VOA慢速英語: 奧巴馬宣布提高美國印第安人的教育

Obama Announces Initiative to Lift Up Young Native Americans

奧巴馬宣布提高美國印第安人的教育

This is the VOA Learning English Education Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語的經(jīng)濟報道。

Getting a good education and good jobs have long been issues for Native Americans, many of whom live in poverty.

長期以來，接受良好的教育，找到一份不錯的工作是很多印第安人面臨的問題，他們很多人生活貧困。

Now president Barack Obama has announced a plan to better prepare young American Indians for colleges and careers. The announcement came as part of the recent White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington.

奧巴馬總統(tǒng)宣布一項方案，讓年輕的印第安人能夠為上大學和找工作做準備。這項議案是最近在華盛頓白宮召開的部落會議的一部分。

In June, Mr. Obama and his wife Michelle visited the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The new plan is called the Generation Indigenous initiative.

六月，奧巴馬和他的妻子米歇爾去參觀訪問北達科他州的巖印第安保留區(qū)，這項新方案叫做Generation Indigenous的倡議。

It calls for the Department of the Interior to provide $1.2 million to help six more tribes establish school systems run by the tribes. It also increases programs for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and efforts to keep native languages from dying out.

方案呼吁內(nèi)政部提供120萬美元來幫助六個部落來確立由他們部落運行的學校體系。同時還要增加教授科學、技術(shù)、工程和數(shù)學的項目，此外還要努力保留他們的本土語言，免于消亡。

More than 30 percent of Americans have graduated from college. At the same time, only about 10 percent of American Indians are college graduates.

大概有30%多的美國人從大學畢業(yè)，然而，大學畢業(yè)的土著印第安人卻只有10%。

Louis Walking Elk, however, is studying for a master degree in environmental science at Sitting Bull College in North Dakota. He wants to use the degree to help people who live on his reservation. He is one of the first in his family to go to college.

Louis Walking Elk在北達科他州的希亭布爾學院修讀環(huán)境科學碩士學位。他想利用需所學的知識幫之他們那個保留地的居民。他是家族中最先上大學中的一個。

"My dad especially. He didn't finish high school and he was always like, 'you have to do something,'" said Walking Elk.

Walking Elk說：“我爸爸很特別，他沒有上完高中，不過‘你得學點什么’。”

SittingBull College is one of more than 30 tribal colleges in the United States. About 300 students are completing their higher education at the school.

希亭布爾學院是美國30多個部落學院中的一個，大概有300名學生在這個學院完成高等教育。

The federal government provides support for the program. Sitting Bull College president Laurel Vermillion says the goal of making sure students finish their college studies is all important to her.

聯(lián)邦政府為對個項目給予支持。希亭布爾學院的院長勞拉爾·維爾米琳說，確保學生能夠完成大學課程是非常重要的目標。

"A huge majority are first generation students, college students, who don't have a lot of experience. They don't have parents who can tell them or talk about college. And so when they leave the reservation and go onto these big, mainstream campuses, they are lost," said Vermillion.

維爾密林說：“絕大部分大學生是第一代土著居民學生，他們沒有很多的經(jīng)驗，沒有家長能夠告訴他們在大學會做些什么或者說什么。因此，當他們離開保留地，加入到這個大校園中，他們就迷茫了。

Ms. Vermillion says many young Native Americans, especially men, are looking for direction and a sense of purpose. Today, 30 percent of students are male, and 70 percent are female.

維爾米琳說很多年輕的土著居民，特別是男生，在尋找方向和一種目標?，F(xiàn)今，大學生中30%是男生，70%是女生。

SittingBull Collegeis trying to appeal to more men by offering a technical program. Classes include welding and oil drilling.

希亭布爾學院通過提供一些技術(shù)項目來試圖吸引更多的男生。這些課程包括焊接和石油勘探。

Scott Davis leads the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission. He also works to gain more male college students. He helps tribal colleges to get millions of dollars to start programs that develop young men for the workforce.

斯格特·戴維斯是北達科他州印第安事務委員會主席。他致力于增加更多男大學生的努力。他幫助部落學院取得數(shù)百萬美元的項目資金，用來培養(yǎng)年輕人成為勞動力。

Mr. Davis calls tribal colleges a shining beacon on reservations, giving hope to young Native Americans of a life of possibilities, and an escape from poverty.

戴維斯稱這種部落學院是這些保留地的燈塔，給土著印第安年輕人帶來生活希望——擺脫貧困的希望。

And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report for today. I'm Jeri Watson.

這里是美國之音慢速英語的教育報道，我是杰瑞·瓦特森。