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Navigating Higher Education and Opportunities for Native American Students
By Moderator
Last month, a budget request from the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education proposed a nearly 90% cut to tribal colleges and universities. If passed, the request would likely shutter most, if not all, of the U.S.’s tribal colleges, which are already underfunded. While the U.S. state of affairs remains uncertain, this latest action has put a target on Native students and the few academic opportunities left that support their cultural heritage.
From personal growth to economic mobility, there is no denying the value of higher education, especially when it comes to leveling the playing field. Native students have the lowest enrollment of any race. From 2009 to 2018, only. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the enrollment rate for Native students dropped by 40% between 2010 and 2021. Adding to these alarming statistics, only 16% of Native Americans hold a college degree compared to their White counterparts (40%).
Contrary to widespread misinformation, Native Americans, as individual citizens, do not receive automatic access to universal benefits like free education, housing or healthcare. These so-called benefits are associated with specific treaties and based on tribal membership and heritage, which are not uniformly available across all federally recognized Tribes. Other policies, including the boarding school era’s assimilation efforts, have long-term effects that still undermine the educational achievements of Native students.
These challenges aside, Native education creates a vital pipeline for students with professional and leadership aspirations. Many community leaders have graduated from tribal colleges, including Partnership With Native Americans’ own President and CEO, Josh Arce, who graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University.
Understanding that education is one of the most important cornerstones of self-sufficiency and a quality life, PWNA proudly supports Native education through its Higher Education services aid, which awards up to 300 Native students annually with scholarships. Higher Education services aid also awards vocational scholarships, when funding permits and provides laptops to first-year students in need, care packs and mentoring to scholarship recipients and holiday gifts to the children and siblings of scholars. In 2024, PWNA distributed more than 166 scholarships to college students, contributing to a 95% matriculation rate.
To learn more about tribal colleges and universities located on or near reservations that provide culturally relevant curricula and community support or scholarships and financial aid making higher education affordable for natives, visit these websites.