First Peoples' Program
If you want to create more possibilities for change, for innovation, resilience and sustainability in your own life and for others in Native American communities, then the First Peoples' Creative Change program is designed for you. You will learn ways to effectively design and lead change while incorporating the values and traditions of Coast Salish peoples.
Come join in this exciting program, offered in partnership with Antioch University at the Muckleshoot Tribal College in Auburn. Your studies will lead to one of five degrees: an M.S. in Management or an M.A. in Environment and Community, Organizational Psychology, Whole Systems Design or Strategic Communication. Your studies will involve ongoing collaboration with your peers, with the guidance of talented faculty, many Native American instructors who focus on Northwest Native issues in the areas of management, environment, community, whole system design, organizational health and development and strategic communication.
FAQ
Am I a good fit for the First Peoples'
Creative Change Program?
- Do you care about cultural pluralism and
social justice?
- Are you committed to being part of positive change?
- Are you interested in working with Native populations?
If you said yes to the above questions, this program is right for you.
Do I have to be Native American to enroll?
No, you do not have to be Native American to attend. The program attracts a variety of people who are interested in working with Native people and communities.
Are the First Peoples' Creative Change programs offered each year?
Yes. The program begins each fall.
Do I need direct experience in the field of study to apply?
No. The requirement is completion of a bachelor's degree for application.
How long is the degree program?
You must earn 66 credits which take 28 months to complete.
When are classes?
In general, classes are held Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. and occasional Saturdays. To date, only first year classes are scheduled; all first year classes are held at the Muckleshoot Tribal College in Auburn.
Will I collaborate with my peers in my classes?
Antioch emphasizes collaborative learning through its cohort-based education philosophy. A cohort is a group of approximately 20 students taking all of their classes together. You work with and learn from your peers throughout the duration of the First Peoples' Creative Change program.
Can you work full time while in this program?
Yes, the program is designed with this in mind and most of our students work full time while they are in the program.
What employment advantages does a master's degree offer?
Employers look favorably upon a master's degree. Your degree-related experiences will enhance your professional practice and your leadership opportunities. Moreover, many of the assignments and courses will provide you with opportunities to interact or work with potential employers and other professionals in fields and communities of interest to you.
Is there a thesis requirement?
A thesis is optional. During the final three quarters of the program (6-9 months), you will design and complete a change project and write a synthesis paper, integrating your academic and professional interests. You will work directly with your faculty adviser to determine the length and form of the project.
Students in the Creative Change program have conducted change projects on a range of topics, from developing a management team in their own organizations to understanding the best practices of advocates for environmental education in their communities to designing a leadership development program.
Is financial aid available?
Some scholarships are available specifically to Native American students or those teaching in schools serving American Indian students. For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at 206-268-4010 or financialaid@antiochseattle.edu.
Enrolled Muckleshoot members may be eligible for a full scholarship for tuition and living expenses. For more information, contact the Muckleshoot Scholarship Office at 253-939-3311.
Fall-Winter-Spring 2008-2009 Courses
Systemic Thinking for a Changing World
This course is designed to support students in developing conceptual frameworks and integrative and analytic skills for understanding complex dynamic patterns in human and natural systems, and for developing appropriate strategies for action within those varied systems. Students gain an understanding of the relationships between world views and actions (including thoughts, behaviors, policies, social structures) and consider systems through the lens of their own individual experiences, the experiences of their Native American communities, as well as considering the perspectives of other systems.
Communication Design
In this course, you will learn and share perspectives and skills for designing, presenting and evaluating effective communication. Students gain the ability to analyze rhetorical contexts including intention, audience and hoped-for outcomes as well as an understanding of the visual dimension of written text and oral presentation, including storytelling.
Critical Inquiry and Research Methods
While learning qualitative research methods, students address fundamental questions about the construction of knowledge as the foundation for action and about power as it relates to representation and communication in social change. This course introduces the collection of oral histories to master's students. Students read about the use of oral histories in Native American communities as well as in public and tribal schools. They learn how to design and do an interview, as well as how to analyze relevant documents. Each student identifies a researchable question and practices the technique by gathering one brief oral history of someone in the community. Ethical and legal issues are discussed at length.
