recruitment
about us
OUr mission
American Indian Recruitment promotes and aims to help American Indian and Alaska Native students get into college, while strengthening cultural ties and creates a cycle of learning which students return to their communities and meaningfully contribute to this process.
OUr history
The American Indian Student Association (AISA) at UCLA initiated the American Indian Recruitment (AIR) Project in 1997 out of a general concern among American Indian students that not enough was being done to outreach to American Indian youth. AIR is the first student-run, student-initiated, and student-funded outreach program in the nation, with the goal of increasing admission of American Indian students in higher education and at UCLA. American Indian youth have one of the highest dropout rates, subsequently lowest graduation rates in the nation, and a suicide rate that is more than twice the national average. The AIR Project outreaches to American Indian students in Los Angeles County, Southern California reservations, and beyond in efforts to create awareness about the importance of higher education and resources for American Indians. Most importantly, because the Los Angeles area has the largest population of urban American Indians in the country, the AIR Project is in an advantageous position to outreach to these students and provide services that will encourage them to stay in school, graduate, and move on to college.
OUr Philosophy
Beyond just being weekly tutors, we also provide academic advisement, mentorship, and cultural programming with regard to current and traditional American Indian needs. The AIR Project, believes in developing holistic self-determined students. Our pedagogic model also allows our staff and volunteers to develop skills they may not gain anywhere else with regards to the urban American Indian community of Los Angeles. These skills are then used to serve the community and to become participating members of the largest American Indian community in the nation.
affiliated organizations
