In October 2020, Tzicatl Community Development Corporation, a 501c3 Autonomous Indigenous Peoples Organization, was awarded the U.S. Department of Education Accessing Choices in Education (ACE) Grant by the Office of Indian Education to fund the American Indian Resurgence Initiative. The Initiative launches the Native Ways 2 College project to establish an ecosystem of education and wellness centered on Native knowledge, accessible to students during this critical time and carry with them into the future. By empowering Los Angeles County Native American students to succeed in school, college and community, the AIR Initiative design disrupts the historic failures of government schooling Tzicatl Community Development Corporation (Tzicatl CDC) was founded in Los Angeles in 2002. Our mission is to advance the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the reparation of community and advocacy for healthy ecosystems to cultivate Indigenous education and culture in relation with ancestral lands. With the support from the U.S. Department of Education and our partners, we are able to provide the direct services and assessment necessary to achieve this mission.
Tzicatl cultivates and supports Indigenous education as a key partner and sister organization to Semillas Sociedad Civil (Semillas), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Indigenous educational organization, which operates the Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America charter school. Also founded in 2002, Anahuacalmecac is a community-based K-12 charter school serving 300 students and their families and is the only public school in Los Angeles that is dedicated to the academic and cultural needs of Indigenous children. Anahuacalmecac uses an International Baccalaureate model and is dedicated to student-centered schooling that includes a language-rich, culturally meaningful, and academically-rigorous environment rooted in principles of sovereign knowledge particular to Indigenous Peoples.
NW2CTIMELINE
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2002
Anawakalmekak (Anahuacalmecac International Baccalaureate World School) opens as Los Angeles County's only autonomous Indigenous K-12 School in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles
2002
2020
Tzicatl CDC (Parent Organization of Anawakalmekak) was awarded the ACE grant from the Office of Indian Education.
2020
2020
Through the ACE Grant, the American Indian Resurgence Initiative Project was created.
2020
2025
The AIR Initiative Project became Native Ways 2 College, a groundbreaking program serving Native American high school and middle school students in L.A. County.
2021
2025
NW2C's Grant Timeline ends. NW2C transitions to a chapter to serve all indigenous students.
2025
NW2CECOSYSTEM
WATER
Nation to Nation Community Building Objective: Cultivate a sustainable Indigenous educational service ecosystem supporting Native student and family choice that reaches up to 1000 middle and high school students and their families in LA County during the 5-year granting period.
FIRE
Redefining College Preparation and Access for Indigenous Communities Objective: Increased graduation rates, college enrollment, and student comfort with college processes for up to 530 LA County students through the IndigeNations and NY2C programs and serve 685 with tutoring and testing prep supports over 4-year implementation period.
LAND
Transformational Learning Through Heritage and Healing Objective Increase student knowledge and experience of land-based traditions with intergenerational Indigenous ecological and wellness educational programs for 450 and counseling services for up to 500 LA County students during the grant period (over 4-year implementation period).
Cosmology and Theoretical Physics
Delve into the mysteries of the universe with a focus on cosmology and theoretical physics. Explore concepts such as the Big Bang theory, dark matter, dark energy, and the expanding universe. Dive into the realm of theoretical physics, where scientists unravel the nature of space, time, and the fundamental forces that govern the cosmos. Discover the mind-bending theories that shape our understanding of the universe's structure and evolution.