Global Pluralism
Our cultures and our communities throughout the world are exposed to one another and interact in ways never before experienced. Globalization is much more than an economic phenomenon. Political, social, environmental and spiritual, as well as economic forces are interacting to create a dynamic global system. Information technology and transportation technology enable personal contact among people of different cultures, different political ideologies and different worldviews. While these differences can lead to conflict, violence and suffering, they also offer the potential for creating a world that works for all. Our collective future, as citizens of this global system, depends on understanding, mutual respect and cooperation. This course is designed to engage students in seeing themselves in a global context and in exploring key forces that are impacting the world community. Students can expect to enhance their ability to notice and appreciate differences, to increase their ability to hold multiple perspectives and to develop skills for managing polarities and paradox.
Ecological Sustainability
In this course students examine a range of key issues facing both the Pacific Northwest and the world as means of characterizing local through global sustainability performance and opportunities. Social change approaches, natural science and philosophical perspectives are used to explore historical contexts, tools, techniques and integrative designs.
Transformative Leadership and Change
Leadership is a process of influence, a dynamic process of interaction among individuals in relationship to achieve a result. Systemic in nature, leadership requires an increased awareness and ability to reflect critically on assumptions. Students gain a nuanced understanding of the dimensions of power, social organization and cultural diversity as applied to leadership opportunities and challenges.
Reflective Practice Courses
Reflective Practicum 1: Simulation and Case Study
Leading creative change requires thinking and reflecting in action. Reflective practice is about learning from action and for action. Over three consecutive quarters, students learn a number of change models and practices by observing and learning how others have led and been involved in successful creative change. With emphasis on collaboration for social change, students improve their ability to learn from their own and others' experiences.
Reflective Practicum 2: Capstone Change Project
Students engage in a change project and increase their capacity to integrate theory, practice and reflection in a collaborative learning community. Across three consecutive quarters, students develop an approach to practice that incorporates core coursework as well as degree-specific theories and concepts and their own previous experience. Collaboration, design and social change come together in a capstone change project.
Specialization Courses
Students are required to take a series of specialization courses. These courses provide students with an in-depth knowledge relevant to their chosen degree subject.
For information on required specialization courses for each degree program,
please visit:
All students will take the following course:
Tribal Law (4)
The course presents an overview of the laws and legal issues facing educators today with particular attention to specific laws affecting Native Americans. Issues include sovereignty, language policy, tribal schools and constitutional matters.
Find Out More
Classes start October, 2008. For more information on the Center for Creative Change programs at the Muckleshoot Tribal College, contact Shana Hormann at 206-819-4117 or by e-mail.
How to Apply
The priority application deadline for the First Peoples' Creative Change program is August 1, 2008. Classes begin in October, 2008.
For complete information on how to apply, select the program below that interests you and click on the link to be directed to the information you need.
Faculty
Shana Hormann is the Program Development Coordinator of the First Peoples' Creative Change program at Muckleshoot Tribal College and a core faculty member of the Center for Creative Change at Antioch University Seattle. She teaches graduate courses focusing on leadership, facilitation and organizational health. Her credentials include a B.A. and MSW from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.
Hormann was an Affiliate Associate Professor for the University of Washington School of Social Work from 1994-2007 and taught for the University of Alaska-Southeast in Juneau from 1981-1991. She taught courses at the main campus in Juneau, at the Correctional Facility and in Southeast Alaska villages and conducted research on use of teleconferencing for provision of mental health education to rural Alaskan villages.
Hormann's professional interests include leadership, strengthening resilience and resolving trauma in organizations and working with high-risk youth; her scholarship and practice reflect her interests. She has trained law enforcement officials, social service professionals, clergy and lay people, school personnel, judges and parents throughout the U.S. and Canada about organizational trauma, sexual assault, family violence and juvenile offenders.
Other Faculty
First Peoples' Creative Change program faculty members are all qualified educators, practitioners and innovative thinkers. Many faculty members are Native American and provide students with ways to successfully apply content in tribal communities.
Find out more about core faculty in the Center for Creative Change.
