Twelve Indian high school students selected from schools all over the west will participate in "A Better Chance" program originating on the campus of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., this summer, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Robert L. Bennett announced today.
Bureau of Indian Affairs schools participating in the plan include the Albuquerque Indian School, Albuquerque, N.M.; Chemawa Indian School, Chemawa, Ore.; Sequoyah High School, Tahlequah, Okla.; Sherman Institute, Riverside, Calif.; Stewart Indian School, Stewart, Nev.; and Turtle Mountain Community School, Turtle Mountain, N.D.
A public school, Okmulgee High at Okmulgee, Okla., is also represented.
Most of the students are at ninth and tenth grade levels, except two seniors, George Douglas, Okmulgee, and Albert Dreadful water, Sequoyah. The seniors were especially selected because of their outstanding leadership abilities and college-level potential.
Purpose of the program, which began in 1963 at Dartmouth, is to prepare youngsters with potential to go on to preparatory schools or high schools in areas that offer outstanding educational systems. Upon graduation, they are then ready to enter one of the better Eastern colleges.
The selection of the students was left to their school principals, who chose them on the basis of potential, rather than on their present academic records.
The students will arrive in Washington June 27 for a few days of orientation and field trips in the Nation's capital, reporting to Dartmouth June 30.
They will then go through a rigorous six-week program, flexible to meet the needs of the individual boys, but concentrating on mastery of the essentials of good writing, reading and mathematical thinking. Classes are small, permitting private tutors and counselors to give attention to the individual needs of the students.
The boys will also be involved in sports, hikes, art, music, dramatics, and field trips in the New England area.
Students selected, their schools, home towns and tribes are: From Chemawa, Willie Kasayulie, Akiachak, Alaska, Eskimo; Elmer Jackson, Kiana, Alaska, Eskimo; Pavila Pavila, Tuntutuliak, Alaska, Eskimo; Enoch Tooyak, Point Hope, Alaska, Eskimo; Johnny Hunter, Angoon, Alaska, Eskimo.
From Albuquerque: Ben Sam, Ganado, Ariz., Navajo. From Okmulgee: George Douglas, Okmulgee, Okla., Cherokee. From Sherman Institute: Walter Hogan, Parker, Ariz., Mohave. From Turtle Mountain: Dwight Trottier, Belcourt, N. D., Chippewa. From Sequoyah: Bruce Doyle, Tahlequah, Okla, Cherokee, and Albert Dreadfulwater, Tahlequah, Okla., Cherokee. From Stewart: Stanley Darrell Kisto, Bapchule, Ariz., Pima.
