Thank you for your outstanding response to our Emergency Flood Relief Campaign and for your dedication to our students in Indian Country. With record flooding still hovering at historic levels, the situation is far from over. But thanks to your support and the resilience and hard work of residents in the affected areas, our tribal communities are safe for now.
The American Indian College Fund received a $100,000 grant from the Highland, California-based San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians. The grant will be divided to support several major initiatives: $50,000 will support the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians Tribal College Scholarship Program; $25,000 will go towards the Sovereign Nations Scholarship Fund Endowment, which provides scholarships to Native American students in perpetuity; and $25,000 will support expenses for the American Indian College Fund’s annual fundraiser, the Flame of Hope Gala, on Thursday, October 20, in Denver, Colorado.
MetLife Foundation granted $15,000 this month to continue the MetLife Foundation Tribal College Scholarship Program. Now in its 11th year, this program provides scholarships to Native students attending tribal colleges and universities across the country.
We still need your help. The flooding crisis is far from over and as the waters recede, they are leaving behind devastation to our students and staff. For others, it is wait and see if their efforts, literally, hold up the Missouri River.
The rain, plus heavy snowpack beginning to melt in the Rocky Mountains, has the Army Corps of Engineers increasing water releases through the six Missouri River dams to get rid of water as quickly as possible as flooding continues.
Thanks to your assistance to the American Indian College Fund’s Flood Emergency Fund, our tribal college communities impacted by rising waters along the Missouri River and its tributaries can cope better. Sioux City, Nebraska, home to Nebraska Indian College, is the latest tribal college community to deal with the devastation caused by flood waters.
Red Cross officials said today that sandbags are in place in Bismarck and the sourrounds and now the people are waiting for the waters to rise while hoping the levees and dikes hold. “We are in a holding pattern,” said Melanie Moen, Emergency Services Director of the Red Cross for the Bismarck area.
Anthony Walker (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) is on the receiving end of a sandbag pass from Kyle Leaf (Cheyenne River Tribe). Both are students in a Criminal Justice class from United Tribes Technical College that volunteered Thursday afternoon at a home north of Mandan along the river.
The CIGNA Foundation has granted $29,000 to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) to support Native scholarships through the Tribal Scholars Healthcare Program. The gift will provide scholarships to Native students studying at select tribal colleges and universities and mainstream institutions.
Thanks to your support, the American Indian College Fund is raising money for immediate relief for flood victims in Montana and North Dakota for food, clothing, potable water, medicines, and more. But the need and the situation worsens. As of Sunday, 300 families were staying in shelters on or near the Crow Reservation in eastern Montana, with many more preferring to stay with family members, with as many as 30 people sharing a home, says Jana Sweeney for the Red Cross on the scene.
