Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Diné College wasn't Harley Interpreter's first choice for higher education. During summers in high school, at the urging of her elders, she would travel off the Navajo Nation reservation to see what colleges elsewhere had to offer.

But the convenience of Diné College-the first accredited college to be tribally controlled-and its proximity to Interpreter's home near Tsaile was too good to pass up.

And the longer she attends, her choice makes more sense. As a young Navajo woman, she found the traditional knowledge and language the college offered was invaluable. She helps care for her grand...