Good Medicine of Learning: Culture, Connection, and Student Success. Presenters will explore the effects of generational trauma on Native American communities, discuss culturally responsive learning strategies that support student success, and deepen participants’ understanding of Native American cultures, values, and belief systems. Attendees will gain practical tools for creating more inclusive and supportive learning environments that promote engagement, belonging, and academic achievement.

The Teaching We Inherit: Examining the Stories That Shape Our Classrooms

Candice Dotson, Nursing Instructor, San Juan College

Many of us teach using practices inherited from our own educational experiences, mentors, and professional training, without stopping to ask where those beliefs came from. Through personal storytelling, guided reflection, and interactive activities, this session invites participants to explore the assumptions that shape their teaching and identify one intentional change that can strengthen belonging, trust, and student engagement for all learners.

K’é (Kinship) and Ea (Self-Determination) in Postsecondary Advising and Cross-Cultural Indigenous Education

Sam Bader, College Success Coordinator, Navajo Preparatory School

Drawing from experiences working at secondary schools in the Four Corners region, college counseling advisors will share tools and approaches for advising Indigenous youth as they prepare for postsecondary education. Presenters will reflect on being raised in Westernized settler-colonial education systems on sovereign land and describe their journeys as modern-day wayfinders. They will discuss how their own experiences navigating postsecondary education have shaped their approaches to supporting Indigenous students from across the Four Corners region as they pursue education within and beyond their ancestral homelands.

Positive Indigenous Psychology for Enhancing Native Student Outcomes

Dr. Amoneeta, Associate Professor, Fort Lewis College

This session introduces Positive Indigenous Psychology, the scientific study and practice of Indigenous resiliency, survivance, and well-being. Participants will explore concrete examples of how Positive Indigenous Psychology can be applied at all educational levels to improve Native student outcomes by aligning learning with Native cultures and values.