Young members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts are learning about sovereignty and other Indian issues as they catch up with their academic requirements.

The 38 youth are a part of Native Tribal Scholars, a six-week program at Regis College. The goal is to get through through high school, prepare them for college and teach them about issues important to their community.

"Normally in the summer I just sit around and relax," Keturah Peters, 15, told The Cape Cod Times. "But sovereignty, you can't really learn it anywhere else. They don't teach it at school."

Only about 48 percent of Wampanoag students finish high school, even lower than 57 percent rate for all American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Get the Story:
Wampanoag students get boost from summer program (The Cape Cod Times 8/10)