Alta Fern Blackowl Reyes (Cheyenne-Arapaho)

As a new Board member Alta Reyes can offer "a bit of objectivity" as she views the Center and its activities. "Everything has growing pains," she says, "and the Center is no different. If people were not interested there would be no disagreements. Or agreements, for that matter."

All good things "work themselves out," she feels, and she's looking forward to an active participation, especially where the children are concerned. She is already an active member of the Parent Youth Committee which monitors the Indian student advisory project for the Board of Education. Not content to sit on the sidelines, she credits being Indian and her religion - "we're Mormon" - as helping her to get a better understanding of the strength of her family, which now numbers six boys and a girl. "A parent has to be involved in a child's activities," she says, "and I'm concerned that we preserve the Indian's heritage for the future. Only if they understand it completely, can they pass it on to their children."