Sapsik'ʷałá Teacher Education Program University of Oregon

Last Thursday, the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence (CMAE) hosted its 12th annual Proudly Recognizing Indigenous Devotion to Education (PRIDE) Awards and 5 of our Sapsik’ʷałá students and staff received awards! We are so proud of you and your representation of Indigenous excellence!

Pictured from left to right:
Candace (TAC vice chair), Blake (student), Monique (student), and Cally (graduate employee)
Not pictured: Heather (graduate employee)

Last Friday Sapsik’ʷałá hosted the 3rd annual Indigenous Education Celebration and Sapsik’ʷałá Open House! We were able to be together in community and celebrate our students who are working so hard this term!

hayu masi for joining us and celebrating Indigenous excellence! We look forward to next years event.

We are still actively recruiting for our next cohort of Sapsik’ʷałá students!

Have any questions? Reach out at [email protected] or call us at 541-346-2454.

We are so excited to announce the sixth annual Sapsik'ʷałá Grow Your Own (GYO) Future Teachers Program! Our GYO program will support the next generation of Indigenous educators through an 11-week virtual mentoring program this WINTER TERM (January – March, 2026). Let’s grow our own Native educators!

This is a wonderful opportunity to support American Indian/Alaska Native high school and undergraduate students and recent graduates and to help build a network of Indigenous Educators that serve AI/AN children and families!

Applications are due December 1, 2025.

To find out more information about the Sapsik'ʷałá Grow Your Own Future Teachers Program, see the flyer.

To apply to be part of this exciting new mentorship program for American Indian/Alaska Native high school and undergraduate students, please visit our website. https://blogs.uoregon.edu/sapsikwala/grow-your-own-teacher-program/

Email Dr. Rena Dunbar at [email protected] with any questions.

Yesterday, some of our Sapsik’ʷałá staff and fellow UO NAIS students were able to attend Amy Cordalis (Yurok) lecture at the School of Law about her advocacy for Indigenous rights and sovereignty in environmental law. Her leadership in the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group lead to the undamming of the Klamath River in 2024.

We are proud of our fellow native Duck alumni!

Our co-director, Leilani, is highlighted on the University of Oregon College of Education page!

Each term, we spotlight one of our remarkable faculty members whose dedication to students and groundbreaking research sets them apart. https://education.uoregon.edu/faculty-and-staff

This term, we're proud to feature Associate Professor Leilani Sabzalian, PhD — Co-Director of our renowned Sapsik’ʷałá program. She is leading the way in preparing the next generation of Indigenous educators through her inspiring work and unwavering commitment to equity in education.

We are currently recruiting American Indian/Alaska Native students who are passionate about education and interested in becoming K-12 teachers for the 2026-2027 academic year!

The Sapsik’ʷałá Program is a unique, cohort-based Master's in Education (MEd) program designed specifically for Indigenous students within the UOTeach Curriculum and Teaching Program.

Rooted in the belief that "Education Strengthens Our People", our program prepares future educators to serve Native communities with cultural integrity and academic excellence.

Application opens September 20th and closes January 15th

Contact Us:
📧 Email: [email protected]
☎️ Phone: 541-346-2454
🌐 Websites: https://education.uoregon.edu/sapsikwala & https://blogs.uoregon.edu/sapsikwala/

Our Two Spirit and Indigiqueer Resources recently added interviews from some of our Sapsik’ʷałá faculty/staff!

Check out interviews here: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/sapsikwala/home/two-spirit-and-indigiqueer-resources/

ɫax̩ayam (hello)! Meet our newest 2026 Sapsik’ʷałá Cohort in our Sapsik’ʷałá blog! Our students are in the middle of Summer term, working hard and getting orientated with the University of Oregon campus and learning about our beautiful Kalapuya Ilihi, the home of the Kalapuya people.

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/sapsikwala/current-student/

Happy Pride Month! We've gathered some resources for our Indigiqueer and Two-Spirit youth, families, and educators. Please share widely!