American Indian College Fund
Annual Report

The American Indian College Fund’s Annual Report highlights the impact of our work in expanding access to higher education for Native students and supporting Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

Through scholarships, academic programs, and community initiatives, we help students achieve their educational goals while strengthening Native cultures and communities.

The report showcases student success stories, financial stewardship, and key partnerships that make this work possible.

By investing in Native education, we create opportunities for future generations to thrive. Read the report to see how your support makes a difference.

Report on Native Higher Education Success Strategies

A Message from the President

 

Cheryl Crazy Bull - headshot

Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund

As we returned to the classroom this fall, I remembered my excitement about beginning a new school year as a young student. My mom would take my younger brother and I shopping in a nearby town where there were two stores that sold clothing so we could start the new year dressed up. My dad or older brother would drive us. But my education experience was not the norm for generations of Native people that came before me.

As reported in the U.S. Department of Interior’s second volume of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Final Report released this July, more than 60,000 American Indian children were forcibly taken from their families to “attend” the 451 federal boarding school sites located across 37 states or territories between 1819 and 1969. Their parents, too, dressed them in their finest clothing for school. But when they arrived, it was taken from them, and they were assigned new clothing and new identities.

Pause for a moment and think about the scale of the boarding school plan and how it worked. The goal was the rupture and eventual eradication of our communities and cultures. Children were severely punished for speaking their languages, practicing their spiritual practices, or demonstrating their values of kinship as Native people.

Boarding schools touched nearly every living Native American in some way, with Native people attending as late as the mid-1960s. At least 973 known American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children died while attending one. The numbers could be far greater.

We cannot easily set aside the abuse that was perpetuated on our relatives who attended boarding schools. These were our family members. These were children. Boarding schools caused significant struggles with physical and mental health that continue in many Native communities.

This is why tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are so central, successful, and important in our communities. An education rooted in Native cultures and languages immerses Native people from elders to the youngest children in their values and supports them as they heal and learn. TCUs provide services such as early childhood education, libraries, food services, health services, and more.

Our mission at the American Indian College Fund is to provide Native people with access to a higher education and to support the TCUs in their important work. TCUs seek to rekindle the knowledge lost in the boarding school era. The data tells the story – in a 2019 Gallup Survey of TCU alumni, we learned 74% of TCU graduates have gone on to serve their communities—a deep-rooted Native value. In addition, TCU alumni report greater wellness outcomes and a greater sense of being supported by faculty and staff, leading to academic success. The result of positive, supportive learning environments rooted in Native culture? Healthier students who graduate to serve their communities and provide for their families’ well-being.

The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Final Report marks a significant opportunity to illuminate the truth of Native histories in America and to advance national reconciliation and healing. We believe education is the answer to healing the wounds of the past. With your support, we can create healthier, more sustainable Native communities – one student at a time – through the power of a tribal college education.

We are thankful that you have walked and continue to walk this path with us.

Cheryl Crazy Bull
President and CEO, American Indian College Fund

View Cheryl’s Full Bio Here

 

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