The UO College of Education in consortium with the nine federally recognized tribes of the State of Oregon initiated  the Sapsik’^walá (Teacher) Project in 2002.

• Burns Paiute Tribe
• Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians
• Coquille Indian Tribe
• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
• Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
• The Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin)
• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Tribes)
• Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation

An advisory council of representatives from the tribal consortia, the local community, and the university will oversee grant activities. The recruitment, support, pre-service training, and in-service mentorship of American Indian teachers will be developed together with the oversight of the council.

Program components include the following partnership features:
• UO Office of Multicultural Education and the UO Native Student Enrollment Services will provide admissions and advisement support for the Sapsik’^walá program.
• A cohort-within-a-cohort model brings Sapsik’^walá program participants together monthly during the pre-service year for a seminar on issues of high concern for teachers of american Indian students.
• Induction year (first year teaching) services include the provision of a mentor, formative evaluations of teaching, support for attendance at a professional conference, cohort seminar meetings, on-site consuting, an electronic distribution and discussion list, and on-line consultation and website conferencing.