Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange

Accessible Higher Education for Citizens of Native Nations

From The U.N. Report on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People (para. #72-73):

"[T]he University of California at Los Angeles…has set up the Tribal Learning Community and Educational Exchange (TLCEE) to help generate a curriculum based both on Western scholarship and tribal knowledge”

NEW! Winter On-line Course Scholarships Available!

Welcome to TLCEE!

Welcome to the Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange (TLCEE). We hope you will find useful information on these web pages and visit often to discover new opportunities for tribal communities and community members here at UCLA and beyond. Whether you are interested in law school related matters, grad school, or undergraduate education, please feel free to email the Director with questions about American Indian programs at UCLA.

Navigating the TLCEE Web Site

TLCEE offers several different types of course work: on campus, on-line, and in-the-community courses. We offer scholarships for our on-line courses, so please follow the links to our on-line course page to find out more. TLCEE works with many other programs on campus to provide resources for Native and non-Native students interested in learning more about American Indian Studies and other disciplines at UCLA. TLCEE students here on campus work with programs on and off campus, as well as tribal communities around the world, on projects which on some occassions become internships and employment opportunities after graduation. When our students, guest speakers, or other TLCEE events make news - or we simply want to invite a broad audience to our events - we will post information on our news & events page as well. All of these links are also available in the navigation window to the left of this screen, but if you do not find what you are looking for please email the Director to find out more!

Mission and Objectives

The Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange (TLCEE) is an innovative legal and general education program housed at the UCLA School of Law. With its interdisciplinary scope, TLCEE joins Native peoples’ perspectives, knowledge, priorities, and visions for the future with the academic world at UCLA. TLCEE's primary goal is to develop relevant courses for delivery to Native community members and UCLA students interested in American Indian Studies. Collaborating with Native community members and traditional knowledge bearers, TLCEE focuses on enhancing Native governance and cultural resource protection. TLCEE also encourages Native youth and Tribal community members to enroll in college level courses and works to serve as a base for Native community members attending UCLA.

As part of its effort to link the UCLA community to Native communities locally, nationally, and internationally, TLCEE works with the Tribal Legal Development Clinic to train UCLA law students as they develop and implement nation building projects with Native community leaders. TLCEE also creates opportunities for UCLA graduate and undergraduate students to contribute their talents to these projects through a series of courses called Working in Tribal Communities, which is offered in conjunction with the Interdepartmental Program in American Indian Studies.

Through the UCLA Extension Tribal Learning Community, TLCEE collaborates with Tribal members, traditional knowledge bearers, as well as professionals from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute to bring information to the communities on a wide range of topics by offering on-line courses such as Introduction to Tribal Legal Studies and Violence Against Native Women. Online instruction is open to anyone with an interest in understanding issues affecting Native peoples, including Tribal members, administrators, and leaders. To be as inclusive as possible, UCLA Extension does not require a high school degree to enroll in its courses.

TLCEE is made possible by a generous endowment from the San Manuel Band of Serrano Indians.

TLCEE Contact Information

TLCEE remains focused on its mission with the help of the TLCEE/UCLA Working Group:

Cindi Alvitre (Tongva), UCLA Ph.D. Candidate in World Arts & Cultures
Duane Champagne (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), Professor of Sociology
Elizabeth Chronister, San Manuel Band of Serrano Indians Education Department
Carole Goldberg, Professor of Law and Director of the Native Nations Law & Policy Center
Felicia Hodge (Wailaki), Chair of the UCLA American Indian Studies IDP
DeAnna M. Rivera (Boriken Taino), Director of the Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange
Wendy Teeter, Curator of Archaeology for the Fowler Museum at UCLA

If you have any questions about TLCEE, its course offerings, or its projects, please contact the Director, DeAnna M. Rivera (310)-794-5216).