Dr. Camille Locklear Goins, assistant professor and project director for the First Americans' Educational Leadership (FAEL) program at UNC Pembroke, was among the presenters at the 2022 Native American Student Advocacy Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

The NASAI conference has assembled a dedicated community of educators and tribal education leaders to address the educational challenges facing Native students.

Dr. Goins presented two sessions at the conference. The first session, entitled Culturally Responsive Teaching: Practices for Advancing Indigenous Students, emphasized the colonial impacts on southeastern tribal communities and how this trauma infiltrated native systems of communal education. The presentation focused on providing a culturally responsive learning environment to increase college and career readiness for Indigenous youth.

The second session, Preparing American Indian School Leaders, focused on the FAEL program, which trains American Indian school administrators to lead in highly populated American Indian schools and communities and provided financial support, mentorship, induction support and professional development. It focuses on transformative leadership practices and culturally responsive leadership and leads in efforts to improve educational outcomes for American Indian students.

"As a member of the Lumbee Tribe and first-generation college student, I seek to serve as an advocate for our Ingenious people and to support their success in K-12 and higher education," Goins said.

"It was an honor to present on a national level to share successful education practices that have been implemented in Indigenous communities and at UNCP to advance Indigenous students," she said. "I am thankful to the UNCP Social Belonging for Student Success for supporting my attendance at this conference."